Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is commonly performed, and several factors increase the

Readmissions and complications following cholecystectomy are common and associated with patient and disease characteristics.

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BackgroundThere is increasing pressure on emergency services within the NHS requiring efficient, rapid assessment and management of patients. A subsequent reduction in hospital admissions reduces overall costs with an aim to improve quality of care. At the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital we run a one stop emergency surgical clinic. With strict criteria for admission to this clinic we have established a care pathway for those patients requiring urgent surgical review but not necessarily hospital admission.Materials and methodsWe reviewed our initial referral pathway to the emergency surgical assessment clinic. New guidelines were distributed to the local Care Coordination Centre (CCC) through which GP referrals to the clinic were made. A re-audit carried out 6 weeks later assessed change in clinical practice.ResultsWith the introduction of guidelines for referral we significantly increased the percentage of appropriate referrals to the one stop emergency surgical clinic (42.9%–79.4%, p = 0.000017). The majority (75.8%) of appropriate referrals can be successfully managed on an urgent outpatient basis. Appropriate referrals unsuitable for discharge from clinic had genuine reasons for admission such as abnormal results on assessment, or a need for surgery. 97.8% of referrals not deemed appropriate for the clinic were admitted for inpatient management.ConclusionBy providing suitable guidance for referring practitioners we have optimised our clinic use significantly and improved our acute ambulatory surgical care. We have reduced admissions, provided rapid treatment and have established a service that helps address the ever increasing demand on acute services within the NHS.

IntroductionLeak following bariatric surgery continues to be associated with morbidity and rarely mortality. With improvement in surgical techniques and stapler design, leak rates have reduced drastically. Intra-operative high pressure Methylene blue leak test (HPMB) is one of the techniques employed to confirm integrity of anastomoses and staple lines. Despite this, evidence for its use remains limited. We evaluated the role of HPMB in detecting and preventing leaks.MethodsA retrospective cohort of consecutive patients who underwent primary or revisional Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy (SG) or Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric bypass (RYGB) under the care of five surgeons in three centres across Birmingham, UK, between 2012 and 2016 were assessed. All patients had routine HPMB at the end of the procedure. Demographics, HPMB positivity, and post operative leaks were recorded.Results924 patients underwent bariatric surgery: 696(75.3%) RYGB, and 225(24.3%) SG. 85(9.2%) were revisional procedures.Two HPMB were positive, which necessitated staple or suture line reinforcement with sutures intra-operatively. The patients had an uneventful recovery. 5 patients had postoperative leaks, all of whom had negative intraoperative HPMB: 3 SG patients; and 2 RYGB patients (gastro-jejunostomy anastomotic leaks). There was no statistically significant relationship between positive HPMB and anastomotic leak (Fishers exact test; p = 1).ConclusionDespite routine use of methylene blue dye test in 924 patients, there were only two positive tests. Whilst HPMB may demonstrate technical failure, this study suggests that there is no role for its routine use in primary bariatric surgery. Discontinuation of this practice would reduce risk of anaphylaxis to the dye, cost, and intra-operative time.

Bariatric surgery has been shown to improve a patient's QoL. More research is needed to explain the reasons why there was a difference between Sleeve and Bypass procedures in emotional changes to patients.

The list of the CholeS management group, Collaborators and Data Validators were omitted from the Acknowledgments.

Introduction: Surgical patient complaints can be used to identify deficiencies within healthcare provision. The Francis report highlighted that at Mid-Staffordshire multiple complaints had demonstrated the problems at the trust. The number of complaints in the NHS is still rising yearly. Review of patient complaints by clinicians could highlight areas of clinical care requiring improvement.