Surgery News and Research

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Modification of surgery used to correct flatfoot deformity may reduce pain and improve outcomes

Virginia Commonwealth University physicians and engineers studying foot and ankle biomechanics have developed a modification to a procedure used to correct adult-acquired flatfoot deformity that may reduce the pressure and pain that often persists after surgery.

2 May 2005

New treatment uses stem cells to restore eyesight

The Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, has been trialling the treatment and has already helped 40 people see again. The hospital has been developing the surgery over the past five years and uses stem cells taken from the patient or a donor to redevelop the cornea, the transparent film at the front of the eye which lets in light.

1 May 2005

Solar cell implant may restore some sight for the blind

Ophthalmologists at Rush University Medical Center implanted Artificial Silicon Retina (ASR) microchips in the eyes of five patients to treat vision loss caused by retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The implant is a silicon microchip 2mm in diameter and one-thousandth of an inch thick, less than the thickness of a human hair.

1 May 2005

Facelift alternatives rid patients of neck wattle

On the show Ally McBeal, a character was romantically pursued because of her neck "wattle" or loose skin – a scenario that would only happen on television, right?

1 May 2005

Tumors of the pituitary gland are more common than thought

A recent study found that tumors of the pituitary gland are more common than many health care professionals realize, with national prevalence rates averaging 16.7 percent. To neurosurgeon Dr. Gail Rosseau, this isn't surprising.

1 May 2005

No wisdom in pulling wisdom teeth

No reliable studies exist to support removal of trouble-free impacted wisdom teeth, according to a systematic review of evidence. Despite this surprising lack of data, extraction of third molars has long been considered appropriate care in most developed countries.

1 May 2005

Trial to evaluate modern stent technologies over balloon angioplasty for peripheral arterial disease

The first patient undergoes treatment today in a new prospective randomised trial, called the SUPER Study, to compare stenting with balloon angioplasty in patients with superficial femoral artery (SFA) occlusions caused by peripheral artery disease (PAD).

28 Apr 2005

Children treated for soft tissue sarcomas at greater risk of second cancers

A new study has found that although children treated for soft tissue sarcomas are surviving longer than they did in the past, they have an increased risk for second cancers, especially when initial treatment combined radiation and chemotherapy. This is according to analysis of data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute.

27 Apr 2005

Children do well with shorter fast before surgery

Children facing surgery can be made more comfortable with little risk by allowing them to have certain liquids up to two hours before the operation, a new review of recent studies has found.

27 Apr 2005

Scientists add an important piece to the intricate puzzle of type-1 diabetes

For some time, scientists have known that a regenerative or repair process -- involving the development of specialized structures called tubular complexes -- is switched on during physical and chemical trauma to the pancreas (the gland that manufactures and secretes crucial insulin in the body).

27 Apr 2005

Antibiotics do not prevent heart attacks

Clinicians and researchers have found that more than three quarters of heart attack patients have been infected with chlamydia pneumoniae - a bacteria found in arteries of heart attack patients - and multiple studies have found this can double the risk of developing subsequent heart attacks.

27 Apr 2005

Increased risk associated with combining carotid artery, coronary artery surgeries

Among patients undergoing evaluation for coronary artery bypass surgery, stroke neurologists are frequently consulted when the patient also has severe carotid artery stenosis (blockage of an artery that supplies blood to the brain).

27 Apr 2005

New clinical trial focuses on quality of life for men with prostate cancer

A new Australian prostate cancer clinical trial hopes to provide clear evidence to men with prostate cancer about the best time to start hormone treatment in terms of prolonging life, balanced against the effects on their quality of life.

27 Apr 2005

New breast cancer drug combo could save thousands of lives

New hope has been given to thousands of women living in dread of the return of an aggressive form of breast cancer.

26 Apr 2005

Quintuplets born to surrogate mother

In what is believed to be a world first, a surrogate mother has given birth to quintuplets.

26 Apr 2005

Color doppler sonography speeds detection of necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants

Measuring blood flow to a newborn's intestines using a special form of ultrasound can help radiologists identify a life-threatening complication in a serious bowel disease, according to a study in the May issue of the journal Radiology.

26 Apr 2005

Bypass surgery does not carry long term neurological effects

In a wide retrospective review of the effects of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) on memory and other brain functions a team of U.S. researchers has concluded that, while there may be transient short-term effects, the procedure itself probably does not cause late or permanent neurological effects.

26 Apr 2005

Gene therapy for Alzheimer's disease shows promise

In the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Alzheimer's disease researchers have produced preliminary evidence that gene therapy may slow the decline in mental functioning associated with Alzheimer's disease.

25 Apr 2005

Substantially more effective therapy than current treatments for Alzheimer's disease

PET scans and cognitive tests have suggested that Alzheimer's disease patients with genetically modified tissue inserted directly into their brains show a reduction in the rate of cognitive decline and increased metabolic activity in the brain, according to a study published in the April 24, 2005 online issue of the journal Nature Medicine by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.

25 Apr 2005