Payers are refusing to pay claims for gastric bypass, joint replacement, and even cataract extraction. Why? Because documentation in the record does not support the need for surgery.

Cannabis use is ubiquitous across the nation as states continue to legalize marijuana, both for medicinal and personal uses. Surgery patients who ingest the drug are at a higher risk of complications, which is why surgery center directors and physicians should understand legal, medical, and other implications of cannabis use.

A simple protocol for managing atrial fibrillation patients on direct oral anticoagulants perioperatively was shown to produce low levels of major bleeding and thromboembolism for 30 days postoperatively.

The five Mayo Clinic Doppler echocardiographic criteria for the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis (CP) were tested in a group of surgically confirmed CP compared to a group of cardiac biopsy proven amyloid restrictive cardiomyopathy. Interventricular septal bounce and an elevated mitral annular medial e’ were found to be the most accurate criteria, especially if used together.