Excision Of Soft Tissue Masses Research Articles

Parental Post‐operative Telephone Follow‐Up After Paediatric Day Case Surgery

Paediatric day case surgeries (DCSs) are associated with minimal complications therefore the post-operative follow-up visit usually serves to calm anxious parents and is replaceable with a phone call. This study examines the safety and reliability of post-operative telephone assessment by caregivers and its acceptability to them. Parents of DCS patients over a 9-month period were recruited for telephone follow-up on third post-operative day for wound assessment. The remote reports were compared with the finding during the in-person visit on fourth post-operative day to determine the reliability of parents' observation. The parents' acceptance of telephone follow-up was also studied. The parents of 112 children who had groin surgeries (84%), repair of umbilical hernias (4.5%) and excision of soft tissue masses (11.6%) were recruited. The M:F ratio was 10.2:1. The median age at surgery was 64months (IQR 43.0-96.8) and median waiting time for surgery was 11.5months (IQR 3.0-28.8). Most caregivers were mothers (83%) and had a minimum of secondary education (86.6%). The telephone and clinic assessments were matched in 98 of 101 assessed patients. Telephone follow-up would have sufficed for 104 (92.9%) patients and correctly identified those who needed clinic visits. Majority of parents found telephone follow-up acceptable in lieu of clinic visit but some preferred to be given a phone number to initiate the call if necessary. Telephone call is safe, feasible and acceptable for follow-up after paediatric DCS. A guided parents' assessment of the wound is reliable for determining those who need hospital visit.

Electrosurgical Arthrotomy and Excision of Soft Tissue Masses in the Metacarpophalangeal Joint of the Horse

Electrosurgical arthrotomy and excision of infra‐articular soft tissue masses from the metacarpophalangeal joint was performed in 12 horses. In six of the 12 horses, osteochondral fragments from the dorsoproximal aspects of the first phalanx were also removed. The electrosurgical scalpel afforded excellent intraoperative efficacy for arthrotomy and relatively bloodless excision of soft tissue masses without the need for a tourniquet. There were no complications associated with healing in 11 of the 12 horses. A retraction technique that used careful positioning of a Langenbeck periosteal elevator relative to the collateral ligaments provided access to both medial and lateral margins of intra‐articular masses. With this technique, all masses could be removed through one central arthrotomy incision.