Author profile

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the severity of emergency bowel surgery

Background The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic on 11 March 2020.[1] This led to subsequent unprecedented lockdown restrictions and public health interventions that varied widely... Read More

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or cholecystectomy first in patients with suspected choledocholithiasis?

Background Gallstone disease develops in 10% to 15% of Caucasian adults and is the consequence of supersaturation of cholesterol in bile.[1] Risk factors include female sex, age over 40 years, obesity, and rapid... Read More

General Surgeons of British Columbia launches province-wide peer mentorship program

In May 2019, a secure, interactive, multifunctional website (www.ubcreticulum.com) was launched to create a virtual network of general surgeons, both community and academic, across British Columbia. Funded by a grant... Read More

UBC Reticulum: A novel website connecting general surgeons in BC during the COVID-19 crisis

The UBC Reticulum website was launched in May 2019 to help connect general surgeons across British Columbia. The site’s primary function was to connect surgeons based on their name, location, specialty area, and the... Read More

Improved patient care and cost savings after rapid access to endoscopy initiated at a community hospital

Background Colorectal cancer is the third most prevalent cancer in Canada, as well as the second leading cause of mortality from cancer in men and the third leading cause of mortality from cancer in women.[1]... Read More

Re: Electronic wound monitoring. The author replies.

I appreciate the opportunity to respond to the letter submitted by Dr Figurski. I believe that the lack of a control group for patient satisfaction, lack of randomization, and differences between the study and... Read More

Computer randomized scheduling for general surgery: A novel tool for resource sharing at two regional hospitals in British Columbia

The practice of general surgery has traditionally been a hospital-based specialty and requires hospital resources. In BC 65% of hospitals have an immediate need to recruit general surgeons but are unable to do so... Read More

Electronic wound monitoring after ambulatory breast cancer surgery: Improving patient care and satisfaction using a smart phone app

Background Ambulatory surgery for breast cancer has become commonplace, with most patients being discharged on the day of surgery.[1,2] Compared with in-patient surgery, outpatient surgery has proved to be more cost-... Read More

Quantifying a care gap in BC: Caring for surgical patients with a body mass index higher than 30

Background In British Columbia, the prevalence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate, mirroring trends seen throughout the world.[1,2] The World Health Organization defines an overweight body mass index (BMI)... Read More

Wait times for general surgery in BC: Moving beyond measurement

Surgical wait times have been a central focus for health policy since the 2003 First Ministers' Accord on Health Care Renewal,[1] which allocated $34 billion for health care. The 2004 Accord and Ten-Year Plan to... Read More