Scope of Real Time Fluorescence Imaging in Esophagectomy

Esophagectomy is a challenging surgery that is known to be associated with high rates of morbidity. Anastomotic leaks, pneumonia, conduit necrosis and chyle leaks are the commonly reported complications. Perfusion assessment and tissue injection based fluorescence guided surgery (FGS) are the newer clinical applications of fluorescent dyes. With the advent and integration of real time fluorescence imaging with the existing minimal access platforms, the esophageal surgeon can employ these techniques to potentially improve outcomes. During thoracic dissection, thoracic duct lymphography, fluorescence guided airway visualization, tracheal perfusion assessment and sentinel lymph node biopsy/dissection are the reported clinical applications. In the abdominal dissection, gastroepiploic arcade identification, gastric conduit perfusion assessment and proximal esophagus perfusion assessment have been described. Using the different routes of administration, the same dye can be used for different uses at separate points in a single esophagectomy surgery. The principles and evidence pertaining to these applications have been outlined

Minimal Invasive Esophagectomy—a New Dawn of EsophagealSurgery

Surgery is the mainstay of esophageal cancer. However, esophagectomy is a major surgical trauma on a patient with high morbidity and mortality. The intent of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) is to decrease the degree of surgical trauma and perioperative morbidity associated with open surgery, and provide faster recovery and shorter hospital stay with the equivalent oncological outcome. It also allows for lesser pulmonary morbidity, less blood loss, less pain, and a better quality of life. MIE is safe and effective but has a steep learning curve with high technical expertise. Recently, it is increasingly accepted and adopted all over the globe. In this article, we discuss the safety, efficacy, short-term, and oncological outcomes of thoracoscopic- and laparoscopic-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy and robotic surgery compared with open esophagectomy with a special focus on the Indian perspective

Cervical Cancer and Its Screening: Assessing the Knowledge, Awareness, and Perception among Health and Allied Students

Background. Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancers affecting women. It being preventable, a robust and effective national education cum screening program is the key to curb its increasing incidence. Objectives. This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the knowledge, awareness, and perceptions (KAP) towards CC etiology, its signs and symptoms and risk factors among Health Professions Students’ (HPSs) in King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Jeddah Campus. Methods. Data was collected using predesigned and validated study questionnaire. The respondents’ KAP were compared across gender, colleges, and levels of education. Data analysis was done using SPSS v 20.0 (IBM Corporation) at 95% CI. Results. A total of 580 HPS responded to the survey, 128 (22.1%) were males, while 452 (77.9%) were females with the mean   age ± SD 20.36 ± 1.74 years. Although 70% of the respondents had heard about CC, but only 27.9% and 18.6% knew that CC is common among women and it is transmissible, respectively. Additionally, the knowledge of relationship between viral infection and vaccination was also dismal (34.1%) and only 18.6% of the students had knowledge that CC was a transmissible disease. Interestingly, students from college of medicine had more knowledge and awareness about CC ( p &lt; 0.05 ). Conclusions. Since HPSs had considerable low knowledge about CC, we identify the dire need to implement an effective education programs, curricular activities, and awareness campaigns for HPSs as well as general population to augment the learning process effectively.</jats:p