Surgery News and Research

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FDA approves tapentadol immediate-release tablets for pain in adults

Millions of Americans with moderate to severe acute pain and their health-care providers will soon have a new treatment option.

21 Nov 2008

Type of breast reconstruction procedure impacts radiation therapy outcomes

For breast cancer patients who underwent a mastectomy who undergo radiation therapy after immediate breast reconstruction, autologous tissue reconstruction provides fewer long-term complications and better cosmetic results than tissue expander and implant reconstruction, according to a study in the November issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

20 Nov 2008

World's first pediatric robotic bladder reconstruction performed

A 10-year-old Chicago girl born with an abnormally small bladder that made her incontinent has become the first patient to benefit from a new robotic-assisted bladder-reconstruction method developed by surgeons at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

20 Nov 2008

Scientists develop unlimited pure insulin-producing cells from mouse embryonic stem cells

These pure insulin-producing cells, which according to electron microscopy studies, have the same sub-cellular structures as the insulin-producing cells naturally found in the pancreas, were highly effective in treating diabetes in the mouse model.

20 Nov 2008

Survival of head and neck cancer patients is greatly affected by coexisting ailments

Current estimates for head and neck cancer survival are largely inaccurate because they widely disregard many of the most common diseases such patients have in addition to their primary cancer, says Jay Piccirillo, M.D., a head and neck specialist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the Siteman Cancer Center and Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

19 Nov 2008

Pregnancy and fertility following bariatric surgery

Women who undergo weight-loss surgery, known as bariatric surgery, and later become pregnant after losing weight may be at lower risk for pregnancy-related diabetes and high blood pressure - complications that can seriously affect the mother or her baby - than pregnant women who are obese, according to new findings from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that are published in the November 19 issue of JAMA.

19 Nov 2008

Prana Biotechnology's compound could halt Alzheimer's pathology

Prana Biotechnology has announced that a recent independent study conducted by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has demonstrated that the Company's Metal-Protein Attenuating Compounds (MPACs) could halt Alzheimer's pathology.

19 Nov 2008

Researchers use embryonic stem cells from mice to grow motor neurons

Dalhousie Medical School researchers have discovered that embryonic stem cells may play a critical role in helping people with nerve damage and motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), regain muscular strength.

19 Nov 2008

Acute kidney injury predisposes elderly to serious kidney disease

Acute kidney injury (AKI) - which is often caused by trauma, illness, or surgery - predisposes elderly individuals to the most serious form of chronic kidney disease (CKD), known as end stage renal disease (ESRD), according to a study appearing in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

19 Nov 2008

KAI Pharmaceuticals reports positive results for KAI-1678 in pain reduction

KAI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held drug discovery and development company, today announced preclinical results demonstrating the effectiveness of KAI-1678 in reversing pain (hyperalgesia and allodynia) in multiple preclinical models.

19 Nov 2008

First trachea transplant and first tissue transplant without immunosuppression

After 4 years of going from consultation to consultation, Claudia Castillo finally found a solution to her respiratory problems.

19 Nov 2008

Obese women who undergo bariatric surgery decrease pregnancy-related health complications

Obese women who have weight loss surgery before becoming pregnant have a lower risk of pregnancy-related health problems and their children are less likely to be born with complications, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

18 Nov 2008

Pros and cons of gastric bypass surgery

Severely obese patients who underwent two different gastric bypass techniques had lost up to 31 per cent of their Body Mass Index (BMI) after four years, with no deaths reported among the 50 study subjects, according to the November issue of the British Journal of Surgery.

18 Nov 2008

High levels of social support may protect brain during stroke

New research in mice suggests that high levels of social support may provide some protection against strokes by reducing the amount of damaging inflammation in the brain.

18 Nov 2008

Risk of maternal and newborn complications may be lower after bariatric surgery

A review of previously published studies suggests that rates of adverse outcomes for mothers or pregnant women and newborn babies, such as gestational diabetes and low birth weight, may be lower after bariatric surgery compared with pregnant women who are obese, according to an article in the November 19 issue of JAMA.

18 Nov 2008

Is hysteroscopic sterilization permanent for women?

Women who have decided that they do not want to ever become pregnant often select permanent sterilization.

18 Nov 2008

Innovative new surgeries extending and improving life for Crohn's disease sufferers

Thousands of Americans suffering from the chronic inflammatory bowel condition known as Crohn's disease are leading longer, healthier lives due to innovative new surgeries, according to experts at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

18 Nov 2008

First tissue-engineered windpipe transplant

The first tissue-engineered trachea (windpipe), utilising the patient's own stem cells, has been successfully transplanted into a young woman with a failing airway.

18 Nov 2008

Time, surgery appear to reduce episodes of dizziness in patients with Ménière's

Episodes of dizziness tend to become less frequent over time in patients with Ménière's disease, a condition characterized by vertigo, hearing loss and ringing in the ears, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.

17 Nov 2008

Scientists use patient's own stem cells to treat heart failure

Researchers at the University of Utah are enrolling people in a new clinical trial that uses a patient's own stem cells to treat ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure.

17 Nov 2008