Surgery/Specialties 
Editor's Note Recent research shows robotic-assisted cholecystectomy (RAC) results in similar bile duct injury rates as laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), but risks are higher for postoperative complications, longer hospital stays, and more frequent drain use. Published May 21 in JAMA Surgery, the large-scale cohort study analyzed outcomes from over 844,000 acute…
Editor's Note New research shows postoperative prostate cancer radiation delivered via stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT)—which includes just five high-dose sessions—appears as safe and tolerable as weeks-long conventional treatment. Medical Xpress reported on the findings May 15. Led by by UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and published in JAMA Oncology, the…
Editor's Note According to a May 2025 Canadian Medical Association Journal study, creating centralized waitlists for hip and knee replacements can cut surgical wait times without increasing costs or expanding OR capacity, CBC News May 20 reports. The study, led by David Urbach, MD, MSC, head of the surgery department…
Editor's Note Air quality in cardiac ORs may be a silent driver of surgical site infections (SSIs), with airborne contamination linked to significantly elevated infection risk and mortality—especially when ventilation is suboptimal. A newly published study covered by Medical Dialogues May 19 reveals that one-third of bacteria in cardiac procedures…
Editor's Note An actionable, evidence-based toolkit from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), released in April 2025, aims to help curb the risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and surgical site infections (SSIs), especially in high-risk orthopedic and cardiac procedures. As detailed in the AHRQ website, the “Toolkit…
Editor's Note University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of Southern California (USC) surgeons have completed the world’s first human bladder transplant, marking a new milestone in organ transplantation and paving the way to for treating debilitating bladder conditions previously considered irreversible. As detailed in a May 18 announcement…
Editor's Note In 2025 earnings reports for the first quarter (Q1), both Surgery Partners Inc and Ardent Health Partners Inc posted solid top-line growth and reaffirmed full-year guidance, but they diverged in outpatient performance, TipRanks May 12 reports. Surgery Partners, a major operator of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), reported Q1…
Remote surgery has come a long way since the first-ever case in 2001, when a surgeon in New York City operated on a patient in Strasbourg, France. No longer a product of science fiction, telesurgery’s advance promises to change—and save—countless lives, from patients in remote areas to those in warzones…
Editor's Note In a world-first procedure, surgeons used an innovative transorbital approach to access a cancerous chordoma wrapped around the cervical vertebrae and spinal cord of a 19-year-old woman, bypassing structures that would have been endangered by a more traditional surgical route. Medical Xpress reported the news May 5. As…
Editor's Note The first study to evaluate percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in Medicare beneficiaries treated at ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) found similar short-term safety outcomes as hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs). As detailed in an announcement from The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI), the research was presented on May…
