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Biomedical subjects

R F Brabham

Publications and source records attributed to R F Brabham.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Medicinal leeches: once again at the forefront of medicine.

Medical grade leeches have recently been used in the management of acute problems relative to venous congestion in patients with traumatic injuries and surgical problems. Specific cases, especially in the realm of reconstructive microsurgery, have demonstrated the effectiveness and application of leech therapy. Specific contraindications include arterial insufficiency from either anatomic or mechanical obstruction. We present five illustrative cases of successful therapeutic intervention.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1988

The incredible T vein graft: developing increased microsurgical skill through a competitive student exercise.

We developed an exercise to encourage microsurgery students to practice technically difficult procedures. The incredible T exercise uses the contralateral femoral vein of the rat as an interpositional graft into the femoral vein and the inferior epigastric vein as an end-to-side anastomosis into the graft. The technically difficult procedure requires students to practice and improve their surgical technique, thereby gaining skill and self-confidence. Friendly competition helps to make the learning process more enjoyable.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗
PubMed1983

The role of prophylactic antibiotics in appendectomy using delayed primary closure.

A prospective randomized trial of prophylactic antibiotics in 202 patients undergoing appendectomy is reported upon. The antibiotics used were metronidazole and cephradine. Half of the patients received antibiotics preoperatively. The other half received antibiotics at operation only upon finding perforation, gangrene or pus formation. All wounds were treated by delayed primary closure. No instance of wound infection, defined as abscess formation or cellulitis, occurred in either group. Antibiotics given prophylactically in every instance appear to have no advantage in preventing wound infection when delayed primary closure is used.

Adolescent↗