UAB Division of GI Surgery Associate Professor Dr. Abhishek Parmar, General Surgery Resident Dr. Steven Cochrun, and Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Professor Dr. Jan Jansen’s study on “Surgeon perspectives on the STITCH trial: A mixed methods study” was recently published in the journal of Surgical Endoscopy.

The study examines the limited adoption of the fascial closure technique for laparotomy procedures, despite the amount of research that proves the closure is effective best practice.

In examining physician behavior through a quantitative survey, over 90% of interviewed surgeons were aware of the technique; however, perceived barriers to implementation included higher BMI in patient populations, suture size, and application to particular practices.

After the initial survey, the research team conducted interviews with surgeons to explore the initial findings of the survey. In many cases, peer opinion of the practice and previous surgical training directly impacted the overall adoption rate of the STITCH trial.

Through understanding how decisions are made in the clinical setting, future literature can address these hindrances by targeting methods related to care discussions with peers and surgical mentorship.

“I am especially proud of Dr. Cochrun’s work as first author and leader in this study,” says Parmar. “He learned an entirely new methodology to conduct the research, and the outcomes and findings we found will, in turn, impact future surgical training and procedural outcomes.”

Additional authors include Ivan Herbey, Nataliya Ivankova, and Vahagn C. Nikolian.