News
CareFusion Partners With ESP-Winning FloShield
January 28, 2010 12:22 pm | CommentsCareFusion has announced a distribution agreement with Minimally Invasive Devices, Inc. to sell and market their FloShield™ product line for laparoscopic surgeries. With this agreement, CareFusion is the exclusive external distributor for FloShield and will market and sell the products alongside its own line of V.
Brain Surgery Error, Enclosed Sponge Net $50K Fines
January 28, 2010 12:11 pm | CommentsThe California Department of Public Health fined three San Diego area hospitals for making mistakes that could cause “death or serious injury.&rdquo The implicated hospitals are Grossmont Hospital, Sharp Memorial Hospital and UCSD Medical Center. According to the Union Tribune, Grossmont received a $50,000 fine for marking the wrong side of the head of a 93-year-old man who was undergoing brain surgery.
Medtronic Receives FDA Approval Non-Surgical Heart Valve
January 28, 2010 12:00 pm | CommentsMedtronic recently announced that its Melody® Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval under a Humanitarian Device Exemption. It is the first transcatheter heart valve to receive FDA approval. Delivered through a catheter requiring only a small incision, the Melody valve will benefit children and adults who are born with a malformation of their pulmonary valve, which is the valve between the heart and lungs.
Woman More Emotional Over Limb Loss Than Men
January 28, 2010 11:50 am | CommentsMen and women who've had limb amputations report similar levels of pain severity, but there are major gender differences in emotional health and pain-coping responses, states a recently published study in the January issue of the Journal of Pain. Pain due to a lost limb can be phantom limb pain or residual limb pain, which originates at the amputation site or stump.
Rare Condition Results In Baby Born Without Eyes
January 27, 2010 7:29 am | CommentsBrielle Garrison, a baby recently born in Florida, suffers from anophthalmia, which is a disorder that results in the absence of ocular tissue. According to Dr. Manny Alvarez, who specializes in high-risk pregnancies and serves as consultant to the Fox TV station who reported on Brielle, “The condition can usually be diagnosed by ultrasound – around 18 weeks.
He Fought The Good Fight ... And We Won
January 27, 2010 7:16 am | CommentsLawrence Garfinkel, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society who helped design landmark studies that linked smoking to lung cancer, died last Thursday in Seattle. He was 88. The cause was cardiovascular disease, his son Martin said. Mr. Garfinkel became a leader in cancer epidemiology despite having no formal education in the field.
Infant Bypass Procedure Won't Impair Neurological Outcomes
January 27, 2010 7:02 am | CommentsCongenital heart defects are the most common birth defects, affecting eight per 1,000 live births with one-third of affected children requiring intervention in early infancy. Increasing numbers of survivors, combined with developmental expectations for independence, behavioral self-regulation and academic achievement have led to a growing identification of neurobehavioral symptoms in some survivors.
Campaign Enables New Mayo Research, Education Programs
January 27, 2010 6:36 am | CommentsThe Mayo Clinic announced today that it raised $1.35 billion in its first comprehensive fundraising campaign, surpassing the goal of $1.25 billion. Though campaigns of this size typically take seven years to achieve, The Campaign for Mayo Clinic was a five-year initiative. Mayo embarked on this campaign to accelerate innovations in clinical practice, education and research that the organization believes could revolutionize medicine in the 21st century.
9/11 Hospital Facing Financial Trouble
January 27, 2010 6:19 am | CommentsSt. Vincent's Hospital, a major AIDS and trauma center, could be taken over by a powerful nonprofit New York hospital system and stripped of its surgical and inpatient units if its finances don't improve. However, “if St. Vincent is able to continue to meet its mission on its own, they have our full support,” Continuum Health Partners said in a statement Tuesday.
Ansell Sends Medical, Occupational Gloves To Haiti
January 26, 2010 6:05 am | CommentsAs aid pours into Haiti for victims injured and displaced by the recent earthquakes, the massive cleanup is just beginning. Based on specific needs expressed by workers in Haiti, Ansell is assisting with the relief effort by shipping gloves for medical workers and work crews involved in the search for victims and removal of debris.
Benefits Of Bariatric Surgery Validated
January 26, 2010 5:53 am | CommentsIvanhoe Newswire A computerized model suggests that most morbidly obese individuals would likely live longer if they had gastric bypass surgery. However, the best decision for individual patients varies based on age, increasing body mass index and the effectiveness of surgery. An estimated 5.
Mauling Victim Seeks New Hand, Face Transplant Site
January 26, 2010 5:45 am | CommentsThe hospital known for doing the United States' first face transplant has told the family of a woman mauled by a chimpanzee that it can't perform a face and hand transplant for her. Charla Nash's family is looking into alternative facilities after the Cleveland Clinic said it could not do both transplants, and both procedures would need to be done simultaneously and come from the same donor.
Needle-Free Migraine Relief Hits Market
January 26, 2010 5:21 am | CommentsHaving received FDA approval last July, Zogenix is bringing to market its SUMAVEL DosePro sumatriptan delivery system for the treatment of oncoming migraines and cluster headaches. The needle-free device delivers the drug subcutaneously, bringing both speed and efficacy when oral pills are a poor option.
Hysterectomy Consent Law Dismissed
January 26, 2010 5:06 am | CommentsIndiana lawmakers decided not to take action on a bill that would have warned women about the specific risks of having a hysterectomy, primarily because existing state law already mandates such action. House Bill 1366 would have required informed consent for a doctor to perform a hysterectomy. The bill would have required a doctor to specifically state that the procedure will result in infertility, as well as provide a description of the discomforts and risks that might result.
Court Rejects Medical Marijuana Limits
January 25, 2010 5:56 am | CommentsReuters The California Supreme Court has rejected limits on medical marijuana imposed by state lawmakers, finding that people with prescriptions for pot can have and grow all they need for personal use. The high court ruled lawmakers improperly amended the voter-approved law that decriminalized possession of marijuana for seriously ill Californians with a doctor's prescription by limiting patients to eight ounces of dried marijuana and six mature or 12 immature plants.
