Surgery News and Research

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Bariatric surgery offers a new hope for obese patients

Obesity is a condition that often follows family lines, but bariatric surgery offers hope for breaking this generational pattern.

18 Jan 2010

Japan's MHLW approves InSightec's ExAblate MRgFUS system

InSightec Ltd. announced today that Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has approved the company's ExAblate(R) MR-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) system for the treatment of women with uterine fibroids.

18 Jan 2010

Study provides strong evidence that intense neural activity underlies the experience of seeing

How do the visual images we experience, which have no tangible existence, arise out of physical processes in the brain? New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science provided evidence, for the first time, that an 'ignition' of intense neural activity underlies the experience of seeing.

18 Jan 2010

New mobile dental radiology service from 3D Mobile Imaging of the CSRA

(3D Mobile Imaging of the CSRA and AFP Imaging Corporation Dental practitioners in Georgia and South Carolina can now offer the latest technology and greatest convenience to their patients thanks to a new mobile dental radiology service.

18 Jan 2010

Covidien files patent infringement lawsuit against Ethicon Endo-Surgery

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced that, through its family of companies, a lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut against Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, relating to Ethicon’s Harmonic® line of ultrasonic surgical products.

18 Jan 2010

Scientists discover potential biomarkers to predict the spread of colon cancer

Scientists in China are reporting discovery of two proteins present in the blood, of people with colon cancer that may serve as the potential biomarkers for accurately predicting whether the disease will spread.

18 Jan 2010

Results show neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy improves patients with EC

Esophageal carcinoma (EC) is one of the major malignant diseases worldwide. Surgery alone cannot obtain satisfactory effects in patients with EC. Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy has been a hotspot for EC treatment research. Several related randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been published, but opinions vary among clinicians as to the therapeutic effect of the new method.

18 Jan 2010

New class of drugs could help prevent skin cancer

A new study by Loyola University Health System researchers could lead to alternative treatments that would shrink skin cancer tumors with drugs. The drugs would work by turning on a gene that prevents skin cells from becoming cancerous, said senior author Mitchell Denning, Ph.D.

18 Jan 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

CT-guided biopsy: An alternative method for patients with pancreatic masses

It is reasonable to obtain a histological diagnosis before treating patients who have pancreatic masses and are unsuitable or unwilling to undergo surgery. As the pancreas is a deep seated organ surrounded by other vital structures, it is a challenge for the physician to obtain an adequate specimen for histological examination.

17 Jan 2010

Zassi Medical Evolutions forms new company to develop electrical stimulation technology

Zassi Medical Evolutions, a privately held organization that innovates, designs and develops high technology medical devices and software announced today that it has successfully spun out and formed a new company with Tucson, Arizona based Research Corporation Technologies (RCT) to pursue the continued development of a novel electrical stimulation technology for the gastrointestinal continence control market.

13 Jan 2010

Tips to prevent injuries during winter season

"There is always a risk of suffering injuries during physical activities, and skiing and snowboarding are no exception," said orthotraumatologist Wade Smith, Vice-Chairman of Orthopedics for Geisinger Health System. "Due to the nature of these sports, many of the injuries that skiers and snowboarders suffer are serious and require immediate medical attention."

13 Jan 2010

Obesity could lead to renal cell cancer: BJUI

Being obese could lead to a greater risk of developing the most common form of renal cell cancer, according to research in the January issue of the UK-based urology journal BJUI.

13 Jan 2010

Emmi Solutions expands existing suite of cancer-related programs in collaboration with ACS

Emmi Solutions, LLC, creators of Web-based interactive multimedia patient education programs, has collaborated with the American Cancer Society, the nation’s leading voluntary health organization and the preeminent source of cancer information and service, to expand Emmi Solutions’ existing suite of cancer-related programs.

13 Jan 2010

Findings may pave way for significant advancements in cochlear implant technology for hearing loss

Loss of spiral ganglion neurons or hair cells in the inner ear is the leading cause of congenital and acquired hearing impairment. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health found that Sox2, a protein that regulates stem cell formation, is involved in spiral ganglion neuron development. The study was published in the January 13 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

13 Jan 2010

PRP injections are ineffective for treating Achilles tendon disorder

An apparently increasingly used treatment method for a type of Achilles tendon disorder that includes injection of platelet-rich plasma into the tendon does not appear to result in greater improvement in pain or activity compared to placebo, according to results of a preliminary study published in the January 13 issue of JAMA.

13 Jan 2010

DASH formable absorbent retractor improves patient safety

The risk of retaining a foreign object during surgery is well documented. Efforts to reduce its incidence may include the use of fewer laparotomy pads. Now there is a clinically proven device that is designed to improve surgical outcomes -- The DASH™ (Disposable Absorbent Secure Hold) formable absorbent retractor, addresses the challenges of unintentional soft tissue trauma and retained foreign objects after surgery, enhancing patient safety.

13 Jan 2010

Studies suggest ways to prevent post-surgical infections in hospitals

Two new studies are suggesting relatively simple ways in which hospitals can prevent many post-surgical infections by killing bacteria the patients themselves bring in, according to Monday's New York Times.

13 Jan 2010

SEDLine acquires Hospira's BFM business

SEDLine™, Inc., announced today that it has acquired the brain function monitoring business of Hospira, Inc.. Privately held and backed with an investment from Masimo Corporation, SEDLine, Inc., based in Irvine, California, was formed with the mission to advance neuromonitoring technologies to improve the care of patients under anesthesia or sedation.

13 Jan 2010

Abraxis Bioscience awards John Wayne Cancer Institute $1M grant for identifying new cancer biomarkers

A $1 million grant from Abraxis Bioscience, Inc. to a world-famous research laboratory at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John’s Health Center could help save lives of cancer patients by helping doctors more rapidly assess whether a treatment is working or not.

12 Jan 2010