Surgery News and Research

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Breast reductions of less than 500 grams per breast greatly ease women's pain

Smaller-framed women reap significant health and quality-of-life benefits from breast reductions that involve the removal of under 500 grams of tissue per breast, according to a first-of-its-kind study from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and the New York University School of Medicine.

17 Sep 2007

TFAP2C gene may be useful target for new breast cancer therapies

University of Iowa researchers have discovered a gene that plays a linchpin role in the ability of breast cancer cells to respond to estrogen.

17 Sep 2007

First fully robotic Whipple surgery in Midwest performed at University of Illinois Medical Center

A surgical team led by Dr. Pier Cristoforo Giulianotti, chief of the division of minimally invasive, general and robotic surgery at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago, has performed the first fully robotic Whipple procedure in the Midwest.

17 Sep 2007

Study of new epilepsy treatment underway at URMC

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) is participating in a multi-center study of a new medical device to treat epilepsy. The Rochester study is being overseen by neurologists Michel Berg, M.D. and James Fessler, M.D., and neurosurgeons Web Pilcher, M.D., Ph.D. and Jason Schwalb, M.D.

15 Sep 2007

Phase 3 study on novel oral direct thrombin inhibitor

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced that the September 15 issue of The Lancet will publish results from the RE-NOVATE study, which investigated dabigatran etexilate as a potential therapy for patients undergoing total hip replacement surgery.

13 Sep 2007

Smaller breast reduction surgeries provide health benefits and should be reimbursed

13 Sep 2007

Positron emission tomography reliably identifies dangerous cervical tumors

It doesn't matter how small or large it is, if a cervical tumor glows brightly in a PET scan, it's apt to be more dangerous than dimmer tumors.

13 Sep 2007

Gallbladder removed through vagina

Surgeons at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center have performed the first clinical trial surgery in the Southwest to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of performing abdominal procedures through the body's natural openings, virtually eliminating scarring.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 13 Sep 2007

Scientists isolate stem cells in womb tissue

Scientists in Australia have found a way of identifying probable stem cells in the lining of women's wombs. The finding opens up the possibility of using the stem cells for tissue engineering applications such as building up natural tissue to repair prolapsed pelvic floors.

13 Sep 2007

Vibrating catheters break through clogged arteries

A new vibrating catheter breaks through clogged arteries like a jackhammer, obliterating total blockages in patients with dangerous chronic total occlusions (CTOs).

13 Sep 2007

FDA committees recommend continued U.S. marketing for Trasylol

The Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a meeting to discuss the risk /benefit profile of Trasylol (aprotinin injection), a Bayer drug used in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

13 Sep 2007

New devices and trials for the treatment and prevention of dialysis access stenosis

Having a healthy kidney is worth a billion dollars. But an unhealthy kidney costs more - about $16 billion more, according to Prabir Roy-Chaudhury, MD, PhD, associate professor in the division of nephrology and hypertension at the University of Cincinnati (UC).

13 Sep 2007

Insight into the role of cancer stem cells in cancer initiation, progression and metastasis

Scientists have identified a distinct subpopulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs) that is responsible for metastasis of a deadly human pancreatic cancer.

13 Sep 2007

Living, growing artificial heart-valve replacements for children

Infants and children receiving artificial heart-valve replacements face several repeat operations as they grow, since the since the replacements become too small and must be traded for bigger ones.

13 Sep 2007

Pocket guidelines for assessment and management of cardiovascular risk

A new book of pocket-charts that will help health workers to identify people at risk of heart attacks and strokes and save lives by prescribing the most appropriate treatment is published today by the World Health Organization (WHO). The charts can be adapted for use in any setting, in any country, with any patient.

12 Sep 2007

Insurance status, not race, linked to complications in patients with acute appendicitis

In what is being described as an "unexpected finding," new research suggests no correlation between a patient's race and complications with acute appendicitis.

12 Sep 2007

Glaucoma surgery with novel laser device

Prof. Ehud Assia, of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine is, quite simply, a rock star in the field of eye surgery.

12 Sep 2007

Customized virus kills brain tumor stem cells that drive lethal cancer

A tailored virus destroys brain tumor stem cells that resist other therapies and cause lethal re-growth of cancer after surgery, a research team led by scientists at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Sept. 18 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

12 Sep 2007

Health spending in OECD countries in 2004 and trends in the health of older Americans

Health Spending In OECD Countries In 2004: An Update, by Gerard Anderson, Bianca Frogner, and Uwe Reinhardt. "In 2004, the U.S. health care system continued to provide less access to health care resources than the health systems in many other [industrialized] countries; however, the United States continued to have the highest level of spending," Anderson and coauthors report.

11 Sep 2007

Link between nicotine and atherosclerosis

It's well known that smoking cigarettes increases risk for a host of serious health problems from cancer to heart disease. Now a new study from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City looks at how they do their dirty work by contributing to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. The evidence points to nicotine, the addictive chemical in cigarettes.

11 Sep 2007