Journal and News Scan

Lack of prioritization of simulation activities is commonly reported by trainees for a variety of reasons, including time constraints and perceived translational benefit. These barriers become even more pronounced in low-income countries with limited healthcare resources, as the current era of simulation-based training often requires substantial investments of time, money, and teaching personnel [4,5]. 

A low-fidelity compact simulator with all necessary instruments and materials contained within a 12.5-inch toolbox was utilized by thirty general surgery residents from an academic medical center with instruction  on how to perform two different vascular anastomoses. Participants were then sent an anonymized survey evaluating its practicality and helpfulness. 

Further, as a global health equity initiative, current efforts include implementing a “make one locally, give one globally” approach, whereby training programs can assist in creating additional simulators and distributing them to partner surgical training programs in low- and middle-income countries.

Repair of complete atrioventricular septal defect (cAVSD) is achieved with low mortality. However, there is a high rate of reoperation on the left atrioventricular valve (LAVV), which is often attributed to nonclosure of the cleft. Although nonclosure of the cleft has been reported to be a risk factor for reoperation, no randomized controlled or propensity-matched trials have ever been performed. We investigated the effect of cleft closure on outcomes after cAVSD repair.

On April 20, 2020, Terumo Aortic announced that the US FDA has granted approval for the Thoraflex Hybrid frozen elephant trunk prothesis.

This is the first FET prosthesis commercially available in the US and will bring a new viable treatment option for patients with diseases of the aortic arch and descending aorta.

This 10-year follow-up of the ROBY study reports on the primary end points of all-cause death and the composite of death or revascularization among 2203 patients randomized to off-pump or on-pump CABG 2002-2007.  Death rates at 10 years were 34.2% for off-pump and 31.1% for on-pump.  The composite end point was reached at 4.6 years for off-pump and 5.0 years for on-pump.  The study identified no advantages for off-pump bypass related to these 10-year outcomes.