Cholecystectomy News and Research

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Hospital mortality rates decline by 7.98% from 2007 to 2009

A new independent study by HealthGrades of patient outcomes at America's hospitals found that patients at 5-star rated hospitals had a 72% lower risk of dying when compared with patients at 1-star-rated hospitals -- an enormous gap that has held steady over the past years even as overall mortality rates have improved.

20 Oct 2010

Dexamethasone improves quality of life after laparoscopic gallbladder surgery

A study presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2010 Annual Meeting in San Diego seems to confirm that a single, small dose of the steroid dexamethasone improves the post-surgical quality of life of patients receiving laparoscopic gallbladder surgery.

20 Oct 2010

Study: Stricture recurrence rate is low, recurrence can be retreated endoscopically

Researchers from Italy have reported results from more than 10 years of follow-up showing that the placement of multiple endoscopic stents for the treatment of postoperative biliary strictures remains excellent with a low rate of stricture recurrence after this lengthy period of time. When strictures do recur, they can be safely and successfully retreated endoscopically. The study appears in the September issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).

22 Sep 2010

Multi-center results confirm durability of USGI Medical's Expandable Tissue Anchors

USGI Medical, Inc., the Incisionless Surgery company, today announced that updated multi-center results confirm durability of the company's Expandable Tissue Anchors- up to a year or more in a variety of incisionless gastrointestinal (GI) procedures, including use of a ROSE procedure (Repair of Surgery, Endolumenal) to repair dilated tissue after gastric bypass.

14 Sep 2010

Council seeks to limit medical resident working hours for improved patient care

As the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education seeks to improve patient care by further limiting the hours worked by medical residents, the Journal of Surgical Research will published a new study online on Monday reporting that outcomes in two common surgeries - appendectomy and laparoscopic cholecystectomy - were similar among residents who had worked less than 16 hours and those who had worked more than 16 hours.

26 Jul 2010

NOSCAR completes first NOTES transoral and transvaginal gallbladder removal in U.S. human trial

The Natural Orifice Surgery Consortium for Assessment and Research- (NOSCAR-), a joint effort of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), announces the completion of the first transoral and transvaginal cholecystectomies (gallbladder removal) using Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery- (NOTES-) in a multicenter human trial in the United States.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 8 Jul 2010

Informed consent discussions lead to greater patient comprehension of surgical procedures

Surgical patients who participate in longer- to 30-minute- discussions prior to having an operation (known as the informed consent process) better understand the proposed operation, according to new research published in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. In addition, researchers found that asking the patient to "repeat back" their understanding of the procedure was effective in enhancing patient comprehension of informed consent issues. This is the largest study ever conducted on the surgical informed consent process.

8 Jul 2010

Landmark study compares oral and transvaginal NOTES to traditional laparoscopy

As part of the only U.S. prospective multicenter clinical trial to compare natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery to laparoscopy, surgeons at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have performed the trial's first oral gallbladder removal. This landmark study will evaluate whether or not NOTES is safe and as effective as traditional laparoscopic surgery.

8 Jul 2010

New study demonstrates link between smoking and flat adenomas

According to a new study, smoking was found to have a strong association with the presence of flat adenomas (precancerous polyps) in the colon and may explain the earlier onset of colorectal cancer in smokers, as well as the advanced stage with which they present when compared to nonsmokers. Flat adenomas are more difficult to detect and have more aggressive pathology than the typical raised type of polyp detected during colorectal cancer screening.

11 Jun 2010

Delaying cholecystectomy in elderly patients can increase cost and mortality

New research findings published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons indicate that delaying cholecystectomy, the surgical removal of the gallbladder, in elderly patients with sudden inflammation of the organ often results in increased costs, morbidity and mortality.

3 Jun 2010

HealthGrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 2010 identified

The HealthGrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 2010 were identified in a report issued today by the leading independent healthcare ratings organization. The analysis, which examined objective patient outcomes over three years at all 5,000 of the nation’s nonfederal hospitals, found that the 50 Best Hospitals had mortality rates that were, on average, 27% lower than other hospitals.

25 Feb 2010

Olympus launches new medical devices for LESS surgery

A variety of new medical devices specifically designed for Laparo-Endoscopic Single-Site surgery (LESS surgery) has been announced and introduced by Olympus Europa Holding GmbH and Olympus Medical Systems Corporation. LESS surgery is an advanced, minimally invasive operation technique by which an endoscope and hand instruments are inserted through an access port anchored in just one small incision, usually made in the navel. After developing all the medical devices needed to perform LESS surgery, Olympus has yet again proven its leadership in the field. The release of these innovative devices in Europe took place in autumn 2009.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 18 Feb 2010

Boston Scientific commences patient enrollment in its WallFlex Biliary RX Fully Covered Stent trial

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in a clinical trial to evaluate its WallFlex® Biliary RX Fully Covered Stent for the treatment of benign bile duct strictures. This multi-center, prospective study plans to enroll 187 patients at 11 centers worldwide over the next 18 months.

17 Jan 2010

Abdominal surgery may increase risk of complications and death in older patients

The risk of complications and early death after commonly performed abdominal surgical procedures appears to be higher among older adults, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

22 Dec 2009

Cholesterol-lowering drugs associated with reduced risk of gallstone disease

Use of the cholesterol-lowering drugs statins for more than a year is associated with a reduced risk of having gallstones requiring surgery, according to a study in the November 11 issue of JAMA.

11 Nov 2009

Delays contribute to unnecessary ER visits and additional imaging services in symptomatic gallstone treatment

Getting patients to the operating room more quickly could cut by half the amount paid for hospital treatment of painful gallstones, researchers reported today at the 2009 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.

15 Oct 2009

Patient outcomes better in highly rated hospitals than others

The largest annual study of patient outcomes at each of the nation's 5,000 nonfederal hospitals found a wide gap in quality between the nation's best hospitals and all others. According to the study, issued today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization, patients at highly rated hospitals have a 52 percent lower chance of dying compared with the U.S. hospital average, a quality chasm that has persisted for the last decade even as mortality rates, in general, have declined.

13 Oct 2009

New research offers significant insights into the long-term impact of a major disaster on routine surgical services

New research published in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons offers important insights into the long-term impact of a major disaster on routine surgical services in a hospital. In the study, researchers at Ochsner Health System, New Orleans, LA, showed that although Hurricane Katrina resulted in a significant loss of surgical staff and an increase in the number of uninsured patients undergoing operations, greater cost efficiencies were achieved.

25 Sep 2009

Flat fees and EMR usage vary significantly in different hospitals

HighRoads, the company providing employers – for the first time – complete control over their health care costs and compliance, today announced findings from the industry’s first medical travel request for information (RFI) for Fortune 500 employers to compare health care procedural ethics, quality and costs around the world.

4 Sep 2009

Surgeons successfully perform first-in-man results with four channel laparoscopic surgical platform

Officials with TransEnterix announce that surgeons from the United States and Paraguay have successfully performed first-in-man studies of its revolutionary single-incision, single-port, four-channel laparoscopic surgical platform called the SPIDER™ System.

1 Sep 2009