The OR’s Leading Source of Cutting Edge Surgical Technology
‘Good’ Patients, ‘Bad’ Patients
April 17, 2013 9:50 am | by Dhruv Khullar | Blogs | CommentsAs we continue to carry out the Affordable Care Act and enter a new era of tremendous change, we must confront our natural tendencies to favor patients we find pleasant — especially when it comes at the expense of those we find less so.
Better Surgical Outcomes Costly For Hospitals
April 17, 2013 9:26 am | by John Gever | Articles | CommentsData from an unidentified 12-hospital system in 2010 indicated that the occurrence of surgical complications boosted the "contribution margin" -- the difference between gross revenues and variable costs associated with patient care -- relative to cases without complications, when they involved the 85% of patients who had Medicare or private insurance.
The Future Of Robotics In The OR
April 16, 2013 5:23 pm | by ABC News | Videos | CommentsMore and more hospitals are using robots and robotic accessories to perform surgery to improve on human performance in the operating room. However, complications and concern are very much on the rise. What's really at issue here? What is the takeaway?
Scientists Create Lab-Made Rat Kidneys
April 16, 2013 5:17 pm | by NBC News | Videos | CommentsA team of researchers in Boston have successfully created functioning rat kidneys using cells from newborn rats. It is a stunning acheivement, and it is also a development that could be a game-changer for the future of kidney transplants.
XBox Kinect: A Tool To Improve Surgery?
April 16, 2013 4:14 pm | by YouTube | Videos | CommentsAn algorithm has been developed for haptic rendering from time varying point clouds captured by an Xbox Kinect RGB-D camera. This technology enables the operator to feel remote objects and receive force feedback from the environment. Could this help improve surgery?
Baby Thriving After Partial In-Womb Surgery
April 16, 2013 3:48 pm | by Associated Press | Videos | CommentsFive months after their unborn daughter had surgery to remove a cyst on her lung, a Colorado couple says the baby is now completely healthy. The mother's placenta served as life support to the half-delivered baby while doctors operated.
Doctor Accused Of Botched Surgeries
April 16, 2013 3:38 pm | by CBS News | Videos | CommentsThe Colorado state medical board filed 14 counts of unprofessional conduct against Dr. Warren Kortz, and now the federal government is investigating the claims that he made critical surgical errors. Here is the story on what transpired.
Doctor: Marathon Victims Had Metal In Wounds
April 16, 2013 11:49 am | News | CommentsMassachusetts General Hospital's chief of trauma surgery says doctors removed "a variety of sharp objects," including pellets and nails, from the wounds of victims of the Boston Marathon explosions. Dr. George Velmahos said Tuesday that in his opinion the metal fragments came from the bomb and not from the environment.
Energy Efficiency Could Increase Infection Risks In Hospital Wards
April 16, 2013 11:47 am | News | CommentsThe chance of infection in some hospital wards varies dramatically according to whether the nurses leave the windows open. A University of Leeds-led team studied airflow in a "Nightingale" ward—a classic hospital ward design that traditionally accommodates two rows of up to 30 beds—by using tracer gases to simulate how airborne infections spread.
Preop Ketamine May Lower Pain in Fibromyalgia
April 16, 2013 10:50 am | by Ed Susman | News | CommentsIn fibromyalgia patients undergoing knee or hip replacement surgery, low-dose, intraoperative ketamine appeared to reduce the need for post-surgical opioid therapy, researchers said. Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic and has been used in human and veterinary medicine since 1963.
Researchers Devise X-ray Approach To Track Surgical Devices And Minimize Radiation Exposure
April 16, 2013 10:41 am | News | CommentsResearchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) have developed a new tool to help surgeons use X-rays to track devices used in “minimally invasive” surgical procedures while also limiting the patient’s exposure to radiation from the X-rays.
Skin Prep Antiseptics
April 16, 2013 9:48 am | by Aplicare | Product Releases | CommentsAplicare from Clorox Healthcare provides sterile preoperative skin preparation antiseptics. For product safety and patient care, these sterile skin antiseptics are designed to enhance an infection prevention program. The Aplicare sterile skin antiseptics are sterilized after the product has been placed in the packaging.
Positioning System
April 16, 2013 9:40 am | by Xodus Medical | Product Releases | CommentsThe Pink Pad - Pigazzi Positioning System from Xodus Medical is designed to mold to the patient's body, providing stability and maintaining patient position throughout the procedure. Its for single patient use, and it decreases potential cross contamination with reusables.
Retractors For Spine Surgery
April 16, 2013 9:32 am | by Millennium Surgical | Millenium Surgical Corp. | Product Releases | CommentsMillennium Surgical has announced an extensive offering of US and German made retractors for use in spine surgery. Cloward-style blade retractors for use in cervical procedures are offered in three styles, with long angled lip, short angled lip, and without lip.
The Fallout Of Chance Medical Findings
April 16, 2013 9:19 am | by Kevin R. Campbell, M.D. | Blogs | CommentsThere will always be controversy when it comes to using diagnostic tests for routine screening of asymptomatic patients. Ultimately, we must continue to take a reasonable and academic approach to testing. We are still going to discover the “incidentaloma."
