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Less complications with open surgery when dealing with hernia repair

A Veterans Affairs study of nearly 1,700 hernia-repair operations found fewer recurrences and complications overall with open surgery than with laparoscopic surgery. The study is being presented April 25 at the spring meeting of the American College of Surgeons in Boston.

28 Apr 2004

British doctors say 40% or 9 million sick notes are suspect each year

British doctors get 22 million requests for sick-notes every year - and they estimate that nine million of these are suspect, according to a new report.

28 Apr 2004

Contraceptive pill may reduce sport injuries in women

The contraceptive pill may be the answer for sports women who are prone to knee injuries, according to a Australian study.

27 Apr 2004

Anesthesiologists battle post-op pain

Post-operative pain is the No. 1 issue for people who've had surgery-and University of Utah anesthesiologists are helping these patients fight that battle on several fronts.

27 Apr 2004

BioTime awarded a research grant for blood plasma volume expander

BioTime, Inc. has announced that it has been awarded a research grant by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for use in the development of its HetaCool® blood plasma volume expander following peer review.

27 Apr 2004

A ten year study shows that surgery is not only effective, but the preferred treatment for select epilepsy patients

A study of ten years of patient outcomes shows that surgery is not only effective, but the preferred treatment for select epilepsy patients. In the most comprehensive study of long-term surgery success rates, Mayo Clinic physicians report that 73 percent of 491 Mayo Clinic patients were either seizure-free or experienced seizures only when medication was discontinued.

27 Apr 2004

Hand surgeons warn of gardening dangers

The American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) recommends gardeners take the proper precautions to prevent hand-related injuries before digging or planting in the garden this spring. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), emergency rooms treat more than 400,000 outdoor garden-tool-related accidents each year.

27 Apr 2004

$Safer flooring lowers risk of hip fracture$

Safer flooring lowers risk of hip fracture

Elderly people living in residential homes are at significantly lower risk of hip fracture if they fall on carpeted wooden floors than onto any other type of flooring, researchers from the University of Edinburgh have found.

26 Apr 2004

New analytical approach that combines genetic and clinical data to give individualized prognosis of cancer recurrence

Researchers at Duke University have developed a new analytical approach that combines genetic and clinical data to give cancer patients an individualized prognosis of their cancer recurrence. The information could prove critical in deciding how aggressively to treat the disease following surgery.

26 Apr 2004

St. Francis uses latest technology to comfort surgery patients

The old cotton patient gowns and warmed cotton blankets are history in St. Francis’ Procedural Services Department. Surgery patients can now control their warmth while wearing the Bair Paws patient adjustable warming system. The Bair Paws system combines forced-air warming and patient gowning in one step.

26 Apr 2004

Injections of adult stem cells could repair hearts

Injections of adult stem cells into damaged heart tissue significantly improved heart function in patients with severe congestive heart failure, according to results of the first prospective randomized trial of the experimental therapy presented today at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery.

26 Apr 2004

A study of nearly 1,700 hernia repair operations found fewer recurrences and complications overall with open surgery than with laparoscopic surgery

26 Apr 2004

Fewer recurrences and complications overall with open surgery than with laparoscopic surgery

25 Apr 2004

New use of Botox helps voice disorders

An injection that’s best known for smoothing wrinkles also helps restore the voices — and the confidence — of people with a voice disorder caused by spasms in their vocal cord muscles, a new University of Michigan study finds.

24 Apr 2004

The donor heart pool could be expanded by including undersized hearts

The donor heart pool could be expanded by including undersized hearts, according to a study presented today at the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation.

24 Apr 2004

WHO calls for Sudan humanitarian assistance

Intensified and urgent action is needed in the Greater Darfur Region of western Sudan to address one of the most severe humanitarian emergencies today. Given the current situation, the humanitarian crisis will last several months.

23 Apr 2004

Cardiac Intensive Care Unit lowest heart attack rates in the state of Texas

That’s because the CICU he runs has the lowest myocardial infarction (heart attack) mortality in the entire South Texas region. It has one of the lowest rates in the state of Texas.

23 Apr 2004

The April 2004 issue of Otolaryngology focuses on head and neck surgery

The efficacy of a new cancer-fighting virus is tested in the study, “Treatment of Solid Sarcomas in Immunocompetent Mice with Novel Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Viruses.” A team of multi-disciplinary Japanese researchers found that a weakened version of herpes simplex virus (HSV) effectively eradicated neck and flank tumors in mice.

23 Apr 2004

Statement on patient safety principles for office-based surgery

Over the past few years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of invasive procedures being performed in the office setting. Recognizing that many states still haven't issued patient safety guidelines in this area, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) sponsored a resolution, which was passed at the American Medical Association's (AMA's) December 2002 Interim Meeting of its House of Delegates.

22 Apr 2004

Transplant survival rates decreased significantly (43%) when patients had abnormal or diseased aortic valves before receiving an LVAD

More and more, physicians are using the left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, to sustain patients who are awaiting heart transplants. The surgically implanted mechanical device takes over for weak and diseased hearts, acting as a bridge to transplant surgery.

22 Apr 2004