Surgery/Specialties 
Editor's Note Hospital surgical readmissions are primarily explained by patient- and procedure-specific factors and less by broader specialty and hospital effects, this study finds. There was no correlation between specialty-specific readmissions for general and orthopedic, general and vascular, and vascular and orthopedic procedures. Within specialties, there were modest correlations between…
Editor's Note In a March 21 Safety Alert, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its data on breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) to reflect the World Health Organization designation of BIA-ALCL as a rare T-cell lymphoma that can develop following breast implants. At this time the data…
Editor's Note Differences in perception of hospital care exist between men and women after total hip replacement (THR), finds this study presented March 14 at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in San Diego. Using patient satisfaction data from Press Ganey, researchers found that staff…
Editor's Note A Transparency Market Research analysis predicts the global market for hip replacement implants will reach $9.1 billion by 2024, with a 3.9% compound annual growth rate, the March 17 Becker’s Spine Review reports. Fueling the growth are an expanding geriatric population, an increasing incidence of osteoarthritis, and technological…
Editor's Note In an interim final rule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has delayed expansion of the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) bundled payment program and implementation of its bundled payment programs for cardiac care from July 1 to October 1, 2017, the March 20 Modern…
Editor's Note Managing appendicitis with antibiotics on an outpatient basis shows promise as a safe, effective, lower-cost alternative to surgery, this study finds. Of 30 patients involved in the trial, 15 were randomized to antibiotics and 14 to appendectomy. A total of 14 patients in the antibiotic group were discharged from…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 18 issued a Safety Alert for Abbott Vascular’s (Santa Clara, California) Absorb GT1 Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (BVS). The alert was issued to inform healthcare providers of an increased rate of major adverse cardiac events in patients receiving the BVS, when…
Editor's Note Patients who live alone can recover effectively and safely at home after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA), finds this study presented March 14 at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in San Diego. Of 638 patients analyzed (364 THA,…
Total joint procedures are gradually moving to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) as technology, medical expertise, and cost pressures combine to make the ASC an increasingly attractive alternative to an acute care hospital. The key to success for these and other complex procedures, experts say, is a combination of careful planning,…
Editor's Note Bariatric surgery performed before hip or knee replacement can reduce in-hospital and 90-day postoperative complications, finds this study presented March 14 at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons annual meeting in San Diego. Compared with morbidly obese patients who did not have bariatric surgery before joint replacement, those…
