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Increased risk associated with combining carotid artery, coronary artery surgeries

Among patients undergoing evaluation for coronary artery bypass surgery, stroke neurologists are frequently consulted when the patient also has severe carotid artery stenosis (blockage of an artery that supplies blood to the brain).

25 Apr 2005

Evidence suggests bypass surgery free of long-term brain effects

A broad retrospective review of the effects of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) on memory and other brain functions concludes that, while there may be transient short-term effects, the procedure itself probably does not cause late or permanent neurological effects.

25 Apr 2005

Patient with rare liver condition second ever to survive liver transplant after pregnancy

For Billi Tierney, 30, National Donate Life Month in April has a profound meaning. The first-time mother of Sycamore, Ill., was awaiting anxiously the arrival of her first baby. But she never thought that complications from her pregnancy were going to lead to a week in coma and the urgent need for a liver transplant. Tierney suffered from acute liver fatty of pregnancy, a rare, but serious condition of pregnancy in which there is an excessive accumulation of fat in the liver or liver cells.

23 Apr 2005

Ensuring patient safety at fertility clinics

In the years since the birth of the first ‘test-tube’ baby in 1978, in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) has grown to become an accepted mainstream medical technique, with more than 25,000 treatments carried out every year.

23 Apr 2005

A beautiful exterior bolsters your self-esteem and thereby helps keep you healthy

This is a common argument in favor of beauty surgery, which has been scrutinized in a dissertation from Linköping University in Sweden. Beauty surgery, or aesthetic surgery, is a rapidly growing business. The first clinic in Sweden opened in the 1980s. Today there are more than 30 clinics that offer aesthetic surgery.

23 Apr 2005

Rare surgery performed to remove pancreas, prevent diabetes and ease pain of chronic pancreatitis

In a 12-hour, dual-stage surgery known to be performed at only two other centers in the U.S., doctors at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) on Tuesday returned a patient's own insulin-producing cells to him after surgically removing his pancreas to eliminate constant, severe pain from chronic pancreatitis.

22 Apr 2005

“Virtual Colonoscopy” effective in finding most polyps but may miss small ones

A type of noninvasive “virtual colonoscopy” can diagnose medium to large polyps as well as traditional colorectal probes can, but it may miss some smaller yet potentially cancerous growths, according to a new review of studies.

21 Apr 2005

Number and quality of kidney transplants much greater if national matching program adopted

A collaboration between Johns Hopkins and Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists has mathematically demonstrated that a national matching program for kidney paired donation, also called paired kidney exchange, would ensure the best possible kidney for the greatest number of recipients who have incompatible donors.

19 Apr 2005

World's first recipient of insulin-producing cells from a living donor

A 27-year-old diabetic woman has become the world's first recipient of insulin-producing cells from a living donor.

19 Apr 2005

Surgery for children with sleep apnea improves quality of life

Children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have improvements in their quality of life as well as their sleep disorder after surgical removal of the tonsils and adenoid tissue, according to an article in the April issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

19 Apr 2005

Long term outcomes for children who undergo ear tube placement surgery

Infants and young children who undergo surgery to insert ventilation tubes in their ears as a treatment for ear infections have hearing levels comparable to normal children 14 years later, although children with more serious disease may require repeat procedures or other ear surgery, according to two studies in the April issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

19 Apr 2005

Gastric bypass patients fare better as surgical procedures increase

Risk of serious complications and death following gastric bypass surgery for morbid obesity may be reduced substantially when the surgery is performed at high volume centers and the surgeons have reached the 100 case experience, according to an article in the April issue of Archives of Surgery.

19 Apr 2005

$Laser refractive surgery is a safe, effective way to correct myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism$

Laser refractive surgery is a safe, effective way to correct myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism

Hopkins researchers have found that patients experiencing vision problems following cataract removal and intraocular lens implantation (CE-IOL) may have better results from laser refractive surgery, which spares them potential complications of lens implant replacement and the inconvenience of glasses.

19 Apr 2005

Plastic surgeons caution against unknown dangers of mesotherapy

The allure of shedding unwanted pockets of fat with a series of simple injections, known as mesotherapy, sounds too good to be true - and it just might be. According to an ASPS Device & Technique Assessment (DATA) Committee report published in the April 15 issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery® (PRS), the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), patients should be wary of mesotherapy until the safety and effectiveness of the procedure are confirmed.

19 Apr 2005

Getting coronary bypass patients back on their feet sooner

Often after coronary bypass graft surgery, patients suffer more pain in their leg than any other part of the body. The pain is due to the harvesting of a healthy blood vessel from the leg to construct the bypass graft. Traditionally, the vein was removed with a long incision that may stretch from ankle to groin. Many patients may not be aware there is an alternative.

12 Apr 2005

No link between silicone implants and systemic disease

Silicone breast implants have been scrutinized more than any medical device, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has stated.

10 Apr 2005

New technology and treatments for heart and lung patients drive revisions

The process for prioritizing heart and lung transplant candidates and determining the treatments they receive while awaiting donor organs is under review by the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) during its Annual Meeting and Scientific Session this week in Philadelphia.

7 Apr 2005

Kidney transplant can reverse systolic heart failure

Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center say that contrary to conventional thinking, a kidney transplant can significantly improve the heart function of people on dialysis with a serious form of heart failure.

6 Apr 2005

Weight loss surgery is the most effective treatment available for obesity say experts

A panel of experts charged with reviewing all the available evidence on morbid obesity and weight loss surgery today concluded weight loss surgery is the most effective treatment available and can result in the improvement or complete resolution of diseases associated with obesity, according to a consensus statement published in the April edition of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS).

5 Apr 2005

Operation yields best results for severe obesity

Surgical treatment of severe obesity provides long-term wait loss and better quality of life compared with conventional treatment in primary health care. This is shown in a ten-year follow-up of the psychosocial component of the Swedish Obese Subjects project, SOS, at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg.

4 Apr 2005