Surgery News and Research

RSS

Long term outcomes for children who undergo ear tube placement surgery

Infants and young children who undergo surgery to insert ventilation tubes in their ears as a treatment for ear infections have hearing levels comparable to normal children 14 years later, although children with more serious disease may require repeat procedures or other ear surgery, according to two studies in the April issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

19 Apr 2005

Gastric bypass patients fare better as surgical procedures increase

Risk of serious complications and death following gastric bypass surgery for morbid obesity may be reduced substantially when the surgery is performed at high volume centers and the surgeons have reached the 100 case experience, according to an article in the April issue of Archives of Surgery.

19 Apr 2005

Prisoners executed by lethal injection in the US may have experienced awareness and unnecessary suffering because they were not properly sedated

Lethal injection is the most common way people are legally put to death in the USA. It has eclipsed all other methods of execution because of public perception that the process is relatively humane and does not violate the US Constitution’s Eight Amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment.

19 Apr 2005

$Laser refractive surgery is a safe, effective way to correct myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism$

Laser refractive surgery is a safe, effective way to correct myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism

Hopkins researchers have found that patients experiencing vision problems following cataract removal and intraocular lens implantation (CE-IOL) may have better results from laser refractive surgery, which spares them potential complications of lens implant replacement and the inconvenience of glasses.

19 Apr 2005

C-section crisis demands congressional review

April is Cesarean Awareness Month and the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) is renewing its call for Congressional hearings into the nation’s rising Cesarean section rate and the impact on women’s health and the overall health care system. Recent data indicates that as many 4 women in 10 gave birth by Cesarean in 2003, with an increasing percentage of first-time Cesareans being performed with no medical indication.

19 Apr 2005

Stress can give the immune system a beneficial boost

New research in mice provides more evidence that a brief bout of stress can give the immune system a beneficial boost – under certain conditions.

19 Apr 2005

Plastic surgeons caution against unknown dangers of mesotherapy

The allure of shedding unwanted pockets of fat with a series of simple injections, known as mesotherapy, sounds too good to be true - and it just might be. According to an ASPS Device & Technique Assessment (DATA) Committee report published in the April 15 issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery® (PRS), the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), patients should be wary of mesotherapy until the safety and effectiveness of the procedure are confirmed.

19 Apr 2005

New heart valve ring helps congestive heart failure patients regain lost heart function

A new heart valve ring appears to help congestive heart failure patients regain lost heart function, reversing the disease's effects on heart structure in two ways and easing their disabling symptoms, researchers reported here today at the 85th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery.

13 Apr 2005

To boost efficiency, hospitals borrow principles from factory floor

Many health-care industry bottlenecks can be eliminated, resulting in major improvements in efficiency, cost savings and patient care when hospitals borrow principles from production lines on the factory floor, according to researchers in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University at Buffalo.

13 Apr 2005

Scientists identifiy protein that seems to control the malignant features of brain tumor cells

Scientists from Wake Forest University School of Medicine have identified a protein that seems to control the malignant features of brain tumor cells, suggesting a new treatment target for anti-cancer drugs. The research is reported in the current issue of Molecular Cancer Research.

13 Apr 2005

Black women in the US less likely to access preventative cancer treatments

A report from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia says that black women in the US with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, are far less likely to seek genetic counselling and possible testing than their white counterparts, and although the reasons for the disparity are not clear, it is suspected that mistrust of both the medical system and advice from primary physicians may be factors.

12 Apr 2005

Technology helps Stanford shed new light on coronary bypass surgery

On March 31, Joel Dyels celebrated his 72nd birthday by having coronary bypass surgery at Stanford Hospital. He also became the third patient at Stanford - and in the United States - to benefit from a new imaging system that lets doctors see the blood pathways they have created while the patient's chest is still open.

12 Apr 2005

Consent forms should be more readable

When children are part of a clinical trial, their parents must sign a document agreeing to the treatment and procedures used in the study. But what if they don't understand what they're being asked to sign?

12 Apr 2005

Getting coronary bypass patients back on their feet sooner

Often after coronary bypass graft surgery, patients suffer more pain in their leg than any other part of the body. The pain is due to the harvesting of a healthy blood vessel from the leg to construct the bypass graft. Traditionally, the vein was removed with a long incision that may stretch from ankle to groin. Many patients may not be aware there is an alternative.

12 Apr 2005

Innovation, competitive prices to underpin uptake of diagnostic ultrasound devices

Across Europe, the pricing of ultrasound systems is expected to be central to its uptake. In addition to being competitively priced, products with an emphasis on innovation, user-friendliness, mobility and compactness are also expected to appeal to end-users.

12 Apr 2005

Tissue engineering to grow bone, ligaments and cartilage

A future in which laboratory-grown organs and stimulated growth of muscle, bones and nerves could play a major role in treating medical conditions was revealed at a recent Tissue Engineering Symposium at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

11 Apr 2005

FDA hearings on silicone breast implants

On April 11-13, the FDA's advisory panel on General and Plastic Surgery Devices will once again meet to review data on the safety of silicone breast implants. The panel will vote Tuesday on Inamed Corporation's application for approval, and on Wednesday on Mentor Corporation's application.

11 Apr 2005

Public-health efforts to increase the use of breast-cancer screening appear to have altered the types of breast cancer being diagnosed

Since 1980, the incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS, one of the most common kinds of early stage breast cancer, has increased more than sevenfold. This sharp increase in DCIS – which is a tumor that contains cancer-like cells but is not considered "true" cancer because the cells have not invaded normal breast tissue – has been accompanied by a flattening in the incidence of true invasive breast cancer.

11 Apr 2005

Eat like the Greeks and live longer

Researchers at the University of Athens Medical School, in a major pan-Europe study, have produced convincing evidence that a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetables and fruit and low in saturated fats can help us live longer.

10 Apr 2005

No link between silicone implants and systemic disease

Silicone breast implants have been scrutinized more than any medical device, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has stated.

10 Apr 2005