June Research Highlights
Cedars-SinaiA roundup of the latest medical discoveries and faculty news at Cedars-Sinai for June 2023.
A roundup of the latest medical discoveries and faculty news at Cedars-Sinai for June 2023.
Military and civilian trauma experts from around the country convened for a three-day training event to reinforce vascular, plastic and orthopedic surgical skills for advanced combat surgical readiness. The program provided an opportunity to share trauma rehabilitation best practices, both within the military and civilian sectors.
Adam J. Schell, M.D., a Fellowship-trained orthopedic spine surgeon, and physiatrist Mara Vucich, D.O., both of The Maryland Spine Center at Mercy, are the featured guests on Mercy Medical Center’s monthly talk show, “Medoscopy,” airing Wednesday and Thursday, July 19th and 20th, at 5:30 p.m. EST.
A combination of two established surgical techniques provides good outcomes in repair of cleft palate in infants, reports a study in the July issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
When indicated, helmet therapy is a highly effective treatment for position-related head flattening (deformational plagiocephaly [DP]) in infants. However, infants with Medicaid insurance are less likely to receive helmet therapy and more likely to have delayed treatment, reports the July issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
A study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons reveals that performing a minor surgical procedure on patients newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer helps to identify cancer spread early and determine the stage of cancer.
With the growing popularity of medications like Ozempic® (semaglutide), Trulicity® (dulaglutide), and other glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and weight loss, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) suggests withholding the medication before elective surgery to reduce the risk of complications associated with anesthesia in adults and children.
Odontoid fractures—those occurring in the second cervical vertebra—are common in elderly patients after a low-energy fall. However, whether the initial treatment should be surgical or nonoperative still isn’t known. Previous studies haven’t accounted for differences in injury severity, or the presence or absence of neurologic impairment, which can affect patients’ results.
A new study finds that the minimum level of oxygen delivery during cardiopulmonary bypass may be lower than previously thought — meaning, there may be opportunities to avoid transfusing patients during cardiac surgical procedures. Researchers say cardiac surgical programs may be unnecessarily transfusing patients to prevent kidney injury.
Hernia Awareness Month occurs each year in June, and this year the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative (ACHQC) is celebrating with the launch of its new Verified Surgeon of Quality Program. Amitabh Goel, MD, FACS, Chair of the Department of Surgery at University Hospitals (UH) Geneva Medical Center, and clinical professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has been recognized by the organization as a Verified Surgeon of Quality.
After an awake surgery to remove a cancerous brain tumor, a Michigan man is living “more deliberately” than ever — officiating a high school wrestling state championship and participating in research for a potential cure.
A multi-faceted device for effectively treating deep, non-compressible, and irregularly-shaped wounds has been engineered by the scientists at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI).
A team of surgical experts led by Gregory J. Tiesi, M.D., FACS, FSSO, began implanting hepatic artery infusion pumps in patients at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center in June. They are among the first in New Jersey to provide the pump for patients.
The summit is a good place to be. Staying active on the hiking trails around the southern highlands of Australia, where he retired earlier this year after a career in film marketing, Jon Anderson is feeling there’s little he can’t conquer.
UC San Francisco Medical Center (UCSF) is among the first four hospitals in the U.S. to be verified as part of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Vascular Verification Program (Vascular-VP), a quality program recently launched in partnership with the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS).
A world-renowned biochemist joins the Sylvester Cancer team, a global health leader strives to ensure more equitable cancer care, a recent study identifies disparities in federal cancer research funding, new targeted therapies for thyroid and other cancers are making surgery a secondary option for many patients, efforts to preserve women’s sexual health while they receive endocrine therapy for breast cancer, and more are highlighted in this month’s tip sheet from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Today, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) joined 61 bipartisan senators and 233 members of the House of Representatives in urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to swiftly finalize rules to increase transparency, streamline and standardize prior authorization (PA), including modifying the final rules to more closely align with the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act.
A second-generation "all-inside" meniscal repair system provides a high success rate at long-term follow-up, reports a study in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio in partnership with Wolters Kluwer.
For patients undergoing surgery for elbow trauma, treatment with the hemostatic drug tranexamic acid (TXA) is associated with a decreased incidence of heterotopic ossification (HO) – a common complication of abnormal bone formation, reports a study in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio in partnership with Wolters Kluwer.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital has been named to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll for the 10th consecutive year. The Honor Roll is a top distinction awarded to only 10 children’s hospitals nationwide recognized by U.S. News as the “Best of the Best.” Nationwide Children’s is ranked sixth on the 2023-24 Honor Roll list.
Loyola Medicine's advanced robotic surgery program makes it one of the few hospitals in the country to offer kidney transplantation to patients with obesity.
Driven by recent studies, the evolving nature of the disease and the widespread vaccination of Americans against COVID-19, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) today released a joint statement providing updated recommendations for the timing of elective surgeries and anesthesia for patients after a COVID-19 infection.
The new devices reduce recovery times. Innovative techniques may reduce them more.
To ensure that wounds remain tightly sealed in the abdomen after surgery, researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich have developed a patch with a sensor function. The polymer patch warns before the occurence of dangerous leaks on sutures in the gastrointestinal tract take hold, while closes the areas on its own. A new material now enables a fast, easy and non-invasive leak diagnosis. The team recently published their findings in the journal Advanced Science.
The American College of Surgeons (ACS), with the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), has verified the first four hospitals as part of the recently launched Vascular Verification Program (Vascular-VP).
A medida que envejecemos, los huesos pierden parte de su estructura. La osteopenia y la osteoporosis son dos afecciones en las que los huesos se vuelven menos densos y, por lo tanto, se quiebran con mayor facilidad. Estos tipos de problemas en la densidad ósea son comunes en pacientes de cirugía de columna mayores de 50 años.
تفقد العظام بعضًا من كتلتها مع تقدم الأشخاص في العمر. قِلّة العظام وهشاشة العظام هما حالتان تقل فيهما كثافة العظام، وبالتالي تصبح أكثر عرضة للكسر. تشيع مشكلات كثافة العظام هذه لدى مرضى جراحات العمود الفقري ممن يبلغون 50 عامًا فأكثر.
Conforme as pessoas envelhecem, os ossos vão perdendo parte de sua estrutura. A osteopenia e a osteoporose são doenças nas quais os ossos perdem densidade e podem quebrar com mais facilidade. Esses problemas de densidade óssea são comuns em pacientes a partir de 50 anos que passam por cirurgias de coluna.
For years, Mike Culp, 30, followed a highly restrictive diet and took medication to help manage his painful acid reflux symptoms that plagued his life and sleep. At age 18, he went to a specialist, who diagnosed him with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). He was prescribed a proton-pump inhibitor (PPI), a medication that shuts off the acid-pumping cells in the stomach. His symptoms were temporarily managed, but he could not get rid of the burning, acidic-induced discomfort for long.
Medivis, a medical technology company with the mission to establish augmented reality as the new standard in surgical navigation, announced a $20 million Series A funding round led by Thrive Capital, with participation from Initialized Capital and Mayo Clinic. Additional investors include Bob Iger, Kevin Durant, Dr. Robert Spetzler, Hugo Barra and Coalition Operators.
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc. (JBJS) and Professional Medical Education Ltd. are pleased to announce the rebranding of the Oxford Comprehensive Orthopaedic Review Course as Miller’s Orthopaedic Review Course (MRC), Oxford. Now in its 14th year, the course will take place January 3-7, 2024, at Worcester College on the historic campus of the University of Oxford.
Weight and body mass index (BMI) policies introduced by NHS commissioning groups in England are inappropriate and worsening health inequalities, according to a new study published in BMC Medicine today [13 June] that analysed nearly 490,000 hip surgeries. With one in ten people likely to need a joint replacement in their lifetime, many thousands of patients are directly affected by these policies.
73-year-old goes from not being able to walk to conquering seven miles a day
As more families consider bariatric surgery a viable option to treat their child’s obesity, it is important to stay up-to-date on the latest research on weight loss. You can find the latest research on bariatric surgery and other weight loss options in the Weight Loss channel on Newswise, where journalists can find story ideas on this trending topic.
Thomas M. Krummel, MD, FACS, FAAP, a pediatric surgeon who pioneered life-saving advances in newborn life support and championed simulation and virtual reality in surgical education, is the recipient of this year’s American College of Surgeons (ACS) Jacobson Innovation Award.
For children who develop severe scoliosis—a spine that curves and twists to the side—surgery or a corrective brace worn throughout the day might be their only options. But if caught early enough, the condition can often be treated in a less invasive or awkward way.
A study published in New England Journal of Medicine confirms that circulatory death donor hearts that are reanimated and perfused with blood outside of the body are as safe and effective to transplant as brain death donor hearts preserved using traditional cold storage. These findings suggest that using hearts donated after circulatory death (DCD) may have the potential to widen the donor pool helping more patients in need of life-saving heart transplants.
A new study led by Yale Cancer Center shows improved rates of survival and reduced risk of recurrence in patients with non-small cell lung cancer taking osimertinib (TAGRISSO), a targeted therapy, following surgery. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common type of lung cancer, tends to recur when diagnosed at advanced stages, which makes treatment challenging.
A study led by Duke Health physicians, appearing online June 8 in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that DCD hearts were equivalent to hearts procured through the current standard of care.
A novel, minimally invasive surgical technique for correcting blepharoptosis – often called “droopy eyelid” – is more efficient and produces better results than the traditional method that uses sutures, according to a UT Southwestern Medical Center study. The findings, reported in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, may lead to a shift in how oculoplastic surgeons treat this common condition.
Launched this year, the SNS established this new program to increase the pool of neurosurgery residents conducting research and to enhance their success rate in becoming independent neurosurgeon-scientists.
Cedars-Sinai clinicians and scientists, including Medawar Prize winner Stanley Jordan, MD, and prominent nephrology and immunology investigator Peter Heeger, MD, will share their latest advances in research at the American Transplant Congress (ATC), June 3-7, 2023, in San Diego.
Survival rate beyond 10 years in children with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) was highest after cranial epilepsy surgery and lowest when treated only with antiseizure medications, according to a study published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. This large, retrospective study was the first to compare long-term survival in children with DRE among cohorts treated with medications only, vagus nerve stimulation plus medications, and cranial epilepsy surgery plus medications. Results show that risk of early death was reduced by over 80 percent after surgery and by 40 percent after vagus nerve stimulation, compared to medication-only treatment.
In addition to presenting Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center research findings, Sylvester experts are available at ASCO to share perspectives on a wide variety of topics and studies ranging from breast cancer to sarcoma, prostate cancer, mesothelioma, melanoma, CNS tumors and more.
Historically, surgery was the first line of treatment for patients with thyroid cancer. Now, as targeted therapies and other new medications emerge, surgery for certain patients may become more of a secondary option if those treatments fail. This new context could potentially change how some procedures are conducted.