PROFESSOR WILLIAM CAMPBELL SCHOLAR 2024 – EMILY KELLY
I was incredibly honoured to receive the Professor William Campbell Scholarship for 2024. I undertook my eight-week research project under the guidance of Mr. Michael Sugrue, Consultant Breast & General Surgeon, during the summer of 2024 (May and June).
I carried out a retrospective observational study where I investigated laparotomy wound closure and the use of wound bundles in emergency laparotomies, examining their ability to prevent incisional hernias and burst abdomens, and assessing patients’ complication profiles.
Laparotomy wound complications exert a health care, social, and economic effect that is potentially preventable.
Appropriate wound closure methods and wound bundle utilisation significantly reduce the incidence of these wound complications, such as incisional hernia & surgical site infection, yet these new techniques have failed to gain wide acceptance, due in part to their perceived potential adverse effects.
With the help of my colleagues at Letterkenny University Hospital, I carried out this retrospective ethically approved observational study of all patients in Letterkenny University Hospital who had emergency open abdominal surgery using a wound bundle between September 2017 and April 2024.
I learned many invaluable lessons during my eight weeks of research. I garnered an understanding of the research process, from the conception of the project, to ensuring the research question was fully understood, to the collection of data and finally the compilation of results. I also learned the benefits of working with a multi-disciplinary team, and of asking for help from others. I look forward to using the skills that I developed, and the experience that I gained, throughout my future career.
I would like to express my immense gratitude to Mr. Sugrue for his mentorship and support during this research, and to Professor William Campbell for affording me this fantastic opportunity in the form of his scholarship.