Objective: To review tuboplasty techniques for alleviating fallopian tube blockage. Design: A step-by-step explanation of the techniques that comprise tuboplasty-fimbrioplasty, salpingo-ovariolysis, and salpingostomy-with surgical video footage. Setting: Academic medical center. Patient: A 28-year-old G0 female patient with primary infertility and bilateral fallopian tube occlusion wanting to avoid in vitro fertilization. Intervention(s): Tuboplasty and its component techniques of fimbrioplasty, salpingo-ovariolysis, and salpingostomy are demonstrated in a stepwise fashion for a case of mild tubal disease. Fimbrioplasty includes identifying the agglutinated or phimosed fimbrial end and gently opening it with fine forceps and blunt microdissection. Salpingo-ovariolysis is demonstrated with video and comprises: 1) surveying the anatomy; 2) applying traction to delineate the adhesions; and 3) transecting the adhesions with microsurgical scissors or electrosurgery. Finally, the steps of a salpingostomy are demonstrated, including: 1) identifying the length of the fallopian tube; 2) performing chromotubation to delineate tubal obstruction; 3) creating a salpingostomy at the terminal end; and 4) suturing open the salpingostomy site circumferentially to evert the edges. Main Outcome Measure(s): Successful restoration of normal tubal anatomy and identification of the location of tubal occlusion to guide salpingostomy site placement. Result(s): The fallopian tubes were assessed bilaterally and noted to have mild tubal disease and therefore were appropriate for tuboplasty. Normal tubal anatomy was restored bilaterally through salpingo-ovariolysis. Subsequent identification of the area of tubal occlusion bilaterally and salpingostomy were performed to create a patent fallopian tube able to pick up an oocyte from the ovary and facilitate fertilization. Conclusion(s):Tubal reconstructive surgery remains an important option to offer patients who want to avoid in vitro fertilization and who have mild tubal disease. (Fertil Steril Ò 2020;113:1330-2. Ó2020 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.) El resumen está disponible en Español al final del artículo.

Background:The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing challenges with respect to access to elective surgery across Canada, and a single-entry model (SEM) approach has been proposed as an equitable and efficient method to help manage the backlog. With Ontario's recent investment in centralized surgical wait-list management, we sought to understand the views of health system leaders on the role of SEMs in managing the elective surgery backlog.Methods: We used the qualitative method of interpretive description to explore participant perspectives and identify practical strategies for policy-makers, administrators and clinical leaders. We conducted semistructured interviews with health system leaders from across Ontario on Zoom between March and June 2021. We used snowball and purposive sampling. Inclusion criteria included Ontario health care leaders, fluent in English or French, in positions relevant to managing the elective surgery backlog. Exclusion criteria were individuals who work outside Ontario, or do not hold relevant roles.Results: Our interviews with 10 health system leaders -including hospital chief executive officers, surgeons, administrators and policy experts -resulted in 5 emergent domains: perceptions of the backlog, operationalizing and financing SEMs, barriers, facilitators, and equity and patient factors. All participants emphasized the need for clinical leaders to champion SEMs and the utility of SEMs in managing wait-lists for high-volume, low-acuity, low-complexity and low-variation surgeries.Interpretation: Although SEMs are no panacea, the participants in our study stated that they believe SEMs can improve quality and reduce variability in wait times when SEMs are designed to address local needs and are implemented with buy-in from champions. Health care leaders should consider SEMs for improving surgical backlog management in their local jurisdictions.

Background: The contributions of arts and humanities to medical education are known in the medical education community, but medical schools’ offerings vary. The Companion Curriculum (CC) is a student-curated set of optional humanities content for medical students at the University of Toronto. This study evaluates integration of the CC to identify key enabling conditions for medical humanities engagement. Methods: A mixed-methods evaluation gauged usage and perceptions of integration of the CC among medical students using an online survey and focus groups. Narrative data underwent thematic analysis, supported by summary statistics of quantitative data. Results: Half of survey respondents were aware of the CC (n = 67/130; 52%), and, once prompted with a description, 14% had discussed it in their tutorial groups. Of students using the CC, 80% reported learning something new regarding their roles as communicators and health advocates. Themes were the perceived value of the humanities, internal student barriers, institutional neglect of the humanities, and student critiques and recommendations. Conclusion: Despite participants’ interest in medical humanities, our CC remains underused. To improve humanities’ visibility in the MD curriculum, our results indicate that greater institutional support, including faculty development and early curricular integration, is required. Further study should explore reasons for gaps between interest and participation.

Rectus diastasis plication performed during abdominoplasty aims to narrow the widened linea alba and return the rectus muscle bellies to their anatomic position. It is unclear whether plication improves abdominal strength and function.This systematic review summarizes the effect of rectus plication on abdominal strength, function, and postoperative complications.A comprehensive search of CINAHL, Embase, Medline and Web of Science was performed. Screening and data extraction were performed in duplicate. Data were extracted from the included articles, and outcomes were analyzed categorically.A total of 497 patients from seven articles were included. Mean age was 44.5 years (range 20.5-72) and 94.4% were female. Three articles reported abdominal strength measurements, with two showing significant improvement. Four articles used the SF-36 survey, all demonstrating improvement in physical function subscale postoperatively. An additional six instruments were used to assess functional outcomes, of which four demonstrated significant improvement. The overall complication rate was 17.0%.Rectus plication is commonly performed during abdominoplasty to improve abdominal form and function. While the literature to date is encouraging with respect to functional outcomes, improvements in abdominal strength are less consistent. Heterogeneity in patient population, outcome measures, and comparison groups limit the strength of our conclusions. Future research should include a large comparative study as well as a protocol for standardizing outcomes in this population.

No abstract

No abstract