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Few physicians recommend active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer

Few physicians recommend active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer rather than pursuing surgery or radiation, according to a Mayo Clinic study being presented at the North Central Section of the American Urological Association's annual meeting Oct. 10-13 in Chicago.

15 Oct 2012

Study evaluates international data on kidney transplantation

Kidney transplants performed in Europe are considerably more successful in the long run than those performed in the United States.

15 Oct 2012

Wal-Mart expanding program for no-cost employee surgeries

Wal-Mart announced this week that it will expand a program that ends out-of-pocket procedure and travel costs for employees seeking some heart and spine surgeries if they go to hospitals across the country that have agreements with the retailer.

15 Oct 2012

Elekta Synergy system with Agility 160-leaf MLC now available at Radboud

The first of three newly acquired Elekta Synergy treatment systems equipped with Agility 160-leaf multi-leaf collimator (MLC) is now up and running clinically at Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center - making the clinic the first in the Netherlands to use Agility.

From Elekta 15 Oct 2012

Duke researchers develop new 3-D tool for heart surgery

A team of researchers from Duke University speaking at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2012 annual meeting revealed the development of a new 3-D tool that enables trainees in transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) to have real-time instruction in obtaining and interpreting high-quality images of the heart and major vessels - and it's all just a finger swipe away on your Apple iPad.

15 Oct 2012

Novel method can determine how ready acute myeloid leukemia cells are to die

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have developed a novel method for determining how ready acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells are to die, a discovery that may help cancer specialists to choose treatments option more effectively for their patients who have AML.

12 Oct 2012

Study compares two drug combinations for use as deep sedation during oral surgery

The ideal sedative for oral surgery should make the patient comfortable during the surgery and should wear off quickly enough that the patient can leave the dental chair soon after the procedure. Finding the best plan of anesthetic treatment is essential to the success of dental procedures such as the extraction of wisdom teeth.

12 Oct 2012

Study identifies pitfalls in current calculation of hospital readmission rates in spine surgery

When hospital patients have to be readmitted soon after discharge, hospitals look bad. And in addition to reflecting poorly on a hospital's quality of care, a high readmission rate also can result in reduced Medicare reimbursements, under provisions now taking effect under the 2010 health care law.

12 Oct 2012

Single genetic variant in kidney donors' cells may play an important role in transplant longevity

A single genetic variant in kidney donors' cells may help determine whether their transplanted organs will survive long term, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

12 Oct 2012

Simple quiz could help doctors determine kidney dialysis patients at risk of death

A simple six-question quiz, typically used to assess disabilities in the elderly, could help doctors determine which kidney dialysis patients of any age are at the greatest risk of death, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

12 Oct 2012

Clinical study to investigate Cytori's adipose-derived cell therapy in patients with heart failure

Timothy Henry, M.D. of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation treated the first patient in the ATHENA study, injecting the patient's own stem cells into the heart to restore blood flow and help regenerate heart muscle. Henry, the Foundation's Director of Research is co-principal investigator of the ATHENA study sponsored by Cytori Therapeutics.

12 Oct 2012

Study finds reporting heart procedure results can limit use

The research in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that in states that report outcomes from procedures to open blocked arteries, patients are less likely to get the treatment. However, they found no differences in patient survival.

11 Oct 2012

Transplanted neural stem cells able to produce new myelin in children with PMD

A Phase I clinical trial led by investigators from the University of California, San Francisco and sponsored by Stem Cells Inc., showed that neural stem cells successfully engrafted into the brains of patients and appear to have produced myelin.

11 Oct 2012

FDA clears Surefire's Angiographic Catheter line

Surefire Medical, Inc. announced today that the company has received 510(k) FDA clearance to market its line of Surefire Angiographic Catheters. Surefire Medical will launch these products in the United States later this year.

10 Oct 2012

Nearly all groups of patients with spinal stenosis do better with surgery

Nearly all groups of patients with spinal stenosis—but not smokers—do better with surgery than with nonsurgical treatment, reports a study in the October 1 issue of Spine.

10 Oct 2012

ASTRO names distinguished neurosurgeon as 2012 Honorary Member

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has named Mark P. Carol, MD, a distinguished leader in the fields of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), as its 2012 Honorary Member, which is the highest honor the Society bestows upon distinguished cancer researchers and leaders in disciplines other than radiation oncology, radiation physics or radiobiology.

10 Oct 2012

Organ Care System safe and feasible for lung transplant patients

The Lancet has published the initial series of successful lung transplants demonstrating the feasibility and safety of using the Organ Care System (OCS) Lung technology, at Hannover Medical School and Puerta de Hierro Hospital Madrid.

10 Oct 2012

Surgical intervention can help fetuses with congenital malformations

Fetuses with congenital malformations can be helped by surgical intervention while still in the womb. The potential of intrauterine surgery to improve their chances of survival is described by Anke Diemert and her co-authors in the latest issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.

9 Oct 2012

Coffee consumption activates bowel motility after elective colonic surgery

Patients who drank coffee, rather than water, after bowel surgery to remove a part of their colon experienced a quicker return to bowel movements and tolerance of solid food.

9 Oct 2012

Women more likely to develop UTI after pelvic-floor surgery

Women who have a positive urine culture test on the day of surgery for a pelvic-floor disorder are more likely to have a urinary tract infection (UTI) in the first six weeks after the procedure.

9 Oct 2012