BACKGROUND A best practice goal to reduce surgical site infection includes administration of antibiotics in the ideal preoperative window. This article evaluates an office surgical suite antibiotic administration rate and compares it with the timing of a local hospital treating a similar patient population. The hypothesis was that similar or better compliance and surgical site infection rates c...

INTRODUCTION Operating costs are a significant part of delivering surgical care. Having a system to analyze these costs is imperative for decision making and efficiency. We present an analysis of surgical supply, labor and administrative costs, and remuneration of procedures as a means for a practice to analyze their cost effectiveness; this affects the quality of care based on the ability to p...

Surgical site infections are one of the most important causes of healthcare associated infections (HCAI), accounting for 20% of all HCAIs. Surgical site infections affect 1% of joint replacement operations. This study was designed to assess whether theatre clothing is contaminated more inside or outside the theatre suite. Petri dishes filled with horse blood agar were pressed on theatre clothes...

UNLABELLED We previously studied hospitals in the United States of America that are losing money despite limiting the hours that operating room (OR) staff are available to care for patients undergoing elective surgery. These hospitals routinely keep utilization relatively high to maximize revenue. We tested, using discrete-event computer simulation, whether increasing patient volume while being...

Hybrid myocardial revascularization combines coronary surgery with percutaneous intervention as an alternative therapy for ischemic heart disease. The order and sequence of the hybrid approach is not yet clearly defined. We report on the benefits of an enhanced surgical suite equipped with a carbon fiber operating table and digital C-arm for robotic-assisted hybrid revascularization in a single...

Improving the quality and efficiency of surgical techniques, reducing technical errors in the operating suite, and ultimately improving patient safety and outcomes through education are common goals in all surgical specialties. Current surgical simulation programs represent an effort to enhance and optimize the training experience, to overcome the training limitations of a mandated 80-hour work...