411. Nontechnical Skills in Surgery

    In this episode, we will cover the basics of labour and delivery, low-risk and high-risk pregnancies and the basics you need to know if faced with an emergency delivery like on an airplane! After listening to this podcast, students will be able to: ● Describe how to perform initial assessment of a labour patient, distinguish false from true labour, evaluate labour progress, and apply appropriate fetal and maternal monitoring techniques. ● Describe and manage the stages of normal labour and delivery. ● Manage obstetric interventions and emergencies. ● Integrate family-centered care principles into obstetric practice.

In this episode, we'll walk through the structure of prenatal visits, the timeline of investigations, trimester-specific considerations, and the rationale behind medications and routine testing. By the end of this podcast, learners will be able to: ● Describe the timeline and structure of prenatal care visits. ● List the key investigations done at each stage of pregnancy. ● Outline the routine prenatal screening and imaging. ● Explain which medications and interventions are commonly recommended in pregnancy.

     After listening to this podcast, learners will be able to:  1. Describe the anatomy and blood supply of the distal colon and rectum.  2. List what is resected and what is reconnected during a low anterior resection.  3. Describe the major differences between a low anterior resection and an abdominoperineal resection, and the indications for each.  4. Outline risk factors for anastomotic leak after a low anterior resection. 

     After listening to this podcast, learners will be able to:  1. Describe the anatomy and blood supply of the proximal colon.  2. Outline the principles of resection for colon cancer.  3. List what is resected and what is reconnected during a right hemicolectomy.  4. Describe what is required for a successful anastomosis in colorectal surgery. 

     After listening to this podcast, learners will be able to:  1. Describe different types of stomas, including ileostomy, colostomy, urostomy, and mucus fistula.  2. Explain the indications for a permanent versus temporary ostomy.  3. Evaluate the type of stoma a patient has based on clinical history, location, appearance, and output. 

Today, we're going to discuss the topic of laryngeal cancer, a difficult head and neck cancer which has significantly improved prognosis if caught early.  Laryngeal cancer is a type of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, or HNSCC for short. It typically arises from the epithelial lining of the larynx.  After listening to this podcast, learners will be able to understand what laryngeal cancer is, risk factors of laryngeal cancer, common presentations of laryngeal cancer, basics of its diagnosis and treatment, and finally mimics of laryngeal cancer.  

   After listening to this podcast, you should be able to:  Describe the basic anatomy of lymph nodes in the neck  List 4 different types of neck dissections, and what they entail Be able to identify common complications of neck dissection Outline the initial management of the common complications of neck dissection 

The close of the 20th century saw endoscopy and laparoscopy evolve from passive optical tools into dynamic platforms that integrated real-time guidance, autonomous movement, and computational interpretation for navigation, diagnosis, and therapy.

By the mid-20th century, endoscopy's long-standing challenge of safely illuminating internal structures was transformed by postwar advances—especially Harold Hopkins's 1950s rod-lens system, which enabled brighter, distortion-free, miniaturized imaging that could reliably guide clinical decisions.

By the mid-20th century, endoscopy and laparoscopy were ready for major advancement. Although instruments had evolved into semi-flexible designs, visualization was still limited by glass optics and heat-producing light sources. A breakthrough toward fully flexible, high-resolution imaging emerged through the combined demands of surgery and advances in optical physics, driven by the pioneering work of Harold Hopkins and Basil Hirschowitz.