Behind The Knife: The Surgery Podcast

Join Drs. Ashlie Nadler, Jordan Nantais and Graham Skelhorne-Gross as they tackle Cancer Emergencies.   Case 1 - Learning Points: These are complex patients and multidisciplinary care should be provided with input from oncology.  A step-up approach should be used, starting with medical management prior to considering surgery in appropriate patients. Highly selected patients may benefit from surgery, namely those with a high performance status, a prognosis of months if the bowel obstruction was resolved, minimal carcinomatosis, and a single transition point. Diversion, bypass, or resection are all options, but a patient’s capacity to heal related to recent systemic therapy needs to be taken into account.  Consent for surgery should focus on goals of care, quality of life, and achievable outcomes, and highlight the inherent risk in patients with advanced disease and a limited lifespan.  Case 2 - Learning Points: Colorectal malignancy is an exceedingly common cause of general surgical emergency and require