First Incision

Spoiler alert - We Passed! In this week's episode we reflect on the exam and the whole process of preparation for and actually sitting the exam. We are joined by Ben Finlay (circa the trauma podcasts) to share his experience as well!   We discuss: - exam preparation - study group - tutorials and other resources - the written exam - the viva exam - practicalities from travelling for the exam a...

This week's episode covers retroperitoneal sarcoma. Another difficult sarcoma topic most trainees wouldn't see during their training. This episode covers the presentation, subtypes, workup and management of these tumours. It also features a discussion with Dr Julie Howle, a medical oncologist from Westmead Hospital who has been so helpful discussing many difficult surgical oncology topic...

This week's episode covers everything we need to know about soft tissue sarcomas. There are so many sarcomas it can feel a bit overwhelming, so this episode breaks it down into what we need to know as general surgeons, and for the exam. It features some of my discussions on this topic with the incredible Dr Julie Howle - a surgical oncologist from Westmead Hospital in Sydney. In particular we...

This week's episode finishes our series on limb anatomy! This is an area of anatomy which is not as frequently encountered by general surgeons so is a great topic to revise before the exam. These episodes covered the anatomy and also the clinically and surgically relevant anatomy for each area. Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the purposes of the Ge...

This week's episode continues our series on limb anatomy. This is an area of anatomy which is not as frequently encountered by general surgeons so is a great topic to revise before the exam. These episodes aim to cover the anatomy and also the clinically and surgically relevant anatomy for each area. Also happy birthday to me! :) Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a rev...

This week's episode completes the upper limb component of our series on limb anatomy. Limb anatomy is not as frequently encountered by general surgeons so is a great topic to revise before the exam. These episodes aim to cover the anatomy and also the clinically and surgically relevant anatomy for each area. Good Luck to everyone sitting their clinical VIVA exams this week!  Disclaimer The in...

This week's episode is the second in our series on limb anatomy. This week we cover the anatomy of the forearm and cubital fossa. This is an area of anatomy which is not as frequently encountered by general surgeons so is a great topic to revise before the exam. These episodes aim to cover the anatomy and also the clinically and surgically relevant anatomy for each area. Disclaimer The inform...

This week's episode kicks off a series on limb anatomy. This is an area of anatomy which is not as frequently encountered by general surgeons so is a great topic to revise before the exam. These episodes aim to cover the anatomy and also the clinically and surgically relevant anatomy for each area. Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the purposes of th...

This episode covers the topic of aneurysmal disease from the vascular module of the general surgical curriculum. We cover: - definition - classification - pathogenesis - risk factors - natural history focussing on abdominal aortic aneurysms - management Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the purposes of the General Surgery Fellowship Exam. This information...

This episode covers what we need to know about the diabetic foot - a favourite topic for the general surgical exam. - background - pathophysiology - workup and important factors to consider - classification systems  - management - some information about charcot neuroarthropathy Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the purposes of the General Surgery Fellowsh...

This week's episode covers the topic of venous disease. This includes varicose veins and venous hypertension (chronic venous insufficiency). - the epidemiology - anatomy of lower limb veins - pathophysiology of chronic venous htn and the consequences of this disease (haemosiderin deposition, lipodermatosclerosis and venous eczema) - classification systems - risk factors - presentation - worku...

This episode covers everything we need to know about acute limb ischaemia. - definition - aetiology - risk factors - severity assessment - pathophysiology - presentation - workup - management Including how to perform embolectomy and fasciotomy  Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the purposes of the General Surgery Fellowship Exam. This information is not t...

This week's episode starts us off with the vascular module of the general surgical curriculum. We cover chronic limb ischaemia, also known as chronic arterial disease. - definition - presentation - pathophysiology - risk factors - the rutherford classification - workup - severity classifications - management  Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the pur...

This week's episode covers the sweat-gland related pathologies covered in the skin and soft tissue module: Starting with anatomy of the sweat glands and the autonomic nervous system. Hyperhydrosis including - presentation - primary and secondary causes - management Hydraadenitis Suppurativa - presentation - pathophysiology - diagnosis - classification - management Disclaimer The information i...

This week's episode covers everything you need to know about basal cell carcinoma including - presentation - risk factors - histological subtypes - poor prognostic factors - management including topical treatments, surgery, radiotherapy and targeted treatments Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the purposes of the General Surgery Fellowship Exam. This...

This week's episode covers everything you need to know about cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. - presentation - risk factors - premalignant lesions - histopathology - workup and when to stage - grading - TNM staging - poor prognostic markers - management including topical treatments, surgery, radiotherapy, systemic treatments and nodal treatment Disclaimer The information in this podcast is...

This week's episode covers the topic of Merkel Cell Carcinoma - a favourite question in the exam.  We have added the discussion we had with Dr Julie Howle onto the end of this episode. Dr Howle a surgical oncologist from Westmead Hospital who has an interest in these rare cancers. We cover: - background - risk factors - pathogenesis - presentation - diagnosis - staging - histopathology - and...

This week's episode welcomes our guest Dr Julie Howle who is a surgical oncologist from Westmead Hospital in Sydney. We cover a wide range of topics related to management of melanoma including: - precursor lesions - whether ulceration relates to the clinical or histopathological diagnosis of ulceration - when to perform systemic staging for melanoma - management of in-transit and satellite le...

This week's episode continues on from last week to discuss the management of Melanoma This episode covers: - wide local excision and the surgical margin - lymph node biopsy and when to perform it, as well as a summary of the MSLT 1 and MSLT2 trials - the role of lymphadenectomy - the role of radiotherapy in melanoma - systemic therapy including the targeted therapies (BRAF and MEK inhibitors)...

This week's episode introduces us to the topic of melanoma We cover: - Risk factors - Precursor lesions - Histopathology and important histopathological features related to poor prognosis - Melanoma types and their appearance including superficial spreading, nodular, lentigo maligna melanoma, acral lentiginous, and desmoplastic - Workup including excisional biopsy and when to stage patients -...

This week's episode introduces us to the topic of 'skin'. I know it seems weird that I would do an episode just on this but bear with me! The topics covered include: - the function of the skin as an organ - histopathology of the layers of the skin - Fitzpatrick skin types - history and examination of a skin lesions - principles and pathophysiology of flaps and grafts - topical treat...

This week's episode covers the useful topics of topical haemostatic agents and anticoagulants. We discuss principles of haemostasis, the coagulation cascade, how topical haemostatic agents work, the different classes and when to use them. We also cover anticoagulants, the different types, how they work, when to stop them before surgery and how to reverse them if you need to quickly! Great hig...

This week's episode is co-hosted by Ben Finlay. We cover a wide range of topics including: Burns - initial resuscitation including the parkland formula - assessment of depth and extent of burns (rule of nines - burns management - frostbite Blast injuries - pathophysiology - management Extremity compartment syndrome and how to perform fasciotomy The blast injury talk Ben mentioned was from the...

This week's trauma episode is presented with our guest host Ben Finlay. We cover hollow viscus injuries including: - gastric - duodenal - small bowel - colonic, and - rectal injuries We also cover pelvic trauma including: - pelvic fractures and the Young and Burgess classification - pelvic bleeding management including how to perform preperitoneal pelvic packing - bladder injuries, and - uret...

This week's episode welcomes back Ben Finlay to help present abdominal trauma. We go through: - trauma laparotomy - liver trauma - splenic trauma - pancreatic trauma - renal trauma - and retroperitoneal haematomas and what to do with them! Special mentions include how to do right and left medial visceral rotations, and some operative decision making that will be super high yield for the exam....