Author profile

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

Dividing the pie into smaller slices: A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the general surgery workforce in British Columbia, 1992–2012

Background General surgeons play an essential role in both urban and rural settings in British Columbia. In urban settings, they perform procedures such as liver transplants and oncology and colorectal surgeries. In... Read More

Timing of return to work after hernia repair: Recommendations based on a literature review

Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most common procedures perform­ed by the general surgeon. In the United States alone, approximately 750 000 inguinal, 25 000 femoral, and 166 000 umbilical herniorrhaphies are... Read More

Emergency presentation of colorectal cancer at a regional hospital: An alarming trend?

Background Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in men and the third most common cancer in women in Canada. Every year 21500 new pa­tients are diagnosed and 8900 die from colorectal cancer, making it the... Read More

Excellent outcomes after establishing laparoscopic colon surgery in a non­academic regional hospital

Background Laparoscopic colon surgery has been shown to be a safe alternative to open colon resections for both benign and malignant disease.[1-3] Postoperative complications are reduced and length of stay in hospital... Read More