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Robots help remove diseased thyroid gland without neck incision

Robots that revolutionized gynecologic and urologic surgery in the past decade now offer the option of removing at least a portion of their diseased thyroid gland without the hallmark neck incision, researchers said.

7 Jul 2010

Patients are not presented with information about prostate cancer treatment options: Urologists

At the recent meeting of the American Urological Association in San Francisco, researchers presented studies regarding the decision making process men go through when considering proposed prostate cancer treatments. Dr. Vorstman, renowned Florida urologist, believes these studies would have more meaning if patients were presented with information about prostate cancer treatment options in a different fashion.

7 Jul 2010

Capstone Therapeutics to continue AZX100 Phase 2a trial in dermal scarring to planned 12-month endpoints

Capstone Therapeutics announced today it has completed a limited analysis of a subset of data from its ongoing AZX100 Phase 2a clinical trial in trocar site scarring following arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Based on this analysis, the clinical trial will continue to its planned 12-month endpoints.

7 Jul 2010

New Center for Image-Guided Intervention opened at MSKCC

Image-guided interventions are revolutionizing cancer diagnosis and treatment. MSKCC's new Center for Image-Guided Intervention (CIGI), which opened in June, offers cancer patients the most advanced, minimally invasive diagnostic and treatment options in a unique multidisciplinary setting designed to foster rapid innovations in cancer care.

7 Jul 2010

Medicare reimbursement rates for outpatient repair of anal fistulas increased by 6%

Hospitals nationwide will receive six percent higher reimbursement payments for outpatient repair of anal fistulas using Cook Medical's Biodesign® Fistula Plug, a device designed specifically to treat this painful and embarrassing disorder of the lower GI tract. According to new Medicare payment schedules effective January 1st, hospital outpatient surgery departments will receive approximately $2,200 per procedure, while freestanding ambulatory surgery centers will be paid about $1,300 on average.

7 Jul 2010

Extended treatment with blood thinner benefits patients immobilized by acute medical illness: Study

A treatment plan used to prevent potentially dangerous blood clots in recovering surgical patients can also benefit some patients immobilized by acute medical illness, doctors have found in a multi-institutional study.

7 Jul 2010

Virginia Hospital Center selects CredenceHealth to provide best quality of care for patients

CredenceHealth, a provider of real-time clinical intelligence for hospitals and health plans, announced today that Virginia Hospital Center , a 342-bed not-for-profit hospital in Arlington, Virginia, has selected CredenceHealth for the hospital's latest patient quality improvement initiative.

7 Jul 2010

Aastrom to pursue Phase 3 CLI clinical program through FDA SPA process

Aastrom Biosciences, Inc., the leading developer of autologous cellular therapies for the treatment of severe cardiovascular diseases, today announced that the company will pursue a Phase 3 clinical program for its autologous cell therapy for the treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI) through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's special protocol assessment (SPA) process. Aastrom is currently completing a Phase 2b clinical trial of its cell therapy in patients with CLI and recently met with FDA officials to discuss plans for the Phase 3 program.

7 Jul 2010

US WorldMeds launches Revonto for malignant hyperthermia

US WorldMeds is proud to announce the launch of Revonto™ (dantrolene sodium for injection), the first patented scientific advancement in the treatment of malignant hyperthermia (MH). The time to reconstitute dantrolene sodium for injection has been dramatically reduced to approximately 20 seconds or until the solution is clear. Revonto™ retains the cost-savings of the original dantrolene sodium for injection product while offering a significant improvement in pharmacotherapy.

7 Jul 2010

Some patients pay more at Madison clinic to subsidize others

At the Our Lady of Hope Clinic in Madison, Wis., some patients — about half — pay a premium for boutique -- or concierge -- services, which pays for care for the other half -- those without insurance at all. "Now one year old, the clinic started off slowly but is gaining momentum and seems to be a viable business model, clinic officials said. The clinic has 110 paying patients, called benefactors, and serves about two dozen uninsured people weekly."

7 Jul 2010

Scientists demonstrate how neural stem cells, precursor cells control growth of glioblastomas

In their latest research, scientists of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine Berlin-Buch, Germany, have demonstrated how the brain's own stem cells and precursor cells control the growth of glioblastomas. Of all brain tumors, glioblastomas are among the most common and most aggressive.

7 Jul 2010

Emergency room visits increase in Mass., plus more hospital news

The Boston Globe: In Massachusetts, "[t]he number of people visiting hospital emergency rooms has climbed … despite the enactment of nearly universal health insurance that some hoped would reduce expensive emergency department use. According to state data released last week, emergency room visits rose by 9 percent from 2004 to 2008, to about 3 million visits a year.

7 Jul 2010

Alcon signs definitive agreement to acquire LenSx Lasers

Alcon, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LenSx Lasers, Inc, a privately held company that developed the first femtosecond laser to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for use as a part of cataract surgery. The LenSx system is indicated for anterior capsulotomy and laser phacofragmentation during cataract surgery, providing a complementary surgical approach to certain manual steps within the traditional cataract procedure.

7 Jul 2010

Investment report on Imaging3

MicroStockProfit.com announces an investment report featuring Imaging3 Inc.. The report includes financial, comparative and investment analyses, and recent company news that you need to know to make an educated investment decision.

6 Jul 2010

AHRQ publishes new comparative effectiveness report on treatments for rotator cuff tears

Injuries to the rotator cuff are treatable, but it is unclear which treatment option - surgery or nonsurgical treatments such as exercise or medication - is best, according to a new comparative effectiveness report published by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

6 Jul 2010

First Australian intestinal transplant

Mr. Brendan Cole, 32 became the first recipient of a successful intestinal transplant in Australia. Last Friday he had his intestines and organs removed from his abdomen that followed a 12 hour operation at Austin Health.

4 Jul 2010

More than 2B worldwide lack access to adequate surgical services, study finds

"More than 2 billion people worldwide do not have adequate access to surgical services, and low-income countries in particular have low levels of surgical care," according to a study published online Thursday in the Lancet, HealthDay News/Modern Medicine reports (7/1).

3 Jul 2010

Medical information on Internet may not be accurate or complete

The quality of online information about the most common sports medicine diagnoses varies widely, according to a study published in the July 2010 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS). Therefore, patients who use the Internet to help make medical decisions need to know that the web may not be giving the whole picture.

3 Jul 2010

Two-day international Osteoarthritis Summit to be held in June 2011

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) plans to host a two-day international Osteoarthritis Summit in June 2011. The Hospital, internationally recognized for its leadership in the fields of orthopedics and rheumatology, will bring together, for the first time, a truly comprehensive multidisciplinary group of world renowned scientists, thought-leaders and industry representatives from the United States, Canada, and Europe, to discuss all aspects of OA and develop a consensus document on future directions for OA research, prevention and treatment.

3 Jul 2010

Strativa receives FDA approval for Zuplenz oral soluble film

Strativa Pharmaceuticals today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Zuplenz® (ondansetron) oral soluble film for the prevention of postoperative, highly and moderately emetogenic cancer chemotherapy-induced, and radiotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Zuplenz, a unique formulation of ondansetron, is the first oral soluble film approved by the FDA as a prescription medication.

3 Jul 2010