Surgical Sciences
Recent Deposits
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Anatomy of microvenous valves of normal and venous ulcerated lower limbs
Venous disease is a very common disease that affects millions of people worldwide. While some of the factors that cause the development of varicose veins are well understood, the aetiology of venous ulceration is poorly ... -
The Epigenetics of Coronary Artery Disease: A Study of DNA Methylation
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a complex condition, the development of which involves interaction between both genetic and environmental factors. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, may contribute significantly ... -
Prospective validation of the APPEND clinical prediction rule within a pathway dedicated to right iliac fossa pain
Background Right iliac fossa (RIF) pain is one of the most common reasons for acute presentation to general surgical services, and acute appendicitis is one of the most common underlying diagnoses. The clinical diagnosis ... -
Management of Osteoarthritis: A guide to non-surgical intervention
The MOA trial (Management of Osteoarthritis, or Maimoatanga Mate Köiwi) was a randomised clinical trial that aimed to investigate the long-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of both a multi-modal, individualised, ... -
Stress Conditioning for Peripheral Arterial Disease
Exercise is important for maintaining health, and for the prevention and treatment of many cardiovascular diseases. Unfortunately, some individuals face significant barriers to exercise. Patients with peripheral arterial ... -
Access to elective and acute orthopaedic surgery in Dunedin: an analysis of surgical delay
Background: Delay in surgical intervention may lead to significant personal, medical and economical consequences. For individuals undergoing treatment in the public health system, there is inevitably a delay in access to ... -
The Role of Gabapentin in Postoperative Pain Following Tonsillectomy
Background Despite the many different surgical techniques and medical therapies, tonsillectomy continues to cause significant discomfort to patients. The literature has shown that gabapentin has been beneficial in painful ... -
Time to Safe Driving after Total Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery
Introduction: Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis in the western world. With its increasing prevalence, total joint replacement is in high demand. After total hip replacement (THR) and total knee replacement ... -
The microRNA profile of aortic stenosis
Background Valvular heart disease (VHD), especially aortic stenosis (AS), is an important cause of morbidity and mortality, but no medical therapies currently exist for most forms of VHD. The only treatment available for ... -
Biomarkers for abdominal aortic aneurysm
i Abstract Background Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) represents a significant health burden, affecting approximately 4% of men over the age of 65 years in western countries. To date, no clinically useful circulating ... -
Rib Fractures in Infants: Retrospective Survey of Fractures and Biomechanical Study.
Literature suggests that rib fractures are highly associated with abuse and the present understanding is that antero-posterior compression associated with the ‘shaken baby syndrome’ is their cause. However, this mechanism ... -
Circulating MicroRNAs in Bariatric Surgery
Obese patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery experience metabolic changes resulting in appetite loss and the apparent disappearance of type II diabetes within days to weeks, even before weight loss occurs. The ... -
Ballistic Skeletal Injuries: An Experimental Study of the Orthopaedic, Biomechanic and Forensic Characteristics
We have just survived the most violent century in history. Ballistic skeletal injuries continue to kill or injure hundreds of thousands of people globally every year and yet our knowledge of these injuries remains ... -
The Parapharyngeal Compartment and its Fascial Relations
Introduction An accurate understanding of the arrangement of cervical fascia and its associated compartments is essential for differential diagnosis, predicting the spread of disease and surgical management. As surgical ... -
Pathway based-approach for analysis of the New Zealand genome-wide association study in abdominal aortic aneurysm
Background: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a life-threatening disease with a strong genetic component that predominantly affects elderly males. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a number ... -
A novel set of condition-specific quality of life questionnaires in elective general surgical patient prioritization and outcome assessment
Health-related quality of life (QOL) has become an indispensible measure of health. It is an important patient-reported outcome (PRO) endpoint for elective surgery, and is one of the key factors in determining patient ... -
Defining appropriateness of emergency department attendance: a New Zealand perspective
Aim: To explore NZ emergency medical and nursing staff understandings of Emergency Department (ED) 'appropriateness‘ in relation to patient presentations. Background: This study was developed in order to contribute to the ... -
Prediction and Prevention of Complications in General Surgery
This thesis examines two concepts that impact on surgical complications – prediction and prevention. The starting point was a randomised controlled trial (RCT) which compared the frequency and the cost of infection for two ... -
Matrix metalloproteinases as predictive markers of coronary in-stent restenosis
Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs) are involved in remodelling the extracellular matrix of the vascular system. Altered MMP expression has been ... -
Anatomical and physiological characterization of a novel porcine model for varicose veins
Varicose veins constitute a significant financial and social burden. Despite being well documented since Hippocrates, there is still a lack of understanding concerning both the underlying pathogenesis and the rationale of ...