Surgery Flashcards
(124 cards)
Name a classification system used to determine ease of intubation
Mallampati classification

Name a classification system used to calculate morbidity and mortality in general surgical patients
POSSUM score

What drugs are stopped before surgery?
CHOW:
- Clopidogrel (7 days)
- Aspirin/dipyridamole can be continued
- Hypoglycaemics (day of surgery)
- OCP/HRT (4 weeks) due to DVT risk
- Warfarin (5 days) due to bleeding risk
- Check INR day before surgery
What drugs should be altered before surgery?
- SC insulin - switched to IV variable rate infusion
- Long term steroids (continued due to Addisonian crisis risk)
What drugs should be started before surgery?
- LMWH (dalteparin) 5000 units if general surgery
- 28 days post-op
- Antibiotics prophylaxis if appropriate
- TED stockings (not vascular surgery)
How is diabetes handled before surgery?
- Commence sliding scale night before
- Stop metformin morning of surgery
- First on list to allow best management of blood glucose while NBM
- 5% dextrose 125 ml/hr while NBM
How is an AAA defined?
Irreversible dilatation of the abdominal Aorta >3cm
- Infrarenal 95%
True = contains all 3 layers of artery wall
False = Only lined by surrounding connective tissue/adventitia
Name some risk factors for developing AAA
- Smoking
- Hypertension
- Hyperlipidaemia
- Family history
- Male
- Age > 65
- Connective tissue disease
What are the clinical features of AAA?
Mainly asymptomatic
- Abdominal / back / loin pain
- Distal embolisation - limb ischaemia
- Pulsatile mass in abdomen (above umbilicus)
What is the screening programme for AAA?
NAAASP = abdominal US for all men aged 65
How is AAA managed?
- AAA < 5.5cm monitored via duplex US
- 3.0-4.4cm = yearly
- 5.0-5.4 = 3 monthly
- Reduce CVS risk factors (smoking, BP/DM control, weight loss, statin, aspirin)
- Surgery if > 5.5cm, explanding >1cm/year or symptomatic
- Open repair = inlay synthetic graft
- Endovascular repair (EVAR) = stent via femoral arteries
Name some complications of AAA
- Rupture
- Retroperitoneal leak
- Embolisation
- Aortoduodenal fistula
What are the clinical features of a ruptured AAA?
- Severe/sudden epigastric/back/loin pain
- Transient hypotension
- Sudden collapse/syncope
- Vomiting
- Pulsatile abdominal mass
- Haemodynamic instability
- Sweating
- Grey-Turner’s sign
How is ruptured AAA managed?
- 2 large bore cannulae - fluids/O neg
- Keep BP < 90 mmHg (permissive hypotension)
- Activate major haemorrhage protocol
- High flow O2
- Bloods - FBC, U&E, clotting, crossmatch 6 units
- Analgesia (morphine 5-10mg)
- Contact vascular surgeon
- If stable - CT with contrast
What is an Aortic dissection?
Tear to intimal layer creates false lumen between layers of the wall
- Acute < 14 days
- Chronic > 14 days
- Anterograde towards iliacs
- Retrograde towards Aortic valve
Name a classification of thoracic Aortic dissection
DeBakey classification:
- I = originates in ascending Aorta and propagates to at least Aortic arch
- II = ascending Aorta only
- III = originates distally to left subclavian artery
- IIIa = extends to diaphragm
- IIIb = extends beyond diaphragm

Name some risk factors for Aortic dissection
- Hypertension
- Male
- Atherosclerosis
- Caucasian
- CTD
- Bicuspid Aortic valve
What are the clinical features of Aortic dissection?
- Tearing / stabbing chest pain
- Radiates to back
- Tachycardia
- Hypotension
- New Aortic regurgitation murmur
- End-organ hypoperfusion
How is Aortic dissection investigated?
- Bloods - FBC, U&E, LFTs, troponin, coagulation, crossmatch 6 units
- ABG
- ECG
- CT angiogram
- Transoesophageal Echo
How is Aortic dissection managed?
- High flow O2
- Catheterise and fluid balance
- 2 large bore cannulae and fluid resuscitation
- permissive hypotension (100mmHg)
- DeBakey I+II = surgery (removal of ascending Aorta and replacement with synthetic graft
- Debakey III = manage hypertension with beta blockers (or CCB)
- Surgery if visceral/limb ischaemia, refractor pain or uncontrolled hypertension
- Endovascular with stent graft
- Lifelong antihypertensives and surveillance
What are the complications of Aortic dissection?
- Rupture
- Aortic regurgitation
- Stroke
- MI
- Cardiac tamponade
How is carotid artery disease investigated?
- Urgent CT - ischaemic or haemorrhagic
- Bloods - FBC, U&E, clotting, lipid profile, glucose
- ECG
- CXR
- Colour duplex scan (degree of stenosis)
- CT angiography
What is the acute management of carotid artery disease?
- High flow oxygen
- Swallow screen assessment
- Ischaemic = IV alteplase (tPA) within 4.5 hours of symptom onset
- 300mg aspirin 14 days
- Haemorrhagic = clot evacuation
What is the long term management of carotid artery disease?
- CVS risk factor reduction - smoking, BP/DM control
- Anti-platelet therapy - aspirin, dipyridamole
- Statin (simvastatin 40mg daily)
- Carotid endarterectomy if symptomatic > 70% stenosis of ICA or > 50% stenosis with recent TIA
- Within 2 weeks
- Removes atheroma and damaged intima with temporary bypass shunt
















