February’s release brings us a diverse mix of new content to AccessSurgery, including:

Text Update to Schwartz’s Principles of Surgery

• Laparoscopic Approach to Giant Paraesophageal Hernia — update to Chapter 24 by Swee H. Teh, MD and John G. Hunter, MD

Editor’s Journal Review

• Review of Annals of Surgery article Operative strategies for diverticular peritonitis: A decision analysis between primary resection and anastomosis versus Hartmann’s procedures from Seymour I. Schwartz, MD

Animation

• Loop Ileostomy

Surgical Video

• Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG)

On the functionality front, we’ve added a 50-question limit per test to the self-assessment. This will prevent the errors that users have been experiencing with larger question sets. Right now the 50 questions are still randomized from the full pool. In the future, we will break them out into unique sets of 50, so that you can easily and systematically work through all questions on the site.

Don’t forget to sign up for the AccessSurgery e-newsletter to receive Quick Test twice a month.

We update AccessSurgery at the end of each month. The October 2006 release offers a wealth of new content:

Two new surgical animations adapted from Zollinger’s Atlas of Surgical Operations

• Breast Anatomy and Incisions
• Resection of the Tail of the Pancreas (image below)

One new surgical video

• Large Ventral Hernia Repair with Componen’s Separation

One text update to Chapter 37. Thyroid, Parathyroid and Adrenal of Schwartz’s Principles of Surgery

• “Observation or Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy for Adrenal Incidentaloma? A Surgical Decision Analysis”
  by F. G. Eladoumikdachi, Surgery Instructor, General Surgery Division, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX; F. Charles Brunicardi, DeBakey/Bard Professor and Chairman, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

Two new Editor’s Journal Reviews

• Raphael E. Pollock, MD, PhD reviews an article from the Journal of Clinical Oncology on chemotherapy and steatohepatitis following surgery for hepatic colorectal metastases.

• F. Charles Brunicardi, MD and Roger Smith review an article from the World Journal of Surgery comparing minimally-invasive approaches to parathyroidectomy for solitary parathyroid adenoma.

Last Friday we posted eight new videos on AccessSurgery, including a new vodcast (video podcast) and an animation:

• Atrial Thrombectomy and Pacemaker/Defibrillator Insertion
• Colonoscopy: Diagnostic
• Colonoscopy: Therapeutic
• Conventional (or Open) Appendectomy: Incision and Exposure [animation]
• Laparoscopic Left Donor Nephrectomy
• Laparoscopic Left Hepatic Lobectomy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma [vodcast]
• Left Paraganglioma Resection
• Right Adrenalectomy: Single Vein

VIDEO: Dr. Geller removes a left hepatic lobe
with a 12-cm solid mass.

We also posted two new Editor’s Journal Reviews from Dr. Schwartz:

• Evidence-Based Treatment of Acute Pancreatitis: A Look at Established Paradigms
• Long-term Outcomes of Laparoscopic Resection of Gastric Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

We’re hearing strong demand for more basic procedural videos. Please let us know what content you would find most helpful. Post suggestions here or email us at OnlineCustomer_Service@mcgraw-hill.com.

Later this year we’ll be adding content from Schwartz’s Principles of Surgery Self-Assessment and Board Review to AccessSurgery. The content will be integrated by topic with the questions from Surgery Review Illustrated to build a database of review questions.

We’re simultaneously looking at ways to enhance the Board Review functionality. For example, we may offer users the option to eliminate questions they’ve already taken or to refresh and take questions from the full database.

Drop us a line and let us know what features you’d most like to see.

We’ve added the first of many surgical animations to AccessSurgery. Adapted from Zollinger’s Atlas of Surgical Operations, the animation details a Laparoscopic Appendectomy: Operative Procedure.

All animations are narrated and chapterized. The current title is highlighted in red. Scroll over the additional chapter sections to view titles and click a section to jump ahead. Turn off the autoplay function to play each chapter individually.

On the Appendectomy Procedure homepage, you can choose to compare the animation to two laparoscopic appendectomy surgical videos for a more complete understanding of the operation. Or you can read related content from Skandalakis’ Surgical Anatomy, Schwartz’s Principles of Surgery, or CURRENT Surgical Diagnosis & Treatment.