Category Archives: Print Release

PUBLISHED: Tympanoplasty (Revision)

Tympanoplasty (Revision)
C. Scott Brown, MD1Alex J. Carsel2Calhoun D. Cunningham III, MD1
1Duke University Medical Center
2University of Toledo College of Medicine

The tympanic membrane (eardrum) acts as a protective barrier between the middle and external ear, guarding the middle ear against infection. Additionally, it plays a crucial role in hearing by facilitating impedance matching between the air in the external canal and the fluid in the inner ear. Disruption of the tympanic membrane can lead to hearing loss, recurrent infections, and ear drainage. Common etiologies of perforations include infection and trauma. When perforations persist and cause symptomatic hearing loss or recurrent infections, surgical repair by an otolaryngologist becomes necessary. Although primary tympanoplasty has high success rates (75–95%), failures can complicate subsequent repair attempts. This case study presents a 61-year-old female who underwent two prior tympanoplasties without success. Dr. Cunningham demonstrates intraoperative decision-making and surgical techniques for repair in challenging cases.

PUBLISHED: Five-Month Patient Results Following Ankle Ligament Reconstruction

Five-Month Patient Results Following Ankle Ligament Reconstruction
William B. Hogan1Eric M. Bluman, MD, PhD2
1Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
2Brigham and Women’s Hospital

This article present the case of a female patient in her early 20’s who was seen for follow up after 5 months of rehabilitation following surgical procedures to address instability in both the medial and lateral sides of her right ankle. This patient reported achieving an excellent outcome, and her subjective sense of significant improvement after rehabilitation was aligned with her physical exam and radiographic evaluation. This case documents the improvements made by the patient during the rehabilitation process and outlines essential steps to be performed by the practitioner in the clinical examination and radiographic follow up after surgery for ankle instability.

PUBLISHED: Open Antrectomy and Duodenal Resection for Neuroendocrine Tumor

Open Antrectomy and Duodenal Resection for Neuroendocrine Tumor
Derek J. Erstad, MDDavid L. Berger, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital

This video describes the surgical technique for an open duodenal resection and antrectomy, which was performed for a neuroendocrine tumor of the duodenal bulb. In this procedure, an upper midline laparotomy is first made, followed by mobilization of the distal stomach, duodenum, and head of the pancreas. Next is to Kocherize the duodenum, then ligate that right gastric artery and dissect the gastrohepatic ligament, followed by ligation of the right gastroepiploic vessels and taking down the gastrocolic ligament exposing the lesser sac. Once the structures are adequately mobilized, the first portion of the duodenum is dissected off of the head of the pancreas and transected with a TA stapler. The antrectomy is performed next, removing the specimen. For the reconstruction, a retrocolic end-to-side hand-sewn gastrojejunostomy was performed. This technique can be used for multiple indications, including peptic ulcer disease and other mass lesions of the antrum, pylorus, or duodenal bulb.

PUBLISHED: Ethmoid Artery Anatomy (Cadaver)

Ethmoid Artery Anatomy (Cadaver)
C. Scott Brown, MDJeevan B. Ramakrishnan, MD
Duke University Medical Center

The ethmoid arteries, comprising the anterior and posterior branches, are integral vascular structures that hold immense significance in the realm of sinus and skull base surgery. Originating from the third segment of the ophthalmic artery, these arteries traverse through the medial orbit before passing through the respective ethmoidal canals and entering the ethmoid air cells. Understanding the anatomical significance and clinical implications of the anterior and posterior ethmoid arteries is paramount in ensuring safe and effective management of sinus pathologies and associated complications. Accurate preoperative assessment, appropriate surgical techniques, and a thorough knowledge of these vascular structures are essential for optimizing patient outcomes and minimizing the risk of adverse events during surgical interventions.

PUBLISHED: Robotic Ligamentum Teres Cardiopexy with Hiatal Hernia Repair for GERD following Longitudinal Sleeve Gastrectomy

Robotic Ligamentum Teres Cardiopexy with Hiatal Hernia Repair for GERD following Longitudinal Sleeve Gastrectomy
Fiona J. Dore, MDNicole B. Cherng, MD
UMass Memorial Medical Center

Patients who undergo longitudinal sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) may develop de novo or worsening of existing gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) symptoms, which include postprandial retrosternal burning, food refluxing, or dysphagia. Often patients with GERD following LSG present with a concomitant hiatal hernia. Workup serves to characterize a patient’s GERD disease burden by way of fluoroscopic upper gastrointestinal (UGI) series, pH studies, manometry, or esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Treatment first involves medical management with lifestyle modifications followed by use of pump inhibitors (PPIs) or Histamine H2-receptor antagonists (H2 Blockers or H2B). If GERD symptoms remain intractable to medical management, surgical intervention can be pursued.

Historically patients would undergo a conversion to a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). New data demonstrate comparable outcomes regarding GERD symptoms and improvements in anti-reflux medication use in patients status-post LSG who undergo ligamentum teres cardiopexy with hiatal hernia repair. This article describes a robotic ligamentum teres cardiopexy with hiatal hernia repair in an adult patient who previously underwent LSG and was experiencing intractable GERD symptoms despite lifestyle modification and optimization on anti-reflux medications.

PUBLISHED: Intraperitoneal Mesh Repair for Incisional Hernia

Intraperitoneal Mesh Repair for Incisional Hernia
William B. Hogan1Yoko Young Sang, MD2Shabir S. Abadin, MD, MPH3
1Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
2Louisiana State University Shreveport
3World Surgical Foundation

Incisional hernias remain an important postoperative complication of any procedure involving a laparotomy incision. Although most incisional hernias remain asymptomatic, incarceration and strangulation are emergent complications requiring prompt diagnosis and intervention. Mesh repair has become widely favored over simple suture repair of abdominal fascial defects in recent decades, though recurrence of incisional hernias remains high. Despite the advent of laparoscopic approaches to hernia repair, open approaches are utilized when numerous adhesions are encountered, laparoscopic access is unsafe, or when laparoscopy is not readily available. We present an open surgical repair of a large incisional hernia involving the abdominal midline and parastomal site in a woman with a history of laparotomy and colostomy with a subsequent reversal for a perforated colon.

PUBLISHED: Airway Management: Techniques and Equipment

Airway Management: Techniques and Equipment
Dany Accilien, MD*Dexter C. Graves, MD*Nicholas Ludmer, MDStephen Estime, MDAbdullah Hasan Pratt, MD
UChicago Medicine

This video article discusses airway management techniques in trauma resuscitation. It outlines the preparation and equipment used in patients with impending airway failure that require airway protection and ventilatory support. We discuss the innovative airway towers used in the University of Chicago emergency room as well as the general approach to airway management. We also go over the different types of laryngoscopy, assist devices, and cricothyroidotomy surgical airway procedures.

PUBLISHED: The Versatile Latissimus Dorsi Muscle as a Local Flap for Chest Wall Coverage

The Versatile Latissimus Dorsi Muscle as a Local Flap for Chest Wall Coverage
Geoffrey G. Hallock, MD1Yoko Young Sang, MD2
1Sacred Heart Campus, St. Luke’s Hospital
2Louisiana State University Shreveport

Occasionally, the treatment of breast cancer requires the removal of the breast while also leaving a large chest skin deficit. Especially if radiation has been done or is planned, the best way to restore the missing skin to preserve its essential function would be by the use of a vascularized flap. Sometimes this can be achieved while simultaneously providing a reconstruction of a very aesthetic breast mound. Depending on circumstances and the extent of disease, a simpler solution might be to just close only the chest wound that has been created.

A “workhorse” flap alternative that is almost always available to achieve this is the latissimus dorsi (LD) muscle from the back, as this can be moved to almost all regions of the chest. The LD muscle usually can be swung to the chest about its blood vessels that remain attached to the armpit, and so would be called a local flap that as such avoids the complexities of a transfer requiring microsurgery to reconnect the blood supply. The long-term experience by reconstructive surgeons in using the LD muscle as a local flap, not just for the chest but also the back, head, and neck, has proven its deserved accolade to be a versatile flap unparalleled by most other donor sites.

PUBLISHED: Placement and Removal of Bandage Contact Lens

Placement and Removal of Bandage Contact Lens
Alexander Martin, OD
Boston Vision

Contact lens insertion and removal proficiency is paramount to successful resolution in several sight-threatening ocular conditions. With contact lenses so often being the culprit for corneal ulcers, it may seem counterintuitive to use them as a Band-Aid. However, in many cases of ocular trauma such as corneal abrasion and foreign body removal, a bandage contact lens along with topical antibiotics is an advisable form of treatment. Bandage contact lenses are also heavily utilized in surgical refractive procedures such as photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and epi-off corneal cross-linking. There are many new advances in bandage contact lens technology such as contact lenses eluted with antibiotics, steroids, and amniotic tissues for managing both chronic and acute ocular conditions.

PUBLISHED: Robotic-Assisted Repair of a Left Lower Quadrant Spigelian-Type Hernia

Robotic-Assisted Repair of a Left Lower Quadrant Spigelian-Type Hernia
Samuel J. Zolin, MDEric M. Pauli, MD
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

A left lower quadrant partial-thickness Spigelian-type incisional hernia resulting from wound complications after deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap harvest is repaired in a minimally-invasive, robotic-assisted, transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) fashion. Utilizing robotic assistance, a large preperitoneal flap is created, fascial closure is achieved using barbed suture, and the hernia defect is reinforced widely with medium-weight polypropylene mesh. In this patient, this approach also allows for areas that had previously had mesh placed to be avoided, and for repair of a fat-containing indirect left inguinal hernia. Similar approaches can address primary or lateral incisional hernias. This patient had an uncomplicated postoperative course without early wound morbidity.