Elective Surgery News and Research

RSS

Elective surgery is surgery that is not urgently required due to an emergency. Elective surgery may be performed for medical purposes, such as cataract surgery, or for other work such as breast implants. These are procedures that the person requiring them decides to undertake, and which may be helpful, but are not necessarily essential.

Effects of hospital competition on quality of care questioned

More research is needed before conclusions can be drawn about the effect of recent reforms on hospital quality, let alone about the merits of the coalition government's proposals to extend competition, warn experts on bmj.com today.

11 Oct 2011

Anesthesia in very small kids may raise risk of learning disabilities

According to the latest research very young children exposed to general anesthesia during surgical procedures may be at an increased risk for learning problems.

4 Oct 2011

Latest Consumer Reports Index: 16.3% of Americans unable to pay medical bills

When we visit our doctors, we don't typically think of ourselves as "consumers" or buyers of health care, but in these tough times, that is precisely the role a patient needs to play to avoid drowning in a sea of medical bills.

6 Sep 2011

Hospitals, health care facilities feeling effects of economic downturn

The July jobless rate dipped one-tenth of a point from June to 10.4 percent. That was unchanged from a year earlier. So too, were the number of jobs at hospitals, nursing homes, residential care facilities and clinics across Georgia.

26 Aug 2011

BIPI to launch dabigatran etexilate Phase II trial in patients with mechanical heart valves

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BIPI) today announced plans to launch RE-ALIGN, a global, Phase II trial evaluating the safety and pharmacokinetics of dabigatran etexilate in 400 patients who have mechanical heart valves.

26 Aug 2011

Echocardiogram may not improve patients' survival rates after elective surgery

A new study has found no evidence that patients who had a heart ultrasound known as an echocardiogram before major surgery had improved survival rates one month or one year after their operation.

19 Aug 2011

Study finds large variation in reoperation rates after colorectal surgery in England

There is a large variation in unplanned reoperation rates after colorectal surgery in English NHS hospitals, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

17 Aug 2011

Eight in ten Ontarians expect better access to trauma centre for life-threatening injury

More than eight in 10 Ontarians say they would want to be taken directly to a trauma centre if they were seriously injured, even if another hospital were closer, a new poll has found.

30 Jul 2011

Victoria's hospitals doing poorly on performance assessments

Victoria's hospitals have performed poorly on their report cards that judged them against statewide benchmarks for emergency care and elective surgery. In some areas, the performance has worsened.

1 Jul 2011

Surgical complications much more likely in obese patients

Obese patients are nearly 12 times more likely to suffer a complication following elective plastic surgery than their normal-weight counterparts, according to new research by Johns Hopkins scientists.

30 Jun 2011

Obese patients more likely to suffer complication following elective plastic surgery

30 Jun 2011

Longer surgery waiting lists in NSW: report

According to a new state health report, people in NSW are waiting longer for elective surgery than two years ago. For the report the Bureau of Health Information analyzed 46,500 elective surgeries carried out in NSW public hospitals between January and March this year.

9 Jun 2011

Hospitals need to measure quality of care

Hospitals that provide quality care for young people do not always provide the same quality care for the elderly, a new study has found.

4 Jun 2011

STAAR Surgical's two new lens products receive CE Mark approval

STAAR Surgical Company, a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of minimally invasive ophthalmic lenses which go inside the eye, today announced two strategically important regulatory approvals.

1 Jun 2011

Stanford University develops stress-shielding device to reduce surgical scarring

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a special wound dressing that they report was able to significantly reduce scar tissue caused by incisions.

23 May 2011

Mothers living in better social, economic status opt for caesarean section

During the last thirty years there has been an increase in the number of babies born by Caesarean section. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Public Health shows that there has also been a change in the social and economic status of the mothers involved and that advantaged mothers are more likely to have their babies by Caesarean section than mothers living in more difficult circumstances.

18 May 2011

Hospital patients with AUDs are at increased risk of developing HAIs: Study

Hospital patients with alcohol use disorders are at an increased risk of developing healthcare-associated infections, which affect 1.7 million patients annually in the United States. HAIs are infections that patients acquire during their hospitalization and that were not present at the time of admission to the hospital.

16 Apr 2011

Statin prior to major elective surgery can reduce serious kidney injury

Taking a statin before having major elective surgery reduces potentially serious kidney complications, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

12 Apr 2011

First trial to test shared decision making for weight-loss surgery

A video-based decision aid helped severely obese people to make more informed choices about bariatric surgery and reach more certainty about them, according to a trial involving 152 Group Health patients, e-published in Obesity in advance of print. This randomized controlled trial is the first to test shared decision making for weight-loss surgery.

8 Apr 2011

RE-LY trial results suggest Pradaxa capsule reduces risk of stroke in AF patients

Two new retrospective subanalyses of the RE-LY trial, involving Pradaxa capsules, suggested that the reduction in stroke risk achieved with PRADAXA 150mg over warfarin occurred irrespective of CHA2DS2-VASc risk score and the type of non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

5 Apr 2011