1)We visited the Duke–NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore to learn the administration and management of, and the theory behind, team–based learning (TBL), a candidate educational method to replace the problem–based learning tutorial.
2)TBL motivates students to prepare for and engage in discussion. The grading of performance in TBL, certain characteristics of assignments, and the use of peer evaluation all promote individual and group accountability for learning.
3)To obtain the maximum overall benefit from TBL and to exploit group dynamics for effective learning, well–designed assignments are the key.

Fatal intestinal necrosis developed following off-pump CABG and implantation of a bifurcated vascular prosthesis in a 70-year-old man with unstable angina pectoris and abdominal aortic aneurysm. A CT scan with three-dimensional reconstruction (3D-CT), showed no narrowing or obstruction of the SMA. The patient was scheduled to undergo an extensive resection of the intestine on the 23rd postoperative day. The pathological diagnosis was nonocclusive mesenteric ischemia (NOMI). He died of multiple organ failure on the 38th postoperative day. Early diagnosis of NOMI is essential to lower mortality and postoperative morbidity. Invasive angiography is the gold standard in diagnosis. 3D-CT, a non-invasive method, is an increasingly useful technique, which may allow identification of vascular anatomy and pathology with sufficient detail for diagnosis. Several other causes of acute abdomen, other than mesenteric ischemia, can be ruled out. Therefore, 3D-CT might be useful in screening for NOMI.

A 56-year-old man was admitted with fever of unknown origin and congestive heart failure. Blood cultures grew Streptococcus gordonii. An echocardiographic examination showed vegetation attached to the bicuspid aortic valve and severe aortic regurgitation. Despite the aggressive therapy, an emergency operation had to be performed because it was otherwise impossible to control heart failure. Vegetation was attached to the aortic valve leaflets. There was no noticeable lesion on the aortic annulus, but a myocardial abscess was noted in the left atrial wall. Aortic valve replacement was performed after the myocardial abscess was drained. It was assumed that the myocardial abscess was due to the septic state from Infective endocarditis because it was recognized at a distant zone from the active valvular infection.

Purpose: We report a case in which oral sodium valproate through a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube for palliative decompression drainage in inoperable ileus achieved an effective drug concentration and ameliorated delirium and extrapyramidal side effects. Case Report: The patient was a male in his seventies who suffered from bladder cancer. He underwent PEG because of paralytic ileus with cancerous peritonitis. He had been receiving continuous intravenous infusion of haloperidol for the management of delirium, but needed to discontinue treatment with this agent due to tremor, an extrapyramidal side effect of haloperidol. Oral sodium valproate was therefore administered through the PEG tube for palliative decompression drainage. Plasma valproate concentrations showed effective levels, and his irritability was relieved. A good combination of sodium valproate and quetiapine fumarate allowed successful reduction of and eventual withdrawal from haloperidol, and tremor then improved. Conclusion: We often encounter difficulty with symptom control for patients who cannot use oral medications. When medication by other routes is difficult, this case suggests that sodium valproate through a PEG tube for palliative decompression drainage may be useful as a last resort for improving delirium.

This study was designed to assess the role of macrophages in saphenous vein graft disease after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Three newly harvested saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) and 6 SVGs removed from patients 8 to 15 years after CABG (3 were occluded soon after the operation and 3 became diseased after a long period) were immunostained for macrophages and investigated microscopically. No macrophages were detected in the newly harvested SVGs. In the grafts with early occlusion, macrophages were detected only in the superficial layer of the intima. In the grafts that became diseased after a long period, macrophage accumulation was detected at the site of atherosclerotic lesions. In the pathogenesis of arterial atherosclerotic lesions, vascular endothelial cell damage and subsequent subendothelial migration of monocytes/macrophages in the early phase are thought to be very important. This study revealed that macrophage migration into the intima of SVGs occurs soon after surgery and suggested it could be the basis of saphenous vein graft disease occurring long after CABG.

Herein, we describe a novel posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) technique with annulus fibrosus (AF) release and the use of expandable cages (called “anterior-release PLIF” [ARPLIF]). In this technique, posterior column osteotomy (PCO) and AF release provide excellent intervertebral mobility. AF release involves circumferentially peeling off the AF above or below the endplate between the fixed vertebrae under radiographic guidance without cutting the AF and anterior longitudinal ligament. Subsequently, high-angle variable-angle expandable cages are used to simultaneously expand both sides before inserting the percutaneous pedicle screws and correcting to achieve good local lumbar lordosis. PCO and AF release achieve excellent intervertebral mobility. Intervertebral mobility and simultaneous expansion of both cages disperse the force on the endplates, reducing cage subsidence, and the high-angle cages facilitate high intervertebral angle creation. The novel ARPLIF intervertebral manipulation technique can promote good local lumbar lordosis formation.

Purpose: Incisional hernia (IH) is a frequent complication following laparoscopic colorectal surgery. The present study investigated the risk factors for IH after laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 202 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the clinicopathological factors associated with IH. Results: The overall incidence of IH was 25.7% (52 of 202). The univariate analysis showed that female sex (P=0.004), a high body mass index (P<0.001), noncurrent smoking habit (P=0.043), low level of hemoglobin (P=0.035), high subcutaneous fat area (P<0.001), high visceral fat area (P=0.006), low skeletal muscle area (P=0.001), long distance between the inner edges of the rectus abdominis muscle (P=0.001), long protrusion of the peritoneum at the umbilical site (P<0.001), and lymph node metastasis (P=0.007) were significantly more frequent in the group with IH than in the group without it. The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed an older age (10-year increments: odds ratio [OR], 1.576; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.027–2.419; P=0.037), lymph node metastasis (OR, 2.384; 95% CI, 1.132–5.018; P=0.022) and lengthy protrusion of the peritoneum at the umbilical site (10-mm increments: OR, 5.555; 95% CI, 3.058–10.091; P<0.001) were independent risk factors for IH. Conclusion Our findings suggest that older age, lymph node metastasis, and lengthy protrusion of the peritoneum at the umbilical site are risk factors for IH after laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer. An assessment using these factors before the operation and the implementation of countermeasures might help prevent IH.

Herein, we describe a novel posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) technique with annulus fibrosus (AF) release and the use of expandable cages (called “anterior-release PLIF” [ARPLIF]). In this technique, posterior column osteotomy (PCO) and AF release provide excellent intervertebral mobility. AF release involves circumferentially peeling off the AF above or below the endplate between the fixed vertebrae under radiographic guidance without cutting the AF and anterior longitudinal ligament. Subsequently, high-angle variable-angle expandable cages are used to simultaneously expand both sides before inserting the percutaneous pedicle screws and correcting to achieve good local lumbar lordosis. PCO and AF release achieve excellent intervertebral mobility. Intervertebral mobility and simultaneous expansion of both cages disperse the force on the endplates, reducing cage subsidence, and the high-angle cages facilitate high intervertebral angle creation. The novel ARPLIF intervertebral manipulation technique can promote good local lumbar lordosis formation.

Herein, we describe a novel posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) technique with annulus fibrosus (AF) release and the use of expandable cages (called “anterior-release PLIF” [ARPLIF]). In this technique, posterior column osteotomy (PCO) and AF release provide excellent intervertebral mobility. AF release involves circumferentially peeling off the AF above or below the endplate between the fixed vertebrae under radiographic guidance without cutting the AF and anterior longitudinal ligament. Subsequently, high-angle variable-angle expandable cages are used to simultaneously expand both sides before inserting the percutaneous pedicle screws and correcting to achieve good local lumbar lordosis. PCO and AF release achieve excellent intervertebral mobility. Intervertebral mobility and simultaneous expansion of both cages disperse the force on the endplates, reducing cage subsidence, and the high-angle cages facilitate high intervertebral angle creation. The novel ARPLIF intervertebral manipulation technique can promote good local lumbar lordosis formation.

Herein, we describe a novel posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) technique with annulus fibrosus (AF) release and the use of expandable cages (called “anterior-release PLIF” [ARPLIF]). In this technique, posterior column osteotomy (PCO) and AF release provide excellent intervertebral mobility. AF release involves circumferentially peeling off the AF above or below the endplate between the fixed vertebrae under radiographic guidance without cutting the AF and anterior longitudinal ligament. Subsequently, high-angle variable-angle expandable cages are used to simultaneously expand both sides before inserting the percutaneous pedicle screws and correcting to achieve good local lumbar lordosis. PCO and AF release achieve excellent intervertebral mobility. Intervertebral mobility and simultaneous expansion of both cages disperse the force on the endplates, reducing cage subsidence, and the high-angle cages facilitate high intervertebral angle creation. The novel ARPLIF intervertebral manipulation technique can promote good local lumbar lordosis formation.