Feature Channels: Surgery

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Only 3.9 percent of orthopaedic surgeons and 13.8 percent of orthopaedic residents are women.

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Findings from a study presented at this year’s American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting reveal that patients who undergo preoperative statin therapy prior to coronary bypass surgery have a better survival rate.

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A study presented at this year’s American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting indicates that massive blood transfusion is associated with a significant increase in perioperative risk for mortality, cardiopulmonary complications, and wound-related and infectious complications in the long term.

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A study presented at this year’s American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting offers evidence that patients with malignant melanoma who undergo inguinal lymph node dissection with spinal anesthesia (a regional anesthetic) have a better prognosis than patients who undergo the same surgery with general anesthesia.

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Research presented at this year’s American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting offers new data in the quest to develop tailor-made pain management strategies based upon a patient’s genetic predisposition and other important factors.

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A study presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2010 Annual Meeting in San Diego seems to confirm that a single, small dose of the steroid dexamethasone improves the post-surgical quality of life of patients receiving laparoscopic gallbladder surgery.

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A study presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2010 Annual Meeting revealed that use of aspirin before cardiac surgery reduced postoperative cardiocerebral complications, including stroke, myocardial ischemia, heart block and cardiac arrest by more than 33 percent when compared to patients who did not use aspirin.

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Results from a clinical study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2010 found that smokers have significantly more complications post-surgery than non-smokers, including a higher death rate.

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A research team from the Jefferson Sleep Disorders Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has utilized a simple, eight-item pre-operative questionnaire about obstructive sleep apnea syndrome that could help identify patients at risk for complications following surgery, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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A clinical study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2010 discovered that diabetics who presented for non-cardiac surgery with near normal blood sugar levels were at increased risk of death, as compared with their non-diabetic counterparts.

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A study presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists strengthens emerging evidence that the act of going under anesthesia and coming out of anesthesia are distinct neurobiological processes. It also found that the parietal region of the brain may play a critical role in how anesthesia suppresses consciousness.

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Results from a clinical study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2010 suggest that a women’s labor experience is tied to her ethnicity as well as genetics.

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When children undergo anesthesia during surgery, the long-term effects that anesthetics have on the developing brain is relatively unknown. A study presented at this year’s American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting assesses the association between exposure to anesthesia in children 3 years old and younger and their risk for developmental and behavioral disorders.

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As Americans get heavier and heavier, the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea increases, and results from two clinical studies presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2010 reinforce the need for physicians to screen for the disorder prior to surgery in order to appropriately manage the patient in the operating room.

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Physicians at Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus are among the first in the nation to use a technique known as MRI-guided laser ablation to heat up and destroy kidney and liver tumors. So far, five patients have been successfully treated — meaning no visible tumors remained after the procedure.

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Following knee surgery, fear of pain and reinjury can inhibit recovery. Patients who experience chronic pain and disability may avoid physical activity and develop deconditioning syndrome—decreased muscle strength and range of motion, and even weakness of the cardiovascular system. Surface electromyography (SEMG) biofeedback training, in conjunction with rehabilitation efforts, can assist the postoperative recovery process by helping patients reduce or overcome muscle inhibition. This can achieve increased strength and range of movement, along with a return to more normal functioning of the knee.

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A study that includes data on more than 100,000 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery finds that there is wide variability among hospitals in the U.S. on the use of blood transfusions, without a large difference in the rate of death, suggesting that many transfusions may be unnecessary, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA.

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Use of stricter guidelines for the use of red blood cell transfusions for patients undergoing cardiac surgery was associated similar rates of death and severe illness compared to patients who received more transfusions, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA.

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In a Canadian first, the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre used a new kind of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to treat a patient with advanced heart failure. The new device is longer lasting than older generation LVADs and may eliminate the need for a second LVAD – a major drawback with the old technology.

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For patients with blockages in the carotid artery that supplies blood to the brain, carotid artery stenting (a non-surgical treatment) appears to be associated with an increased risk of both short- and long-term adverse outcomes when compared with surgical treatment (carotid endarterectomy), according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies that was posted online today and will appear in the February 2011 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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New technologies and surgical techniques promise to “personalize” hip and knee replacement, according to research to be presented at an educational program at Hospital for Special Surgery October 15 and 16.

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New surgical approach attempted to control diabetes without daily insulin injections

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Team members use a multi-step ‘bundle’ approach to reduce infection rates in hospital trauma unit.

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Almost 50 percent of patients undergoing orthopedic surgery have vitamin D deficiency that should be corrected before surgery to improve patient outcomes, based on a study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

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German trial uses microtechnology to identify and monitor pelvic nerves during a surgical procedure.

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In research that may surprise off-road riding enthusiasts and safety experts, a Johns Hopkins team has found that crashes involving ATVs — four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles — are significantly more dangerous than crashes involving two-wheeled off-road motorcycles, such as those used in extreme sports like Motocross.

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A UNC study shows radio frequency tags may help prevent surgical sponges from being left in patients after operations.

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Study reveals reduced hospital stay, mortality and costs, with fewer complications.

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A stabbing pain in Cameron Giammalva’s abdomen came on so suddenly one day during his freshman year of college that he and his friends mistook it for appendicitis.

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A landmark study appearing in the October 2010 issue of Anesthesiology has demonstrated that perioperative beta-blockade - when administered utilizing specific guidelines in at-risk patients - significantly reduced mortality 30 days and one year after surgery.

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The use of device-assisted enteroscopy, a technique that allows complete examination of the small bowel, may be just as successful pediatrics as it has been in adult medicine, according to a study from Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

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Surgeons at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine and University of Washington Medical Center have determined that transorbital neuroendoscopic surgery (TONES) is a safe and effective option for treating a variety of advanced brain diseases and traumatic injuries.

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Investigators found that women who give birth after suffering pelvic fractures receive C-sections at more than double normal rates despite the fact that vaginal delivery after such injuries is possible.

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For these patients, immunotherapy can quickly improve symptoms.

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Compared to traditional liposuction, Zerona requires no incisions, and there are no burning aftereffects, as with other types of lasers.

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Timely, acuity-stratified care delivered by the coordinated efforts of a team of healthcare professionals has the potential to nationally save nearly 100,000 hospitalized patient lives a year, as well as significant healthcare dollars, according to a large prospective study by Geisinger’s Director of Surgical Innovation, Thanjavur S. Ravikumar, M.D., FACS.

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UK HealthCare announces the revitalization of its pediatric kidney transplant program with the successful transplant surgery of 16-year-old Courtney Stroud, of Carlisle, Ky. Courtney's transplant was performed Aug. 31 at Kentucky Children's Hospital.

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Surgeons perform multiple cardiac vessel bypasses through a single, small incision in the patient’s side, reducing pain, recovery time and risk for infection.

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David H. Adams, MD, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Professor and Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, has performed the first implantation of the Medtronic Tri-Ad Semi-Flexible Tricuspid Annuloplasty Ring in the United States.

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McGill researchers pioneer anesthetics via videoconferencing.

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Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) is increasingly used as an alternative to the patient's own bone for spinal fusion surgery. Yet at least 85 percent of these procedures are operations for which BMP use has not been formally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), suggests a study in the September 1 issue of Spine.

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Mini anterior hip replacement can often result in a swifter recovery and shorter hospital stay and have few precautions to follow to prevent dislocation, which is more common with the posterior approach.

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One of the most severe complications of brain surgery is a pulmonary embolism. But a study in the Journal of Neurosurgery suggests that screening methods used to access the risk of pulmonary embolisms may fall short.

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Dr. Kevin Watkins, first Surgeon to treat Pancreatic Cancer with NanoKnife® helps patients from around the country; world.

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Kidney transplants that show a combination of fibrosis (scarring) and inflammation after one year are at higher risk of long-term transplant failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

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Women who have gene mutations that put them at high risk of ovarian and breast cancer can significantly reduce the risk of developing or dying from these cancers by having their healthy ovaries or breasts removed.

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Repairing torn shoulder muscles in elderly patients is often discouraged because of fears of complications. But a new study conducted at Rush University Medical Center has shown that minimally invasive, or arthroscopic, surgery can significantly improve pain and function.

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When breast cancer surgeons regularly confer with plastic surgeons prior to surgery, their patients are more likely to have reconstruction, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

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Loyola surgeon uses robot to treat an embarrassing disorder that affects more than 7 million Americans.

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An existing surgical robot could be used to perform complex regional anesthesia procedures—in theory, allowing expert anesthesiologists to perform robot-assisted procedures from remote locations, according to a study in the September issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).