Appendectomy News and Research

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An appendicectomy (or appendectomy) is the surgical removal of the vermiform appendix. This procedure is normally performed as an emergency procedure, when the patient is suffering from acute appendicitis. In the absence of surgical facilities, intravenous antibiotics are used to delay or avoid the onset of sepsis; it is now recognized that many cases will resolve when treated non-operatively. In some cases the appendicitis resolves completely; more often, an inflammatory mass forms around the appendix. This is a relative contraindication to surgery.

Pay-for-performance policies may create financial disincentives for doctors to treat obese patients

Pay-for-performance reimbursement of surgeons, intended to reward doctors and hospitals for good patient outcomes, may instead be creating financial incentives for discriminating against obese patients, who are much more likely to suffer expensive complications after even the most routine surgeries, according to new Johns Hopkins research.

3 May 2010

Physician's perspective: Bundling Medicare payments could cut costs, without reducing quality

The Washington Post has a section today titled "Scenes from the 21st century doctor's office."

10 Mar 2010

HealthGrades names Good Samaritan Hospital as One of America’s 50 Best Hospitals in 2010

Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles is named as One of America’s 50 Best Hospitals in 2010 by HealthGrades, Inc., the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

24 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

Preoperative CT may help reduce unnecessary surgeries in women with suspected acute appendicitis

Preoperative computed tomography (CT) may help reduce unnecessary surgeries in women of reproductive age with suspected acute appendicitis, according to a new study appearing in the February issue of the journal Radiology.

27 Jan 2010

Risk of postoperative visual loss is highest after heart surgery

Imagine waking up after surgery to find out you have lost your sight—permanently. Although rare, postoperative visual loss is a well-recognized complication of anesthesia and surgery that is more common after certain types of procedures and in some groups of patients, according to a study in the November issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

3 Nov 2009

Study: Minimally invasive procedure reduces cost and complications compared to open surgery

Ethicon Endo-Surgery today announced results from two newly published studies that demonstrate a minimally invasive approach in three common procedures resulted in a reduced rate of complications and lower overall cost of care, including a difference of more than $15,000 on average for minimally invasive colectomies, when compared to open surgery.

27 Oct 2009

Vision loss after non-ocular surgery is rare but potentially devastating

Vision loss after non-ocular surgery is a rare but potentially devastating surgical complication that is usually the result of cortical blindness, ischemic optic neuropathy or retinal vascular occlusion. Due to its rare and unexpected occurrence, the origin of perioperative vision loss (POVL) is poorly understood.

26 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

Biomarker in urine for appendicitis

Appendicitis is the most common childhood surgical emergency, but the diagnosis can be challenging, especially in children, often leading to either unnecessary surgery in children without appendicitis, or a ruptured appendix and serious complications when the condition is missed.

23 Jun 2009

Treating appendicitis by laparoscopic surgery may not be worth the cost

New research published in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons suggests that a traditional, "open" appendectomy may be preferable to a less-invasive laparoscopic appendectomy for the majority of patients with acute appendicitis, contrary to recent trends.

3 Feb 2009

Contact with plants shown to directly benefit patient's health

Contact with nature has long been suspected to increase positive feelings, reduce stress, and provide distraction from the pain associated with recovery from surgery.

30 Dec 2008

New guidelines for congenital heart disease

These days most children born with congenital heart disease live well into adulthood, thanks to innovative surgical, interventional and medical treatments.

8 Nov 2008

Sudden loss of hearing might be an early sign of stroke

Preliminary research culled from a national medical insurance records database in Taiwan suggests that sudden loss of hearing might be an early sign of vulnerability to stroke, foreshadowing an actual cerebrovascular event by as much as two years, according to a study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

27 Jun 2008

Variability in health care treatment costs amongst 9 EU countries

With ‘health tourism' rising across the European Union, consumers, insurers and Governments are increasingly interested in the relative cost of common procedures in different countries.

9 Jan 2008

Pregnant women at risk for unnecessary operations due to misdiagnosis of appendicitis

New research published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons suggests that pregnant women suspected of having appendicitis are often misdiagnosed and undergo unnecessary appendectomies (removal of the appendix) that can result in early delivery or loss of the fetus.

24 Oct 2007

Key signs of appendicitis

A 5-year-old with abdominal pain, nausea and fever may have appendicitis or any of a number of other problems.

3 Aug 2007

Doctors remove woman's gallbladder through her vagina

In what must be a first surgeons have removed a woman's gallbladder from her body through her vagina.

22 Apr 2007

Gall bladder removed vaginally using endoscope

Medical and surgical endoscopists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center removed a woman's gall bladder using a flexible endoscope with only minimal external incisions.

21 Apr 2007

Uninsured children admitted to hospitals are twice as likely to die as insured children

Children who lack health insurance are twice as likely to die from their injuries after being hospitalized as children who are insured, according to a new report released by Families USA, USA Today reports. For the report, researchers led by J. Mick Tilford of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences analyzed government data from 2000 and 2003.

4 Mar 2007