Surgery News and Research

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Hypertension, diabetes and obesity are important independent predictors of increased complications for patients undergoing major joint replacement surgery

Using a database of nearly 1 million Americans who underwent major joint replacement surgery, a team led by researchers at Duke University Medical Center have determined those surgical patients with diabetes, hypertension or obesity were significantly more likely to suffer post-operative complications.

1 Jun 2005

Heart doctors say off-pump or on-pump, no difference in bypass surgery

As far as the American Heart Association (AHA) is concerned, the long running debate over whether patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery do better if their hearts keep beating or if a heart-lung machine takes over should end.

1 Jun 2005

Long-haul flights, length of time under anesthesia increase risk of developing blood clots

The prolonged immobility of flight passengers during long-haul air travel increases the risk of developing blood clots, which could prove fatal especially to people whose travel occurs just prior to major surgery, medical researchers report in the current issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

31 May 2005

Little mermaid Milagros to have major surgery

Little Peruvian baby girl Milagros who celebrated her first birthday a month ago has been nicknamed the "little mermaid" because her legs resemble the tail of a fish.

31 May 2005

1980's brain surgery may have exposed 50 patients to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

It has now been revealed that as many as 50 patients may have been exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) following brain surgery during the 1980s.

31 May 2005

Doctor sold Surgery Board exam answers on eBay

The American Board of Surgery is being forced to rewrite its certifying exam and change its examination rules after 86 answers to the test turned up for auction on eBay in August, 2004.

31 May 2005

Young adults forget their own life-support decisions

More than half of young adults soon unwittingly change their minds about decisions they make governing future life-saving medical treatment for themselves, a new study has found.

30 May 2005

Fluorescence device to diagnose atherosclerosis and tumors

In a presentation at the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO), researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Biophotonics Research and Technology Development Laboratory described recent progress on a device that stimulates, collects and measures light emissions from body tissues to diagnose critical atherosclerotic plaques (vulnerable plaques) and aggressive brain tumors.

29 May 2005

New study shows that bypass surgery is more successful than stents in heart surgery

A study of nearly 60,000 patients has found that people with several clogged heart arteries did better if they had bypass surgery rather than a less-drastic procedure in which the blood vessels are propped open with tiny mesh cylinders called stents.

26 May 2005

New type of inhalation chemotherapy

Pediatric cancer specialists at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) are investigating a new type of inhalation chemotherapy with the potential to treat children with a deadly bone cancer that has spread to their lungs.

26 May 2005

Stimulating innate immunity helps ease Crohn's disease symptoms

Like throwing oil on a fire or prescribing a high cholesterol diet for heart patients, gastroenterologists traditionally have believed that it would not be a good idea to stoke up the body's immune system to treat Crohn's disease.

26 May 2005

A small kidney stone should not preclude people from being donors

Results from a Mayo Clinic study suggest that using kidneys which have kidney stones for living donor transplant has little impact on the organ's function one year later.

26 May 2005

Increase in heart surgery mortality from SSRIs or depression?

Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that patients who were using a class of anti-depression drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) prior to undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery have significantly higher death and rehospitalization rates up to five years after the procedure than patients who were not on SSRIs.

26 May 2005

Research provides roadmap for the development of human therapies for cytomegalovirus (CMV)

McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) researchers have defined genetic resistance to the widespread virus, cytomegalovirus (CMV)--a member of the viral group that causes some of the world's most prevalent diseases, such as herpes, chicken pox and mononucleosis.

26 May 2005

Listening to favorite music during surgery lessens need for sedative

Patients listening to their favorite music required much less sedation during surgery than did patients who listened to white noise or operating room noise, according to a Yale School of Medicine study published in May.

26 May 2005

Patients with metabolic syndrome and moderate calcium levels in the coronary arteries have greater chance of blocked arteries

Conditions such as abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels and high blood sugar are problematic enough for people all on their own.

26 May 2005

Nearly 50 millions Americans do not have access to a level I or II trauma center within an hour

Despite the growing number of trauma centers over the past decade, studies indicate that their geographic distribution varies widely across states, according to background information in the article.

25 May 2005

Practice of defensive medicine widespread among physicians in specialties at high risk of lawsuits

More than 90 percent of surveyed physicians in Pennsylvania reported defensive medicine practices such as over-ordering of diagnostic tests, unnecessary referrals and avoidance of high-risk patients, according to a study in the June 1 issue of JAMA.

25 May 2005

Study shows using expanded critera donors is safe

Patients who had received livers from hepatitis B virus core antibody (HBcAb) positive (indicates prior exposure to hepatitis B) and/or hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive donors had similar graft and patient survival compared to patients who received HBcAb negative or HCV negative livers, according to a study by the University of Pittsburgh's Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute.

25 May 2005

Patients disfigured in traumatic incidents may experience significant social and behavioral problems

Patients disfigured in traumatic incidents are much more likely to suffer post traumatic stress disorder, unemployment, marital problems, binge drinking and depression, according to a study by Yale School of Medicine researchers.

25 May 2005

Surgery News and Research

Hypertension, diabetes and obesity are important independent predictors of increased complications for patients undergoing major joint replacement surgery

Heart doctors say off-pump or on-pump, no difference in bypass surgery

Long-haul flights, length of time under anesthesia increase risk of developing blood clots

Little mermaid Milagros to have major surgery

1980's brain surgery may have exposed 50 patients to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Doctor sold Surgery Board exam answers on eBay

Young adults forget their own life-support decisions

Fluorescence device to diagnose atherosclerosis and tumors

New study shows that bypass surgery is more successful than stents in heart surgery

New type of inhalation chemotherapy

Stimulating innate immunity helps ease Crohn's disease symptoms

A small kidney stone should not preclude people from being donors

Increase in heart surgery mortality from SSRIs or depression?

Research provides roadmap for the development of human therapies for cytomegalovirus (CMV)

Listening to favorite music during surgery lessens need for sedative

Patients with metabolic syndrome and moderate calcium levels in the coronary arteries have greater chance of blocked arteries

Nearly 50 millions Americans do not have access to a level I or II trauma center within an hour

Practice of defensive medicine widespread among physicians in specialties at high risk of lawsuits

Study shows using expanded critera donors is safe

Patients disfigured in traumatic incidents may experience significant social and behavioral problems

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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