Beyond the Expected: Evaluating Preoperative Predictors of a Difficult Cholecystectomy Aboard the USNS Comfort

Joseph Aryankalayil; Rex Atwood; Mark Johnson; Jamie Fitch; Aldo Ayvar; Eileen Natuzzi; Juan Elvin Muñoz; Rooney Jagilly; Scott Siota; Tamara J Worlton

doi:10.1097/AS9.0000000000000411

Beyond the Expected: Evaluating Preoperative Predictors of a Difficult Cholecystectomy Aboard the USNS Comfort

Ann Surg Open. 2024 Mar 29;5(2):e411. doi: 10.1097/AS9.0000000000000411. eCollection 2024 Jun.

Authors

Joseph Aryankalayil^{1

2}, Rex Atwood^{1

2}, Mark Johnson³, Jamie Fitch^{1

4}, Aldo Ayvar^{5

6}, Eileen Natuzzi⁷, Juan Elvin Muñoz^{8

9}, Rooney Jagilly¹⁰, Scott Siota¹⁰, Tamara J Worlton^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ From the Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD.
² Department of Surgery, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD.
³ Department of General Surgery, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command, Portsmouth, VA.
⁴ Department of General Surgery, Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, NC.
⁵ Department of surgery, Carrera de Medicina Humana, Universidad Cientifica del Sur, Lima, Peru.
⁶ Department of surgery, Servicio de Cirugia General, Centro Medico Naval- Cirujano Mayor Santiago Tavara, Marina de Guerra del Peru, Callao, Peru.
⁷ Center for Australian, New Zealand, and Pacific Studies, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Washington, DC.
⁸ Department of Surgery, Military Teaching Hospital- Dr. Ramón De Lara, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
⁹ Department of Surgery, Punta Cana Medical Center, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
¹⁰ General Surgery Department, National Referral Hospital, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

Abstract

Mini abstract Typical preoperative markers of a difficult laparoscopic cholecystectomy did not apply during the US Naval ShipComfort Deployment in 2019. This prospective study reveals the importance of preparedness for short-term surgical missions, the impact of health care disparities on the severity of disease, and the need for deliberate and thoughtful engagement with host-nation partners.