Cracking the code for surgical success
Surgery
Surgical backlog must not be fixed at the expense of the healthcare system
Sohni & Zeeshan
Safe surgery checklists: the Canadian experience
Each year there are patients who wake up from surgery to find an operation has been done on the wrong part of their body. These wrong-site surgeries are an example of “never events” – incidents that simply should not happen if all safety measures are taken. Nevertheless, these events take place each year in countries with …
Can sports psychology help surgeons score better outcomes?
Stepping up to the free throw line, Toronto Raptors basketball players may find Dana Sinclair’s advice on their minds: to control their self-talk and lower tension. “The pressure shifts – the skills don’t,” says the sports psychologist, who has worked with the team, along with others, from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Canadian Olympic …
Controversy over closing rural hospitals
Hymns, protests, and arrests – that’s what happened when the Fort Erie, Ont. community rallied against a planned conversion of their local hospital’s emergency room to an urgent-care centre. It didn’t work, and in 2009, it seemed their fears were realized when a teenager died after she was in a car crash and had to be …
Options limited when second shoulder surgery fails
Breast cancer patients need more access to reconstruction surgery
Hip and knee implants need improved monitoring, assessment
Hip and knee replacement surgeries are among the most cost effective medical interventions developed, with the vast majority of patients enjoying a greatly improved quality of life as a result. They are also among the most popular surgeries. You might be surprised to learn that Canada’s yearly 75,000 joint replacements, at an estimated $15 000 …
Is minimally invasive surgery less painful?
Urgent surgery: a forgotten wait time?
There is a growing body of research suggesting that patients with urgent surgical needs are waiting too long for surgery. From the time that they present to an emergency department to being booked in for surgery, they can experience many periods of prolonged waits. While wait times for elective surgery are measured in Canada, waits for urgent surgery are not.
Wait times for “non-priority” surgeries
Katie’s story Three years ago, Katie (name and some details changed to protect her identity) was in a car accident on a rural road two hours outside of an urban centre. Her ankle was crushed in the accident, and after a delay of several hours due to weather, she was air-lifted to the nearest trauma …
Failed shoulder surgery and how to get it fixed
My wife had arthroscopic surgery for a rotator cuff injury more than two years ago. Unfortunately, the surgery did not help because my wife is still experiencing severe pain intermittently. She did physiotherapy and lately she did shock wave therapy. Basically, we did everything. We want to get another opinion. Please help us on how to start.
Increasing access to surgery without considering appropriateness leaves patients in the dark
Over the last decade, most Canadian provinces have shortened wait times for many surgical procedures, including hip and knee replacement. However, while provinces have poured resources into improving access, they have paid relatively little attention to measuring outcomes of these surgeries. The result, experts believe, is that some patients may be undergoing surgery when it is not …
Which heart valve operations are covered in Canada?
The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: Does OHIP cover all of the costs associated with valve replacement surgery? The Answer: The short answer is yes, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan does cover the cost …
Pain control after major surgery: the patient as expert
The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: After hip replacement surgery, I was placed on tramadol for pain. It worked moderately well, although in retrospect, I would have probably done better with something …
Radiation treatment after breast cancer: not optional
The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: I have a friend who has just had a lumpectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy for a small invasive lobular breast cancer. She has not yet met …
Pain control: how to stay on top of it after surgery
The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: Before I undergo a knee replacement, I have to see an anesthesiologist. I know the visit is to go over details to put me under during the …
Waiting for surgery when in hospital
The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: My father has been on a “wait and see” list for 36 hours, with an IV drip. Once they know surgery isn’t going to happen, why …