Clinical Pearls — EdgeMed Surgery

LAUNCHING · 20 LIVE

Surgery Pearls

Short, high-yield teaching pearls for West African general surgery. Bailey & Love, Sabiston and Browse's-anchored, with the tropical surgery topics Ghanaian candidates actually get asked and pimped on.

Bailey & Love 28th ed Sabiston 21st ed Browse's 6th ed Ghana-context first-class

Ghana moat: Typhoid perforation · Amoebic liver abscess · Sickle-cell peri-op · Buruli ulcer · Tropical pyomyositis · Keloid biology — the topics UK/US banks skip. More pearls landing weekly.

🩻 CASE CASCADES · LIVE · 20 CASES

One patient. Chained decisions. Clinical decision-making across every step. Twenty flagship cases spanning HPB, GI emergencies, vascular, trauma, neurosurgical, colorectal, urology, endocrine and breast — Bailey & Love, Sabiston, WSES / ATLS / AAST OIS anchored.

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Ghana Moat · Infectious / Plastics · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Buruli ulcer at Membership level — WHO Category I / II / III classification, the antibiotic-first paradigm (rifampicin + clarithromycin), when to operate, and the reconstruction game in the Amansie belt

9-min read · Published 2026-09-17

buruli ulcer mycobacterium ulcerans mycolactone amansie east obuasi ga west

Ghana Moat · Musculoskeletal Sepsis · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Tropical pyomyositis at Membership level — the invasive-to-suppurative-to-late stage triad, imaging pathway, cloxacillin-plus-drainage rule, and the HIV / sickle-cell substrate that turns a thigh abscess into sepsis

9-min read · Published 2026-09-17

tropical pyomyositis primary muscle abscess staphylococcus aureus MRSA chiedozi stages chevalier stages

Ghana Moat · Paediatric Surgery · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Intussusception in the Ghanaian child at Membership level — the age-and-presentation triad, target-sign ultrasound diagnosis, pneumatic vs hydrostatic reduction, and why 40–60% of Ghanaian cases still go to theatre

9-min read · Published 2026-09-17

intussusception ileocolic intussusception red currant jelly stool sausage shaped mass dance sign target sign

Ghana Moat · Hepatobiliary Parasitology · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Hepatic hydatid disease at Membership level — Gharbi classification, albendazole peri-operative window, when to PAIR vs when to open, hypertonic-saline scolicidal (not formalin), and the anaphylaxis prevention drill in northern Ghana sheep-rearing communities

9-min read · Published 2026-09-17

hepatic hydatid echinococcus granulosus gharbi classification WHO IWGE classification PAIR procedure puncture aspirate inject reaspirate

Ghana Moat · Hepatobiliary Malignancy · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Obstructive jaundice at Membership level — Courvoisier's law, the imaging pathway (US → MRCP), the tropical differentials (biliary ascariasis, schistosomiasis, TB cholangitis), preoperative biliary drainage debate, and choosing between Whipple's / hepaticojejunostomy / stenting

10-min read · Published 2026-09-17

obstructive jaundice courvoisier law painless progressive jaundice pancreatic head cancer cholangiocarcinoma biliary ascariasis

Ghana Moat · Breast Oncology · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Locally advanced breast cancer at Membership level — why 60–80% of Ghanaian women present in Stage III/IV, the neoadjuvant chemotherapy → surgery → radiotherapy → hormonal sequence, and the trastuzumab access reality that examiners want you to name

10-min read · Published 2026-09-17

locally advanced breast cancer LABC stage III breast cancer T4 breast cancer fixed axillary nodes N2 N3

Ghana Moat · Plastics / Reconstructive · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Keloid at Membership level — biology (Type III → Type I collagen imbalance, TGF-β1 excess), distinguishing from hypertrophic scar, the intralesional steroid → excision + adjuvant → radiotherapy escalation ladder, and the black-African 5-16× prevalence the examiner wants named

8-min read · Published 2026-09-17

keloid hypertrophic scar type III collagen type I collagen tgf beta 1 black african keloid

Ghana Moat · Acute Abdomen · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Typhoid intestinal perforation at Membership level — resuscitation, timing of surgery, operative approach (simple closure vs resection), and mortality drivers in the Ghanaian district hospital

12-min read · Published 2026-09-17

typhoid perforation salmonella typhi enteric fever terminal ileum perforation generalised peritonitis faecal peritonitis

Ghana Moat · Hepatobiliary · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Amoebic liver abscess at Membership level — when to drain vs medical management, image-guided aspiration vs percutaneous catheter, choice of amoebicides, and the luminal agent every candidate forgets

10-min read · Published 2026-09-17

amoebic liver abscess entamoeba histolytica amoebiasis anchovy sauce pus chocolate brown pus right lobe liver abscess

Ghana Moat · Peri-operative · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Sickle-cell peri-operative preparation at Membership level — risk-stratifying the operation, HbS target, simple vs exchange transfusion, hydration + oxygenation + warmth + analgesia, and the postoperative acute chest syndrome trap

11-min read · Published 2026-09-17

sickle cell disease HbSS HbSC sickle beta thalassaemia peri-operative preparation simple transfusion

Ghana Moat · General Surgery · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Sigmoid volvulus in the West African adult — recognising the coffee-bean sign, sigmoidoscopic detorsion versus emergency resection, timing of elective sigmoidectomy, and the case for a definitive operation before the second episode

10-min read · Published 2026-09-19

sigmoid volvulus colonic volvulus large bowel obstruction coffee bean sign bent inner tube sign sigmoidoscopy detorsion

Ghana Moat · General Surgery · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Obstructed and strangulated groin hernia in the Ghanaian emergency — recognising the tender irreducible lump, resuscitation before theatre, intra-operative viability assessment, and the mesh-versus-primary decision in a contaminated field

10-min read · Published 2026-09-19

obstructed hernia strangulated hernia irreducible hernia inguinal hernia femoral hernia richter hernia

Ghana Moat · General Surgery · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Perforated peptic ulcer in the Ghanaian emergency — recognising the board-like abdomen and free gas under the diaphragm, the Boey score for operative risk stratification, Graham's omental patch versus definitive resection, and post-operative H. pylori eradication as the second half of the operation

10-min read · Published 2026-09-19

peptic ulcer perforation gastric ulcer duodenal ulcer board like abdomen free gas under diaphragm pneumoperitoneum erect chest x-ray

Ghana Moat · General Surgery · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Diabetic foot infection with wet gangrene in the Ghanaian surgical patient — the WIfI classification, urgent operative debridement versus revascularisation triage, level-of-amputation decision, total contact casting for the neuropathic ulcer, and the limb-salvage principles that reduce major amputation

10-min read · Published 2026-09-19

diabetic foot wet gangrene dry gangrene diabetic foot infection wifi classification wound ischaemia foot infection

Ghana Moat · Trauma Surgery · HIGH-YIELD MEMBERSHIP

Massive haemothorax in the Ghanaian trauma bay without immediate CT — the exam thresholds for emergency thoracotomy, the classical tube thoracostomy technique and its pitfalls, autotransfusion of shed pleural blood, and the resource-appropriate algorithm for the busy district hospital

10-min read · Published 2026-09-19

haemothorax massive haemothorax traumatic haemothorax penetrating chest trauma blunt chest trauma tension haemothorax

Ghana Moat · ENT Emergency · MEMBERSHIP

Epistaxis for the Membership candidate — the hypertensive posterior bleed at Komfo Anokye without an overnight ENT registrar, resuscitation and airway priorities, anterior versus posterior source discrimination, stepwise packing from pinch to Foley to formal posterior pack, transfusion thresholds in the anaemic tropical patient, and when to call for sphenopalatine artery ligation or angio-embolisation

8-min read · Published 2026-09-21

epistaxis anterior epistaxis posterior epistaxis nose bleed kiesselbach plexus little's area

Ghana Moat · ENT Clinic · MEMBERSHIP

Acute vertigo for the Membership candidate — the giddy patient in the general surgery clinic, HINTS examination to discriminate peripheral from central causes at the bedside, Dix-Hallpike positioning to unmask BPPV, the Epley canalith-repositioning manoeuvre step by step, when Ménière's and vestibular neuritis change the plan, and the red flags that mean CT and neurology overnight in Kumasi

8-min read · Published 2026-09-21

vertigo BPPV benign paroxysmal positional vertigo dix-hallpike test epley manoeuvre canalith repositioning

Ghana Moat · ENT Emergency · MEMBERSHIP

Peritonsillar abscess (quinsy) and the deep neck space infections for the Membership candidate — Trotter's triad and the discrimination from severe tonsillitis, needle aspiration technique in the ED at Korle Bu, when to escalate to Ludwig's angina or a retropharyngeal collection, the airway priorities that separate outpatient management from emergency intubation, and the tropical-strain considerations that change antibiotic choice

8-min read · Published 2026-09-21

peritonsillar abscess quinsy trotters triad trismus muffled voice hot potato voice

Ghana Moat · Paediatric ENT · MEMBERSHIP

The choking child for the Membership candidate — a groundnut in the toddler at a Ghanaian district hospital, the acute BLS algorithm of back blows and chest thrusts versus abdominal thrusts by age, the subacute presentation with unilateral wheeze and hyperinflation on CXR that survives weeks in the right main bronchus, when rigid bronchoscopy under general anaesthesia is the only definitive answer, and the missed-diagnosis case that returns as recurrent pneumonia

8-min read · Published 2026-09-21

paediatric airway foreign body choking child groundnut aspiration peanut aspiration back blows chest thrusts heimlich abdominal thrusts

Ghana Moat · Head and Neck Surgery · MEMBERSHIP

The solitary thyroid nodule for the Membership candidate — the middle-aged Ghanaian woman with a lump she has watched for a year, ultrasound risk stratification with the ACR-TIRADS classification, FNA cytology reporting via the Bethesda system, the six categories and their per-cent malignancy risks, hemithyroidectomy versus total thyroidectomy decisions, and the tropical goitre / iodine-deficiency epidemiology that changes the pretest probabilities in West Africa

9-min read · Published 2026-09-21

thyroid nodule solitary thyroid nodule thyroid cancer papillary thyroid carcinoma follicular thyroid carcinoma medullary thyroid carcinoma