Introduction When healthy, the human body maintains a balance with commensal microorganisms that colonise skin and mucosal surfaces, including the gut ( Fig. 6.1 ). Disease occurs when the balance changes, either due to an encounter with a microorganism that…
Introduction The interrelationship between disease and nutrition has been recognised since at least the time of Hippocrates, who is credited with the phrase ‘let food be thy medicine’. Attention to and correction of nutritional status remain fundamental to holistic medical…
Fluid and electrolyte balance Normal water and electrolyte balance Water forms about 60% of total body weight in men and 55% in women. Approximately two-thirds is intracellular and one-third is extracellular. Extracellular water is distributed between the plasma and the…
Introduction Scientific evidence and data are widely regarded as the basis for modern medicine and surgery. However, the concept of conducting experiments to decide whether new treatments are effective and safe is a relatively recent one. The first published clinical…
Introduction Surgeons work in high demand, complex healthcare systems, often with people they have never met before, in dynamic multidisciplinary teams. The patient safety movement has rapidly changed the approach and understanding of risk to patients and healthcare systems since…
Introduction Ethics is a term derived from the Greek word ethos, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as being ‘the moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity’. Ethics does not always provide the right…
Introduction The minimally invasive journey in thoracic surgery now includes robotics. This has largely been dominated by the da Vinci platform, although newer devices from Johnson & Johnson, Cambridge, Medronic, and others have emerged. The versatility and considerable improvements in…
Introduction Cardiac surgery was one of the first surgical specialties that was envisioned to be ideal for robotic surgery. While the breadth of cardiac applications has been not as broad as originally hoped, in some areas it has become a…
Ureteral reimplantation (ureteroneocystostomy) Introduction Ureteral reimplantation remains the gold standard for correction of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) refractory to nonoperative or endoscopic management. In the United States, traditional open reimplantation has progressively been supplanted by minimally invasive approaches. , Since the…
Introduction Since the advent of the da Vinci robotic platform in 2000, robot-assisted procedures have become the standard of care in many adult urologic procedures. Adoption of the robotic platform in pediatric urology has been slower in comparison but has…