The use of argon beam coagulation to control hemorrhage: a case report and review of the technology

Thermal Damage in Orthopaedics

There are numerous potential sources of thermal damage encountered in orthopaedic surgery. An understanding of the preclinical mechanisms of thermal damage in tissues is necessary to minimize iatrogenic injuries and use these mechanisms therapeutically. Heat generation is a phenomenon that can be used to a surgeon's benefit, most commonly for hemostasis and local control of tumors. It is simultaneously one of the most dangerous by-products of orthopaedic techniques as a result of burring, drilling, cementation, and electrocautery and can severely damage tissues if used improperly. Similarly, cooling can be used to a surgeon's advantage in some orthopaedic subspecialties, but the potential for harm to tissues is also great. Understanding the potential of a given technique to rapidly alter local temperature-and the range of temperatures tolerated by a given tissue-is imperative to harness the power of heat and cold. In all subspecialties of orthopaedic surgery, thermal damage is a relevant topic that represents a direct connection between preclinical and clinical practice.

Management strategies for perioperative anaemia in the severely burn-injured Jehovah’s Witness patients who decline a blood transfusion: A systematic review with illustrative case reports

BACKGROUND

The management of severe burn-injured Jehovah's Witness patients who decline a blood transfusion poses unique challenges. The literature is scant for guiding perioperative anaemia management in these patients. We present a systematic review of this patient group, along with illustrative, consecutive case reports of our experience.

METHODS

A systematic review was performed on Embase, MEDLINE and PubMed databases on articles discussing the treatment of burn-injured Jehovah's Witness patients. Articles were excluded if discussing isolated inhalation injury, or if blood transfusions were permitted.

RESULTS

Nine articles including a total of 11 patients revealed consistent themes. A multimodal medical and surgical approach is suggested. Medical strategies are directed at reducing blood loss and optimising haematopoiesis and include rationalising blood collection, reversing coagulopathy, administering tranexamic acid and regular erythropoietin. Surgical strategies include staged aggressive debridement, tumescent adrenaline infiltration and limb tourniquets. We found that the argon beam coagulator was an effective haemostatic adjunct not previously described in literature.

DISCUSSION

Management of anaemia in severely burn-injured Jehovah's Witness patients is challenging. This systematic review presents a summary of strategies directed at minimising blood loss, and optimising haematopoiesis. Careful preoperative planning, meticulous surgical technique, and postoperative physiological support are caveats to success.

Argon beam coagulation in foot and ankle surgery

In this brief report, we introduce the principles, indications, advantages, disadvantages, and surgical techniques involved in the use of argon beam coagulation in foot and ankle surgery.

Liver transection using vascular stapler: a review

The clinical experience using a novel technique of liver resection with vascular staplers for dissection of hepatic parenchyma, was documented most recently in a prospective manner. These data have clearly demonstrated for the first time that stapler hepatectomy is a safe and fast dissection technique in major liver surgery (e.g. hepatectomy) which is feasible in a routine clinical setting.

The uses of helium and xenon in current clinical practice

The noble gases have always been an enigma. Discovered late in the history of chemistry and in seemingly small quantities in our atmosphere, they are some of the most unreactive elements known. However, despite being extremely inert, the noble gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon) have found diverse and ever expanding applications in medicine. Of all of them, the gases that have found the greatest number of uses in the field of anaesthesia and related specialties are helium and xenon. This review focuses on the history of the discovery of both gases, their unique physicochemical properties and describes their uses in clinical practice with particular emphasis on those applicable to anaesthesia.