School of Surgery

"What suture would you like to close with, Doctor?" asked the scrub nurse. "Errrr....Dunno, what do they normally use?" replied the surgical trainee who hadn't taken a few minutes to watch this week's podcast from Lee Creedon, all about sutures.
In this podcast, mapped to ISCP and basic surgical skills course objectives, Lee takes you though different kinds of sutures, needles, nomenclature and the indications for using each particular type of suture. So, when the scrub nurse asks you which suture you want you will be able to make the correct choice with confidence.
Essential viewing for all medical students interested in surgery and all trainees at the start of a surgical career.
Lee Creedon is a Clinical Research Fellow in General Surgery at the University of Leicester.

Eponymously named operations give you little clue as to what they are or what they're for. One of the most commonly performed eponymous procedures is Hartmann's procedure.
Jon Lund takes you though the background, indications, preparation and performance of this operation in a video podcast, latest in the "operation explained" series.
Essential viewing for medical students on a surgical attachment and core trainees (junior residents).
Jon Lund is Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Nottingham and Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at the Royal Derby Hospital, UK

What's a population? Easy question? Or not? What's a representative sample? What's a random sample from the population and how do you decide if the set of data you have is the same or different from your population. How many samples do you need to take to be representative of the whole population?
Rob Radcliffe explains these concepts and much more, passing through central limit theorem - the very core of medical statistics - to explain all of these easy sounding but difficult concepts in a clear and easy to understand video podcast.
Biased and unbiased estimators, sampling distribution of the mean, the difference between standard deviation and standard error and the key principles underlying the statistical tests we all use all the time are explained. See this podcast and you will understand what you are doing when you are looking at the results of a paper, be able to answer questions in exams with more confidence and be on the way to designing your own study and the analysis of the data.
Essential viewing for medical students, core trainees (junior residents) and higher trainees (senior residents) as exams approach, and also fro anyone starting or in the middle of a research project. There are lots of books on statistics out there, but none as clear as these vodcasts.
Next time: statistical testing

There are many ways to skin cat and many ways to image the colon. Barium enema is quickly becoming a thing of the past and being replaced by CT colonography, also called virtual colonoscopy. In this video podcast Jon Lund talks to Dr Rajeev Singh about this increasingly common imaging technique, its advantages and disadvantages, its sensitivity and specificity for detecting lesions in the colon and its future. The discussion is illustrated with images taken from CT colonography investigations. This podcast will be useful to medical students and trainees in surgery or radiology, as well as long in the tooth surgeons wanting an update on newer techniques.
Dr Rajeev Singh is a consultant radiologist at the Royal Derby Hospital, UK, with a special interest in gastrointestinal imaging. Jn Lund is Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Nottingham, UK.

Are you a viking who can't straighten your fingers, find it difficult to get your hand in your pocket and keep poking yourself in the eye when you're washing your face? If so, you might have Dupuytren's contracture. Benjamin Baker talks to Jill Arrowsmith about this common problem, discussing aetiology, diagnosis and treatment options in the latest in our plastic surgery podcasts.
Dupuytren's contracture is common, and if you can diagnose it and discuss its management in undergraduate and postgraduate examinations, either as the main problem, or an incidental finding when you are examining the hands as part of your global assessment, you will be well on the way to a pass.
Benjamin Baker is an academic foundation doctor and Jill Arrowsmith is a Consultant in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the world famous Pulvertaft Hand Centre, in Derby, Uk

Statistics is a bit of a mystery to most of us. Help is here from former maths teacher and current surgical trainee, Rob Radcliffe. In the third in this series explaining medical statistics, Rob explains hypothesis testing. This is fundamental to just about all we do when cam paring data in trials. The null hypothesis is explained and when it is safe to reject it (how to tell if 2 distributions are the same or different and by how much). This podcast also makes it clear where the "magic" p<0.05 comes from and what it actually means.
Understand the content of this podcast and you will be 95% (p<0.05) of the way there to understanding medical statistics!

Susan Clayton shows you how to do a laparoscopic renal pyeloplasty for pelviureteric junction (PUJ) obstruction.
In this step by step video you will be taken though the stages of this key operation in urology. Essential viewing for any core trainee or resident, or anyone interested in or already pursuing a career in surgery or urology.
Susan Clayton is a trainee in the East Midlands School of Surgery. The procedure was performed by Mr Simon Williams, Consultant Urologic Surgeon, Royal Derby Hospital, UK

This audio podcast covers all you need to know about the aetiology, presentation, anatomy, and treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Ben Baker is an Academic Foundation Year 2 Doctor and Jill Arrowsmith is a Consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon in the renowned Pulvertaft Hand Centre, Royal Derby Hospital, UK

How do wounds heal? What stitch would you use to close a wound and why? When would you not close a wound? What do you do when a wound looks infected? Seem like easy questions but would you be able to answer them??
In the first of a series of podcasts on plastic surgery, Benjamin Baker talks to Jill Arrowsmith about aspects of wound healing. Types of wounds healing are discussed. Primary closure, delayed primary closure healing by secondary intention are explained as well as granulation tissue, types of suture and what suture to use and why. How wounds heal is explained as well as hypertrophic scars and keloid formation. How to recognise and manage wound infection is also covered in this podcast. Mapped to medical finals and ISCP curriculum this podcast is essential listening for medical students and trainees in surgery.
Benjamin Baker is an Academic Foundation Doctor at the University of Nottingham, Royal Derby Hospital. Jill Arrowsmith is a Consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon at the renowned Pulvertaft Hand Centre, Royal Derby Hospital, UK

Happy Holidays from all at School of Surgery