The Operative Word from JACS

In this episode, Tom Varghese, MD, FACS, is joined by Haytham Kaafarani, MD, MPH, FACS, and Vahe Panossian, MD, from the Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. They discuss the recent article by Drs Kaafarani and Panossian, “Validation of Artificial Intelligence-Based POTTER Calculator in Emergency General Surgery Patients Undergoing Laparotomy: Prospective, Bi-Institutional Study.” This study found that POTTER accurately predicts mortality and postoperative complication, and the superior accuracy, user-friendliness, and interpretability of POTTER make it a useful bedside tool for preoperative counseling. 

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Varghese and Panossian have nothing to disclose. Dr Kaafarani receives honoraria payments from UpToDate. The POTTER calculator is available online for free, and Dr Kaafarani has not been compensated for the development or ongoing use of the calculator. 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

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In this episode, Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS, is joined by Judy Boughey, MD, FACS, from the Mayo Clinic Rochester Department of Surgery. They discuss Dr Boughey’s recent article, “American College of Surgeons Cancer Programs Annual Report from 2021 Participant User File.” This inaugural annual report from the National Cancer Database describes the 2021 adult participant user files (PUF) as a whole, as well as the PUFs for breast, colon, and pancreatic cancer in more detail. It summarizes new observations and recent trends of cancer diagnoses, patient demographics, and treatment trends.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Erdahl has nothing to disclose. Dr Boughey receives funding paid to her institution from Eli Lilly and SymBioSis; sits on the Data Safety Monitoring Committee of CairnsSurgical; and has received honoraria from PER, PeerView, OncLive, EndoMag, and UpToDate.

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

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In this episode, Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS, is joined by Peter C Minneci, MD, FACS, MHSc, from the Department of Surgery, Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware Valley. They discuss Dr Minneci’s recent article, “Cost-Effectiveness of Nonoperative Management vs Upfront Laparoscopic Appendectomy for Pediatric Uncomplicated Appendicitis Over 1 Year,” in which the authors found that cost-effectiveness of management of pediatric appendicitis is sensitive to changes in utilities achieved by nonoperative management. Further studies should investigate reasons for treatment failure and the importance of shared decision-making in choosing treatment.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Erdahl and Minneci have nothing to disclose. This research was funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI ID CER-1507-31325) and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (grant UL1TR001070).

CME for this episode will be available on January 31, 2025. To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

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In this episode, Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS, is joined by Fatemeh Shojaeian, MD, MPH, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. They discuss Dr Shojaeian’s recent article, “Refractory and Recurrent Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis Treatment: Adaptive, Randomized Clinical Trial,” in which the authors found that, for resistant or relapsing patients with idiopathic granulomatous mastitis, combining methotrexate and corticosteroids offers a promising strategy. This integration of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs with corticosteroids not only reduces the necessity for high steroid doses but also effectively alleviates associated side effects.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Erdahl and Shojaeian have nothing to disclose.

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

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In this episode, Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS, is joined by Jessica Ching, MD, from the Baylor College of Medicine. They discuss Dr Ching’s recent article, “Protective Effects of Authenticity Against Depression, Suicide, and Burnout among Surgeons,” in which the authors found that authenticity may protect against burnout, depression, and suicide, pointing to a vital intervention opportunity. This research highlights the importance of cultivating a culture that prioritizes mental health to foster a resilient, fulfilled surgical community.

Disclosure Information: Drs Erdahl and Ching have nothing to disclose.

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

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In this episode, Tom Varghese, MD, MS, MBA, FACS, is joined by Anai N Kothari MD, FACS, MS, FSSO, from the Medical College of Wisconsin. They discuss Dr Kothari’s recent article, “Association of Daily Step Count and Postoperative Complication among All of Us Research Participants,” in which the authors used preoperative wearable device data from 475 patients to investigate the link between daily step counts and postoperative complications. Patients with fewer than 7,500 daily steps had a higher risk of complications, supporting the use of wearables for surgical risk assessment and preoperative fitness measurement.
Disclosure Information: Drs Varghese and Kothari have nothing to disclose.
To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.
Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.
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In this episode, Tom Varghese, MD, MS, MBA, FACS, is joined by Lauren M Janczewski, MD, MS, from Northwestern University, and Yue-Yung Hu, MD, MPH, FACS, from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital and Northwestern Quality Improvement, Research, and Education in Surgery (NQUIRES). They discuss their recent article, “Contemporary Evaluation of Work-Life Integration and Well-being in US Surgical Residents: A National Mixed-Methods Study,” in which the authors found that parents and female residents were more likely to report work-life conflicts, which were associated with career dissatisfaction, burnout, thoughts of attrition, and suicidality. Qualitative data revealed work-life integration interventions: protecting health-maintenance time, supporting life outside of work, and allowing meaningful autonomy in scheduling.

Disclosure Information: Drs Varghese, Janczewski, and Hu have nothing to disclose.

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

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In this episode, Tom Varghese, MD, FACS is joined by Calista M Harbaugh, MD, MSc, from the University of Michigan. They discuss Dr Harbaugh’s recent study, “Association of National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer Accreditation with Outcomes after Rectal Cancer Surgery,” in which the authors found that hospitals accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer are associated with lower short- and long-term morbidity and mortality, but few programs achieve accreditation status.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Varghese and Harbaugh have nothing to disclose.

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

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In this episode, Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS is joined by Todd Rosengart, MD, FACS, from the Baylor College of Medicine. They discuss Dr Rosengart’s recent article, “Sustaining Lifelong Competency of Surgeons: Multimodality Empowerment Personal and Institutional Strategy,” which focuses on maintaining and ensuring the competency of an aging surgeon workforce. The study provides evidence-based guiding principles as part of a comprehensive “whole of career” strategy that can be adopted at a personal, institutional, and national level.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Erdahl and Rosengart have nothing to disclose.

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

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In this episode, Tom Varghese, MD, FACS is joined by Jamie Coleman, MD, FACS, from the University of Louisville. They discuss Dr Coleman’s recent article, “Home Is Not Always Where the Sleep Is: The Effect of Home Call on Sleep, Burnout, and Surgeon Well-Being”, which quantifies sleep loss and burnout associated with home call in acute care surgeons, emphasizing that there are both physical and emotional contributors to burnout. 

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Varghese and Coleman have nothing to disclose.  

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date. 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more. 

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In this episode, Tom Varghese, MD, FACS is joined by Jeremy Cannon, MD, SM, FACS, from the University of Pennsylvania. They discuss Dr Cannon’s Excelsior Surgical Society Presidential Address, emphasizing the crucial contribution of expeditionary surgical leaders in World War II and how their legacy serves as an example for military and civilian surgeons seeking to lead in austere settings today.

 

Disclosure Information: Dr Varghese has nothing to disclose. Dr Cannon received royalties from UpToDate for authoring an article on an unrelated topic. Dr Cannon's institute was supported by funding from CSL Behring.

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

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In this episode, Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS is joined by Dai Chung, MD, FACS, from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. They discuss Dr Chung’s recent study, which demonstrates that poor health outcomes among pediatric solid tumor patients are associated with minority race and residence in rural or border regions, and that the 5-year rate mortality rises with increasing area deprivation score.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Erdahl and Chung have nothing to disclose.

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

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In this episode, Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS is joined by Amy Hernandez, MD, FACS, from the Department of Surgery, Naval Medical Center San Diego. They discuss Dr Hernandez’s recent study, which uses literature review, personal interviews, and correspondence with Navy Medicine administrative leaders to describe the evolution of women providing surgical care at sea.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Erdahl and Hernandez have nothing to disclose.

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2
years after the original air date.

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental
investigations, and more.

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In this episode, Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS, is joined by Erin M Scott, MD, MPH, from the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. They discuss Dr Scott’s recent study, which outlines recommendations of the American College of Surgeons Resident and Associate Society Global Surgery Work Group for involvement of trainees in global surgery, with an aim to support equitable, sustainable collaborations that center on improving access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical care for the global community.

Disclosure Information: Drs Erdahl and Scott have nothing to disclose.

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

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In this episode, Dr Tom Varghese is joined by Jessica Cohan, MD, FACS, from the University of Utah. They discuss Dr Cohan’s recent study, which used statewide medical records linked with genealogy data to evaluate the familial contributions to diverticulitis. The results indicate that diverticulitis has a significant heritable component, which may inform surgeons as they counsel family members about diverticulitis risk and can be used to develop future risk-stratification tools.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Varghese and Cohan have nothing to disclose.

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

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In this episode, Dr Jamie Coleman is joined by Shayna Showalter, MD, from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA. They discuss Dr Showalter’s recent study evaluating precision breast intraoperative radiation therapy (PB-IORT), which uses customized CT-based treatment plans for high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy. Interim results show that PB-IORT has an acceptable breast cancer recurrence rate, minimal side effects, and excellent cosmetic outcomes.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Coleman and Showalter have nothing to disclose.

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

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In this episode, Dr Dante Yeh is joined by Casey Allen, MD, from the Institute of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They discuss Dr Allen’s recent study, which found that widespread adoption of the fecal immunochemical test for noninvasive colorectal cancer screening could lead to substantial cost savings. This carries major value implications for a large population health system.

 

Disclosure Information: Dr Allen has nothing to disclose. Dr Yeh receives author royalties from UpToDate, advisory panel/training honoraria from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and advisory panel honoraria from Baxter, Eli Lilly, and Fresenius Kabi.

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date. Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

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In this episode, Dr. Jamie Coleman is joined by Carter Lebares, MD, FACS, from the Department of Surgery, University of California San Francisco. They discuss Dr. Lebares’ recent study at 16 academic general surgery training programs, in which residents indicated a perceived lack of value congruence with leadership regarding occupational well-being. Program directors expressed variable alignment with these perceptions. Value congruence was significantly associated with individual resident global well-being.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs. Coleman and Lebares have nothing to disclose.

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

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In this episode, Dr Dante Yeh is joined by Lola Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS, FACS, from The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. They discuss Dr Fayanju’s recent study on imposter syndrome, an internalized sense of incompetence and not belonging. The study found that female physicians were more likely to experience imposter syndrome than male physicians, regardless of specialty or leadership role. While several identity-based gaps persist in leadership, imposter syndrome among racially minoritized groups may not be a significant contributor.

 

Disclosure Information: Dr Yeh receives author royalties from UpToDate, advisory panel/training honoraria from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and advisory panel honoraria from Baxter, Eli Lilly, and Fresenius Kabi.

Support: Dr Fayanju is supported by National Institutes of Health award 7K08CA241390-03.

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

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In this episode, Dr Dante Yeh is joined by Gabriel Brat, MD, FACS, MPH and Jayson Marwaha, MD, MBI, from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA. They discuss their recent study, which compared the predictive utility of preoperative surgeon intuition and surgical risk calculators and found that, while preoperative surgeon intuition alone is an independent predictor of patient outcomes, traditional risk calculators are more robust predictors of postoperative complication.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Brat and Marwaha have nothing to disclose. Dr Yeh receives author royalties from UpToDate, advisory panel/training honoraria from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and advisory panel honoraria from Baxter, Eli Lilly, and Fresenius Kabi.

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

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