Key content Abdominal pain in pregnancy is common, with a differential diagnosis that can encompass obstetric, surgical and medical conditions. Presentation of common surgical problems can be atypical in pregnancy, potentially delaying diagnosis. Surgical causes of abdominal pain to consider in pregnancy include appendicitis, cholecystitis, bowel obstruction, ureteric obstruction, pancreatitis and aneurysm rupture, most commonly involving the splenic artery. The management of surgical conditions in pregnancy requires continuing evaluation and potential modification to balance the medical, surgical and obstetric challenges. Management of the pregnant woman with a surgical cause of abdominal pain requires collaborative, multispecialty practice to optimise care of the mother and baby. Learning objectives To highlight the differential diagnoses of abdominal pain in pregnancy. To develop a structured assessment process for pregnant women with abdominal pain. To update the obstetrician on the priorities of surgical management for abdominal pain in pregnancy. Ethical issues Evaluating the risks of surgical interventions on the mother and baby with the high potential for premature delivery.

IntroductionFunctional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive optical neuroimaging technique used to assess surgeons' brain function. The aim of this narrative review is to outline the effect of expertise, stress, surgical technology, and neurostimulation on surgeons' neural activation patterns, and highlight key progress areas required in surgical neuroergonomics to modulate training and performance.MethodsA literature search of PubMed and Embase was conducted to identify neuroimaging studies using fNIRS and neurostimulation in surgeons performing simulated tasks.ResultsNovice surgeons exhibit greater haemodynamic responses across the pre-frontal cortex than experts during simple surgical tasks, whilst expert surgical performance is characterized by relative prefrontal attenuation and upregulation of activation foci across other regions such as the supplementary motor area. The association between PFC activation and mental workload follows an inverted-U shaped curve, activation increasing then attenuating past a critical inflection point at which demands outstrip cognitive capacity Neuroimages are sensitive to the impact of laparoscopic and robotic tools on cognitive workload, helping inform the development of training programs which target neural learning curves. FNIRS differs in comparison to current tools to assess proficiency by depicting a cognitive state during surgery, enabling the development of cognitive benchmarks of expertise. Finally, neurostimulation using transcranial direct-current-stimulation may accelerate skill acquisition and enhance technical performance.ConclusionFNIRS can inform the development of surgical training programs which modulate stress responses, cognitive learning curves, and motor skill performance. Improved data processing with machine learning offers the possibility of live feedback regarding surgeons' cognitive states during operative procedures.

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In the United Kingdom since the late 1990s there has been both a shortage of and falling level in recruitment of breast radiologists/radiographers. Specimen radiography is a widely used intra-operative adjunct to aid margin assessment in patients undergoing wide local excision for early stage breast cancer.Aim: This study looks to determine accuracy and congruence of radiological intra-operative margin assessment by surgeon and consultant radiographer against the gold standard of histological assessment.Method: Prospective assessment of specimen margins for all wide local excisions performed between June 2015 and June 2017 by a single breast surgeon in the UK. Specimen radiographs were independently assessed by a consultant radiographer and surgeon for adequacy of margins and compared to histological assessment.Result: Both surgeon and consultant radiographer had an equal sensitivity of 33%, and specificity of 63% versus 73%. Negative predictive values were 89.2 (surgeon) vs 90.5 (radiographer). There was fair agreement between surgeon and radiographer (kappa= 0.252). Discussion:The accuracy of margin assessment by the radiologist in this study is similar to current literature. There is agreement between surgeon and radiographer and a high negative predictive value observed for both in x-ray interpretation suggesting equivalence of assessment and high confidence in evaluating negative margins. With the current UK trend of increasing radiology specific breast disease workload and recruitment deficit, a surgeon margin assessment only of the specimen x-ray may more optimally utilise radiology time without compromising re-operation rates.