Biomedical subjects

J M Griffiths

Publications and source records attributed to J M Griffiths.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

Passive tube and suction drainage after elective cholecystectomy--a comparison using ultrasonography.

Daily ultrasonography of the gallbladder bed was performed in patients with suction or passive tube drains after elective cholecystectomy. A total of 19 patients was randomized to suction drainage and 17 to passive tube drainage. A policy of early drain removal was followed. No significant difference was found between the volume drained and the size of collection detected in either group. Significant bile leaks were detected and were adequately drained by suction and passive tube drains. There were no complications from drains. In view of these findings, we advocate short-term drainage of the gallbladder bed after both open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy using the drain of the surgeon's choice.

Abdomen↗

PubMed1991

Rectus sheath and mesosalpinx block for laparoscopic sterilization.

Thirty patients scheduled to undergo laparoscopic sterilisation were allocated at random to receive either a standardised general anaesthetic and rectus sheath block (group A), or standardised general anaesthetic combined with both rectus sheath and mesosalpinx blocks (group B). Group B patients had significantly less postoperative pain, as assessed by linear analogue scores (p less than 0.025), and analgesic requirement (p less than 0.05). By the 8th postoperative hour all 15 group B patients had been discharged from hospital, whilst only seven of 15 patients in group A were considered suitable for discharge at this time, (p less than 0.05).

Abdominal Muscles↗

PubMed1990

Pretibial lacerations: a comparison of primary excision and grafting with "defatting" the flap.

Pretibial lacerations are often followed by slow healing. When a flap is raised, simple suture is doomed to failure and both a conservative approach and one involving skin grafting have been advocated. In this study, 25 patients with pretibial flap lacerations were randomly allocated to treatment either by primary excision and grafting or by "defatting" the flap and laying it on the defect. Healing times were compared in the two groups. Our results showed that healing time was significantly faster in the grafted group (mean 13.2 days) than in the defatted group (mean 40.7 days), Student's t test = 3.29 (p less than 0.01).

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed1990

An audit of the usage of operating theatre time in a peripheral teaching surgical unit.

A recent report by the National Audit Office found that only 50% to 60% of weekday operating time was being used. This report was examined by the Committee of Public Accounts and much of the blame for underutilization of operating theatres was attributed to poor working practices among surgeons. We investigated theatre utilization in our hospital and found underutilization on the same scale as the National Audit Office. Twenty-five per cent of theatre sessions were not allocated for use, 23% of general surgical lists were cancelled and, of the lists which did take place, a further 23% of theatre time was not utilized. The single largest cause of underutilization was understaffing. To increase theatre utilization higher levels of staffing and expenditure are needed rather than changes in the working practices of surgeons.

Hospitals, Teaching↗

PubMed1988