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When is a director or officer personally liable in tort to a party who is not the corporation he or she serves? In Canada, there is no clear answer. The law is marked by division both within and between appellate courts, resulting in judgments that are hard to reconcile and verge on arbitrary. This is likely attributable to the mistaken belief that there is a tension between personal liability and corporate personality, as well as the disputed relationship between common law and statutory obligations. To address these challenges, most Canadian courts have followed a threshold corporate law analysis, which seeks to categorize the allegations as either corporate or personal. When applied, this approach often results in directors and officers having immunity with respect to torts they committed in pursuit of the corporation's interests. Such immunity, however, has no basis in law. Canada's business corporations statutes do not limit the liability of directors and officers, and implicitly contemplate their exposure to tort claims. Accordingly, I propose that directors and officers ought to be personally liable when they are implicated in facts that give rise to a cause of action in tort, regardless of whether their actions may be considered authorized by, or in the interests of, the corporation. This approach is conceptually simpler and more respectful of legislative intent, while posing no serious policy concerns. This is because ordinary tort law principles are sufficiently robust to bar improper personal claims, such as those that do not implicate the director or officer, those that are inconsistent with the expectations of the parties, or those that conflict with statutory obligations or remedies.

BackgroundThere is a significant, unmet need for endoscopy services in rural Uganda. With limited diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, patients in these communities often present with advanced disease. Practicing surgeons must continually adapt to new techniques to meet the needs of their patient populations. Here, we present a remotely proctored endoscopy training program for a surgeon practicing in an area devoid of endoscopic capabilities.MethodsThis was a retrospective case series conducted between February 2020 and December 2022 at Kyabirwa Surgical Center (KSC). After a 1-week in-person training camp, one surgeon performed endoscopy under guidance of a remote proctor. Patient data and outcomes were collected retrospectively.ResultsThe previously endoscopic naïve practicing Ugandan surgeon was remotely proctored for 139 endoscopic cases and he subsequently independently performed 167 diagnostic colonoscopies and 425 upper endoscopies. Therapeutic endoscopy was conducted under remote guidance after proficiency in diagnostic endoscopy. A total of 43 therapeutic procedures were performed, including 29 esophageal stent placements, 5 variceal bandings, and 9 foreign body retrievals. All procedures were completed without complication.ConclusionOur center developed a remotely proctored endoscopy program that allowed for training of practicing surgeons in an area lacking endoscopic services. Despite its limitations, remotely proctored endoscopy serves as a unique but highly valuable method of expanding access to endoscopy, particularly in areas that lack adequate training opportunities.

IntroductionImproving surgical access in low- and middle-income countries is vital for the 5 billion people who lack safe surgical care. Tailoring a culturally sensitive approach to consent is essential for patient comprehension and comfort, thereby alleviating the effects of resource constraints and advancing equitable care. This study examines the consenting process for endoscopy at Kyabirwa Surgical Center in Kyabirwa, Jinja, Uganda, to assess patients’ knowledge and attitudes as a potential barrier to participating in endoscopic procedures.MethodsAll adult upper endoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy patients were recruited to participate in a survey of their demographics, knowledge, and attitudes toward their procedure. All patients received a standard consultation explaining the procedure and its risks and benefits.Results75 patients were included; median age was 54 years and 56% (n = 42) were women. 92% (n = 69) of patients had never had an endoscopy before and 73% (n = 55) of patients were scheduled for an EGD while the remaining 27% (n = 20) were scheduled for a colonoscopy. Most patients 80% (n = 60) had a basic understanding of what an endoscopy is and 87% (n = 65) its diagnostic purpose. Few patients 15% (n = 11) knew of the most common side effects or if they would have a surgical scar 27% (n = 20). Overall, 46.7% (n = 35) of patients were moderately or severely fearful of getting an endoscopy. Additionally, 45.3% (n = 34) of patients were moderately or severely fearful of receiving anesthesia during their endoscopic procedure. Despite this fear, most patients 85.3% (n = 64) stated that they understood the benefits of the procedure either very well or extremely well.ConclusionsMost patients understood the role that an endoscopic procedure plays in their care and its potential benefits. Despite this, many patients continued to have high levels of fear associated with both the endoscopic procedure and with receiving anesthesia during their procedure. Future patient education should focus on addressing patients’ fears and the risks of undergoing an endoscopy, which may improve the utilization of surgical services.

Popularized by ChatGPT, large language models (LLMs) are poised to transform the scalability of clinical natural language processing (NLP) downstream tasks such as medical question answering (MQA) and automated data extraction from clinical narrative reports. However, the use of LLMs in the health care setting is limited by cost, computing power, and patient privacy concerns. Specifically, as interest in LLM-based clinical applications grows, regulatory safeguards must be established to avoid exposure of patient data through the public domain. The use of open-source LLMs deployed behind institutional firewalls may ensure the protection of private patient data. In this study, we evaluated the extraction performance of a locally deployed LLM for automated MQA from surgical pathology reports. We compared the performance of human reviewers and a locally deployed LLM tasked with extracting key histologic and staging information from surgical pathology reports. A total of 84 thyroid cancer surgical pathology reports were assessed by two independent reviewers and the open-source FastChat-T5 3B-parameter LLM using institutional computing resources. Longer text reports were split into 1200-character-long segments, followed by conversion to embeddings. Three segments with the highest similarity scores were integrated to create the final context for the LLM. The context was then made part of the question it was directed to answer. Twelve medical questions for staging and thyroid cancer recurrence risk data extraction were formulated and answered for each report. The time to respond and concordance of answers were evaluated. The concordance rate for each pairwise comparison (human-LLM and human-human) was calculated as the total number of concordant answers divided by the total number of answers for each of the 12 questions. The average concordance rate and associated error of all questions were tabulated for each pairwise comparison and evaluated with two-sided t tests. Out of a total of 1008 questions answered, reviewers 1 and 2 had an average (SD) concordance rate of responses of 99% (1%; 999/1008 responses). The LLM was concordant with reviewers 1 and 2 at an overall average (SD) rate of 89% (7%; 896/1008 responses) and 89% (7.2%; 903/1008 responses). The overall time to review and answer questions for all reports was 170.7, 115, and 19.56 minutes for Reviewers 1, 2, and the LLM, respectively. The locally deployed LLM can be used for MQA with considerable time-saving and acceptable accuracy in responses. Prompt engineering and fine-tuning may further augment automated data extraction from clinical narratives for the provision of real-time, essential clinical insights.

Purpose We describe the anatomic characteristics on preoperative CT angiography (CTA) that predispose to type-2 endoleaks after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for an abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). Methods Between 1999 and 2010, 326 patients had a CTA before and after EVAR. CTAs were reviewed for maximal sac diameter, >50 % circumferential luminal thrombus, and patency of the infrarenal aortic side branches, including the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) and L2-L5 lumbar arteries. Postoperative CTAs were reviewed for a persistent type-2 endoleak. Results Of 326 patients, 30.4 % had a type-2 endoleak on CTA. Univariate analysis demonstrated a patent IMA, increased patent individual L2, L3, and L4 lumbar arteries, and an increased number of total patent lumbar arteries in patients with type-2 endoleak compared to those without ( p  < 0.001, 0.002, <0.001, <0.001, and <0.001 respectively). Sac diameter, patent L5 lumbar arteries, and >50 % circumferential mural thrombus were not significantly different ( p  = 0.652, 0.617, and 0.16). Univariate logistic regression demonstrated increased risk of endoleak with each additional patent lumbar artery (odds ratio (OR) 1.26, p  < 0.001). Multivariate analysis of the 326 patients resulted in the delineation of the optimal anatomic variables that predicted a type-2 endoleak: occluded L3 lumbar arteries (OR 0.1, p  = 0.002), occluded L4 lumbar vertebral arteries (OR 0.31, p  = 0.034), and IMA occlusion (OR 0.38, p  = 0.008). Conclusions Univariate analysis demonstrated total patent lumbar arteries as a significant predictor of type-2 endoleak. Multivariate analysis demonstrated IMA occlusion, L3 lumbar artery occlusion, and L4 lumbar artery occlusion as independently protective against type-2 endoleak after EVAR.

Background Mesenteric metastases from small-bowel neuroendocrine tumors (SBNETs) present a surgical challenge due to encasement of mesenteric vessels. In this study, we evaluate the feasibility and safety of a new, hybrid surgical approach to these mesenteric masses, EndoVascular Occlusion and Tumor Excision (EVOTE). Methods From 2014 to 2018, 13 patients underwent the EVOTE procedure after being referred to our institution for primary SBNETs with “unresectable” mesenteric metastases. During stage 1 of the hybrid EVOTE procedure, angiographic evaluation of the mesenteric mass is performed. If adequate collateralization is demonstrated, the encased mesenteric vessel(s) is embolized. Mass excision is performed the following day during stage 2 of the EVOTE procedure. Results Preoperative embolization was successful in 86% of cases; 2 cases were aborted for persistent abdominal pain following occlusion testing. Complete surgical excision of the mesenteric mass was achieved in 86% of cases. The 30-day overall morbidity and mortality rate was 29% and 0%, respectively. There was one local recurrence at 31.8 months post-op; this patient underwent a repeat EVOTE procedure with successful complete excision. Discussion EVOTE represents a new technique that aids in preoperative planning and surgical resection of SBNETs with mesenteric metastases.

PurposeSurgical care in low-resource countries is limited by a lack of accessible, advanced surgical expertise. Training opportunities have historically been constrained by the availability of expert surgeons, lack of multidisciplinary teams and the high cost of in-person training. Recent developments in mixed-reality technology provide an exciting opportunity to expand the scope of surgical practice in low-resource settings. This paper reports on a pilot program using mixed-reality headsets to provide expert intraoperative guidance to a surgeon in rural Uganda.MethodsA high-speed fiber-optic cable line was run to a rural surgical center in Kyabirwa, Uganda. Surgeons at an academic tertiary care hospital in the United States and a surgeon in Uganda were trained to use a HoloLens™ mixed-reality headset. The Ugandan surgeon identified patients from his clinic who would benefit from subspeciality expertise. Cases were discussed at a virtual preoperative multidisciplinary conference and HoloLens™ headsets were used to provide remote intraoperative guidance.ResultsBetween September 2019 and October 2022, mixed-reality headsets were used to provide a Ugandan surgeon with expert intraoperative consultation in six cases, including four complex skin excisions and two exploratory laparotomies. The technology was successfully applied to each case and there were no postoperative complications. Suggested areas of improvement included increasing the precision of the annotation function, developing an adjustable headset to optimize surgeon ergonomics, and improving the camera’s ability to adjust to the overhead operating room lights.ConclusionsAdvances in digital technology can augment surgical care in low-resource settings. These developments can be cost-sparing and effective tools to exchange surgical knowledge and expand patient care.

PurposeSurgery is the only curative therapy for carcinoid patients; however, many are unresectable due to direct involvement of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) branches. In these patients, we sought to improve surgical outcomes via arterial skeletonization of the SMA prior to surgical resection.Materials and methodsAfter left radial access, the SMA was catheterized, angiography was performed, and balloon occlusion was achieved in the tumor vessel. Following balloon occlusion of the affected artery, patients were assessed for symptoms of ischemia and angiographic evidence of distal perfusion via collaterals. If patients tolerated occlusion, an endovascular plug was deployed in the affected artery; if not, the procedure was terminated. The next day, all patients underwent exploratory laparotomy and surgical resection of tumor and bowel.ResultsThe procedure was performed 15 times on 14 patients. 13 out of 15 procedures went to embolization, while the other 2 proceeded to surgery without plug deployment. One of the embolized patients had serious post-surgical complications, while both non-embolized patients developed complications including short bowel syndrome and ischemic colitis. Length of stay between embolized and non-embolized patients was equal, but re-admittance within 30 days was 7.7% in the embolized group and 100% in the non-embolized group.DiscussionOur initial experience demonstrates feasibility and safety of deploying plugs within branches of the SMA prior to surgical resection and improved surgical outcomes. Palpation of the plug assisted in surgical resection. We have demonstrated that pre-operative endovascular occlusion is a safe, practical procedure, which aids surgical resection of mesenteric carcinoid disease.

New York City was one of the epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic. The management of peripheral artery disease (PAD) during this time has been a major challenge for health care systems and medical personnel. This document is based on the experiences of experts from various medical fields involved in the treatment of patients with PAD practicing in hospitals across New York City during the outbreak. The recommendations are based on certain aspects including the COVID-19 infection status as well as the clinical PAD presentation of the patient. Our case-based algorithm aims at guiding the treatment of patients with PAD during the pandemic in a safe and efficient way.

Background Tuberculosis medication nonadherence is a multi-dimensional public health problem with serious consequences worldwide. There is little information available for medication nonadherence in South Sudan. This study assessed the proportion, reasons, and associated factors for nonadherence among patients with TB in Wau Municipality, South Sudan. Methods A health facility based cross-sectional study was conducted among 234 tuberculosis (TB) patients receiving first line anti-TB regimen in Wau Municipality. Urine isoniazid metabolite testing (IsoScreen ® ) was used to determine nonadherence (visualized by negative test results) and a questionnaire was used to describe the reasons for nonadherence. Modified poisson regression with robust standard errors was performed since the proportion of nonadherence was < 10%, to identify nonadherence associated factors using the WHO Multidimensional adherence model. Results Out of 234 participants, 24.8% (95% CI, 19.2 − 30.3) were nonadherent to the TB treatment regimen. At multivariate analysis, nonadherence was significantly associated with: relief of symptoms (APR 1.93, 95% CI 1.12 − 3.34, p  = 0.018), alcohol use (APR 2.12, 95% CI 1.33 − 3.96, p  = 0.019) and waiting time to receive drugs (APR 1.77, 95% CI 1.11 − 2.83, p  = 0.017). Conclusion Tuberculosis medication nonadherence was high, and it’s associated with patients’ relived of symptoms, alcohol use, and prolonged waiting time at health facility. Hence, addressing these barriers and the use of multifaceted interventions e.g. counseling, health education and improve appointments are crucial to reduce nonadherence among patients with TB in South Sudan.