News
NOTES Approach Produces Another Success
December 1, 2009 4:42 am | CommentsAnother advancement in NOTES (Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopy Surgery) technique has been realized as surgeons used the transanal route to remove a rectal mass. The team of surgeons carried out the first surgical removal of a rectal mass using the TEM (Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery) technique in the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona.
Addressing Post-Surgical Depression Aids Recovery
December 1, 2009 4:21 am | CommentsIn the so-called Bypassing the Blues trial, 50 percent of patients who were depressed after having coronary artery bypass surgery saw improvements of at least 50 percent in their negative mood after participating in the intervention, compared with 29 percent of control patients who received usual care.
Gunshot Victim Recovering After Face And Jaw Transplant
December 1, 2009 4:09 am | CommentsMore than a year-and-a-half following the first near-total face and upper jaw transplant, the donor tissue appears successfully integrated, according to a report in the November/December issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery . The recipient has experienced no long-term rejection and has regained some functional abilities, including her senses of smell and taste.
Radical MS Theory Stirs Interest
November 30, 2009 6:28 am | by by Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today | CommentsCan multiple sclerosis be treated with a simple surgical procedure? That question - raised by the research of an Italian physician - is causing a stir among those who study the condition, which has long been regarded as an autoimmune disease. Instead, according to Paolo Zamboni, MD, of the University of Ferrara, in Ferrara, Italy, MS may result from poor vascular circulation in the brain.
The Greatest Gift
November 30, 2009 6:14 am | CommentsLauran Neergaard, AP Color-coded denim cloths cover the row upon row of black body bags atop cold metal tables. Blue means a body that eventually will go into a common grave. Tan, the family wants those remains back for burial, eventually. These are bodies donated to science, awaiting one of the most sensitive rites in becoming a doctor.
Patients Not Up For Risky Business
November 30, 2009 5:51 am | CommentsA study that will appear in the December issue of Arthritis Care & Research suggests that increasing patient responsibility for making medical decisions may decrease their willingness to accept risky treatment options. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 1.
Surgeon Pioneers 'Scarless' Thyroid Surgery
November 30, 2009 5:28 am | CommentsTulane University surgeon performs a new form of endoscopic surgery to remove all or a portion of the thyroid or parathyroid glands without leaving a scar on the neck November 30, 2009 Tulane University School of Medicine surgeon Dr. Emad Kandil is one of the first in the country to perform a new form of endoscopic surgery that uses a small incision under the arm to remove all or a portion of the thyroid or parathyroid glands without leaving a scar on the neck, a release from the university reports.
Country Folk Replacing More Joints Than City Slickers
November 30, 2009 4:29 am | CommentsSouthern Illinois researchers have determined that Medicare beneficiaries living in rural areas are 27 percent more likely than urban dwellers to have total knee or hip replacement surgeries. Researchers also found women more likely than men to undergo total joint replacement surgeries. Full findings appear in the December issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism .
Smart Phones Help Speed Up Diagnoses
November 30, 2009 4:09 am | CommentsA recent study from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) states that radiologists can accurately diagnose acute appendicitis from a remote location with the use of a handheld device or mobile phone equipped with special software. “The goal is to improve the speed and accuracy of medical diagnoses, as well as to improve communications among different consulting physicians,” said the study's lead author, Asim F.
New Micro-Endoscope Design Seeks Out Early Signs Of Cancer
November 20, 2009 5:24 am | by by Aaron Hoover | CommentsWhile traditional endoscopes provide a peek inside patients’ bodies a University of Florida engineering researcher is designing one capable of a full inspection. Huikai Xie , an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, is working on replacing the scope’s cameras with scanners that “see” beneath the surface of tissues in revealing abnormal groups of cells or growth patterns before cancerous growths are big enough to be visible.
Weight Not Linked To Success Of Fibroid Surgery
November 20, 2009 5:22 am | CommentsObese patients are no more likely to have post-operative complications than those of average weight when undergoing robotic surgery to remove uterine fibroids, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital. “Performing laparoscopic myomectomy on an obese patient can present difficulties for the most experienced gynecologic surgeon,” says David Eisenstein, M.
A History Of Heart Disease
November 20, 2009 5:21 am | Commentsbr> Marilynn Marchione, AP You can't blame this one on McDonald’s: Researchers have found signs of heart disease in 3,500-year-old mummies. “We think of it as being caused by modern risk factors, such as fast food, smoking and a lack of exercise, but the findings show that these aren't the only reasons arteries clog”, said Dr.
One Of Formerly Conjoined Twins Talking
November 20, 2009 5:20 am | CommentsA Bangladeshi toddler separated earlier this week from her conjoined twin sister is talking and behaving normally after waking from a medically induced coma. Trishna is already doing well enough that she could leave intensive care, said Wirginia Maixner, director of neurosurgery at Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.
Nurse Sentenced For Demerol Tampering
November 20, 2009 5:18 am | CommentsDrea Lynne Gibson, a 43-year-old nurse at the Plastic Surgery Center in Bellevue, WA has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison and three years of supervised release. She had previously admitting to tampering with doses of Demerol, a narcotic pain medication. At sentencing U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez said, “Using Demerol for herself is one thing, stealing it is another.
Medical Electronics: 'An Art And A Science'
November 20, 2009 5:11 am | CommentsEnd-to-end integration of HD devices in the operating room ushers in a new era in disruptive technology providing real-time medicine and collaboration among healthcare providers November 20, 2009 Disruptive technologies, which refer to a product or service that revolutionizes screening, diagnostic, procedural, or medical/drug intervention capabilities can become the standards of care.
