Objective To explore the causes of conversion to thoracotomy in patients with minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) in a surgical team, and to obtain a deeper understanding of the timing of conversion in MIE. Methods The clinical data of patients who underwent MIE between September 9, 2011 and February 12, 2022 by a single surgical team in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. The main influencing factors and perioperative mortality of patients who converted to thoracotomy in this group were analyzed. Results In the cohort of 791 consecutive patients with MIE, there were 520 males and 271 females, including 29 patients of multiple esophageal cancer, 156 patients of upper thoracic cancer, 524 patients of middle thoracic cancer, and 82 patients of lower thoracic cancer. And 46 patients were converted to thoracotomy for different causes. The main causes for thoracotomy were advanced stage tumor (26 patients), anesthesia-related factors (5 patients), extensive thoracic adhesions (6 patients), and accidental injury of important structures (8 patients). There was a statistical difference in the distribution of tumor locations between patients who converted to thoracotomy and the MIE patients (P<0.05). The proportion of multiple and upper thoracic cancer in patients who converted to thoracotomy was higher than that in the MIE patients, while the proportion of lower thoracic cancer was lower than that in the MIE patients. The perioperative mortality of the thoracotomy patients was not significantly different from that of the MIE patients (P=1.000). Conclusion In MIE, advanced-stage tumor, anesthesia-related factors, extensive thoracic adhesions, and accidental injury of important structures are the main causes of conversion to thoracotomy. The rate varies at different tumor locations. Intraoperative conversion to thoracotomy does not affect the perioperative mortality of MIE.
Objective To explore strategies to reduce the same-day cancellation rate of gynecological day surgery. Methods The same-day cancellation status of gynecological surgery in the Department of Day Surgery, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University from January to December 2021 (before improvement) was investigated. The causes of cancellation were analyzed from three aspects: patient-related factors, medical factors, and examination factors. Subsequently, management countermeasures were formulated for the controllable factors and continuous quality improvement was implemented. After improvement, the same-day cancellation rate of gynecological day surgery from September 2022 to January 2023 was collected and compared with that before improvement. Results Continuous quality improvement was implemented targeting three factors in day surgery, namely the short interval between patient’s visit time and pre-scheduled time, the irrational sequence of preoperative examinations for patients, and the non-standardized treatment of patients with abnormal vaginal discharge by physicians. The same-day cancellation rates of gynecological day surgery before and after the continuous quality improvement were 3.70% (156/4211) and 2.13% (30/1411), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=8.231, P=0.004). ConclusionOptimizing the preoperative examination and admission process, effective preoperative education and physician-patient communication, establishing unified standards for the approval of vaginal discharge tests and standardized treatment protocols, and clarifying the responsibilities of the preoperative comprehensive assessment outpatient clinic along with the supervision system are effective measures to reduce the same-day cancellation rate of gynecological day surgery.