Researchers from McGill University and other cancer research centers in Canada and the US will begin testing a technology that uses a biochip microarray to tailor chemotherapy to the genetic makeup of a specific malignancy, they reported at the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress held Oct. 10-15 in San Francisco.
Scientists at the Medical College of Virginia have genetically manipulated liver cells to function as pancreatic islets and produce insulin. The researchers are now working to alter the liver cells further so that they will release insulin in response to changes in blood sugar levels, they said at the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress held Oct. 10-15 in San Francisco.
Surgeons at the University of Colorado, Denver, have shown for the first time that raloxifene (a new class of drugs known as selective estrogen receptor modulators) exerts a protective effect on blood vessels. An animal study that mimics the development of atherosclerosis in women who have undergone menopause showed that raloxifene prevented an increase in intimal hyperplasia in the aorta, they reported at the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress held Oct. 10-15 in San Francisco.
Experimental studies have found that hepatocyte growth factor reduced inflammatory bowel disease in animals to the point where most visible lesions in the bowel were eliminated, they reported at the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress held Oct. 10-15 in San Francisco.
Studies conducted at the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center at the University of South Florida indicate that low-dose radioactive seeds may prove to be an accurate and safe new way of taking biopsies from lesions in the breast. Surgeons inserted low-dose radioactive seeds adjacent to suspicious nonpalpable lesions, they reported at the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress held Oct. 10-15 in San Francisco.
Research conducted at the Greenville (SC) Hospital System is showing the connection between rapid and excessive weight loss following minimally invasive surgical treatment of morbid obesity and the risk of internal hernia. The researchers believe that surgeons who operate on morbidly obese patients and physicians who treat these patients following the operation should be aware that rapid weight loss could be a sign that monitoring for internal hernia is advisable.
Researchers from Columbia and Cornell Universities (NY) have been studying whether patients in poor countries suffering from certain medical conditions could benefit from surgical treatment. The results of the study could potentially lead to the implementation of surgical infrastructure in countries where none currently exists.
Surgeons from Oregon Health and Science University are finding that both patients and the environment can be protected by the recycling of solid waste and conservation of energy use in the operating room. The researchers have found that sustainability efforts on a grand scale can have a major impact and do not have to interfere with patient care.
Findings from a pair of studies conducted by researchers at Emory University School of Medicine show that physicians often overestimate the literacy levels of their patients relative to the use of screening tools created to optimize office visits. The studies have led the researchers to believe that issues related to health literacy and illiteracy need to be addressed.
Researchers from the University of Washington have concluded that a large number of trauma patients suffer from sexual dysfunction long after their initial injury. According to the researchers, the condition, which does not appear to be related to certain risk factors, is one that more practitioners and patients should be aware of.
Surgeons at the University of Texas and the University of Florida are analyzing blood chemicals that may identify patients in danger of organ injury after certain types of surgery or organ failure following trauma. Tests that can quickly and reliably determine which patients are at risk for organ damage may help stem what is a leading cause of death for certain patient populations.
Surgeons at the University of Minnesota are studying the possible applications of a pancreatic cancer-specific agent that could increase treatment options for that type of cancer. The study is one of several leading to a phase I clinical trial that researchers hope will ultimately result in a change to the treatment regiment for the disease.
Surgeons at Rush University Medical Center are studying the role of routine imaging in finding potentially malignant thyroid nodules in an effort to actively diagnose and treat thyroid cancer in elderly patients. The research may enable surgeons to treat patients who previously were not candidates for surgical treatment.
Researchers from Stanford University and Columbia University are demonstrating the use of existing materials in innovative, safe, and cost-effective ways that get patients out of the operating room faster. Widespread use of the methods being studied could have a profound effect on the cost and time required to perform certain operations.
Researchers from M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have analyzed elderly patients with hyperparathyroidism to determine whether parathyroidectomy is advisable in the short and long term. The study also evaluated the safety of performing such operations on the elderly, as well as the role of parathyroidectomy in improving quality of life for these patients as they age.
Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center have discovered that the use of antioxidants can play a major role in whether patients develop, and die from, multiple organ failure following operations to treat traumatic injuries. The surgeons conducting the study believe that treatment with antioxidant therapy may open the door to reducing complications and mortality in some patients.
Although clinical practice guidelines recommend sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy for many patients with clinically node-negative melanoma, a new analysis from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has found approximately half of patients do not receive recommended evaluation of their lymph nodes and that the type of health insurance a patient has, the type of hospital delivering treatment, and the hospital's geographic region are all associated with provider compliance with those guidelines.
Some breast cancer patients with node-positive disease derive no significant benefit from axillary lymph node dissection according to a new National Cancer Data Base analysis. The researchers found that women with microscopic lymph node metastases detected on sentinel lymph node biopsy may not need a completion nodal dissection.
The American College of Surgeons develops an official "Statement on Medical and Surgical Tourism." The ACS advises surgical patients who seek treatment overseas to actively seek out quality health care providers.
A groundbreaking study released today in the June Journal of the National Cancer Institute reports on a set of expert consensus-based quality indicators to evaluate pancreatic cancer care across the United States. The research team not only discerned noticeable variances in treatment outcomes, but they were also able to use these new quality indicators to evaluate and identify areas for improvement.
New research published in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons challenges the widely held belief that more medical errors occur in teaching hospitals during the month of July due to the influx of new graduates from medical and nursing schools--also known as the “July Phenomenon.”
Researchers are working to determine if marker genes may help determine the possible effectiveness of GIST-targeted molecular treatment, according to a study presented at the 2009 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.
Surgeons at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, are investigating the possibility that a specific set of genes may reveal which advanced rectal cancer patients can be successfully treated without a surgical procedure.
Research conducted at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, shows promising results for the use of an incisionless operation to treat stomach ulcers and other digestive tract perforations. The study highlights the use of natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) and describes the approach’s effects on postoperative complications.
Findings from tissue engineering research done at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, may one day lead to the restoration of the sense of touch to patients fitted with prosthetic hands, in addition to improving the function of the devices. Based on work with troops wounded in the Middle East, the resulting interface is one step in overcoming the limitations of existing robotic prosthetics.
Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, are studying the effects of a bioengineered treatment used to target pancreatic cancer without damaging non-cancerous cells. Using a “Trojan Horse” methodology, the investigators developed a concept that could prolong and improve the quality of life for patients.
Research conducted at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has found that hospital readmission following surgery for colon cancer is more common than previously realized, and may have serious implications for mortality of patients. The study results show a link that, in the researchers’ opinion, should be studied further.
Used to connect surgeons in far-flung locations, telemedicine may assist in the provision of trauma care in rural areas. Researchers from Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor, have shown that telemedicine consultations can expedite emergency care and impact the rate of surgical errors.
Surgeons from the University of Chicago Medical Center Comer Children’s Hospital have used robotic surgery to reduce both post-operative pain and recovery time following an operation to correct spina bifida-related bladder dysfunction in children. The results of this first-time application of minimally invasive robotic surgery for the affected patient population may lead to more common usage of this method.
Research conducted at Denver Health Medical Center and the University of Colorado, Denver, shows that although bicycling as a mode of transportation has increased, cyclists have a heightened propensity for serious injury due to a lack of both awareness and action related to urban planning. The increased severity of the injuries and the resulting increased hospital length-of-stay could be indicative of an injury epidemic.
Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles are studying the role of certain molecules in the treatment of angiogenesis in pancreatic cancer. The findings could have implications for halting the development of malignancy-nourishing blood vessels and for creating a new approach to targeting angiogenesis in a more powerful way.
According to separate studies presented at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress, the decision to undergo breast reconstruction surgery following surgical treatment for breast cancer can be influenced by learning tools and surgeon referral.
Researchers from the East Carolina Heart Institute of the Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, have found that the outcome of surgical repair of aortic aneurysm may be positively impacted by the use of statin drugs. Postoperative complication and mortality rates were among the risks evaluated.
The impact of surgical workforce shortages could mean increased risk for complications from appendix rupture and perforation when these conditions occur in rural areas, according to surgeon researchers at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH. The research results show that timely health care can be provided with an adequate number of surgeons practicing in rural locations.
Researchers from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, are studying results from the application of an anticancer drug commonly used for treating lung and colon cancer in the treatment of invasive bladder cancer. The survival statistics revealed by the study may eventually lead to changes in the standard treatment options.
A study conducted at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, the University of Toronto, and Imperial College London, Toronto, shows that a link between a breast cancer gene mutation and heart disease could be a key in the creation of new heart disease treatments and in the treatment of patients currently undergoing treatment for cancer.
Surgeons from St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, and the University of Toronto have observed that sepsis and sepsis-related mortality are linked to a naturally occurring hormone found in visceral adipose tissue. The implications of the study results may assist in developing methods of both predicting and decreasing sepsis and sepsis-related complications.
Lamar S. Mcginnis, Jr., MD, FACS, of Atlanta, GA was installed As 90th President Of American College Of Surgeons (ACS) last night during the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress.
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) has announced that Bernard Fisher, MD, FACS, of PIttsburgh, PA, is recipient of the 2009 Jacobson Innovation Award for his ground-breaking work in breast cancer treatment development.
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) has released the press activities schedule for its 95th Annual Clinical Congress, being held in Chicago, October 11-15, 2009.
The American College of Surgeons 95th annual Clinical Congress, being held October 11-15, 2009, in Chicago, will feature Named Lectures given by renowned experts in the surgical and medical disciplines.
The American College of Surgeons has named its new Executive Director, David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS, Irvine, CA, who will take the helm of the world's largest surgical organization in January 2010.
A team of investigators using data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) suggest that one way to improve surgical results in the elderly is to have hospitals expand their quality control guidelines to include more types of surgery-related complications.
Genome sequencing and resulting DNA profiles may one day identify, in advance, patients who are most likely respond to chemotherapy with an aromatase inhibitor.
New training programs and an increase in funding will be required to meet the growing need for general surgeons. Current residency programs do not have the capacity to address the growing shortage of general surgeons, according to survey research presented today at the Sixth Annual American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) Physician Workforce Research Conference in Alexandria, Va.
The 2010 Jacobson Innovation Award of the American College of Surgeons has been given to Lazar J. Greenfield, MD, FACS, in honor of his seminal work as an expert in vascular surgery.
The American College of Surgeons Health Policy Research Institute has released a new publication that maps the surgeon supply across the United States.
A national pilot study that will promote evidence-based evaluation and treatment standards for patients with resectable non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was launched yesterday by the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons. The Commission on Cancer National Pilot Study for the ProvenCare® Lung Cancer Collaborative is based on the success of the Geisinger Health System’s ProvenCare model, which has significantly increased adherence to evidence-based standards, improved clinical outcomes, and engaged patients as participants in their own care when applied to acute care episodes associated with other disease sites.
Breast cancer experts are available to serve as sources for reporters seeking to discuss breast cancer awareness.
Dr. Stewart was recognized with the College’s highest honor for her “dedicated service to the ACS and to the profession of surgery as a gifted and dedicated community surgeon and an active volunteer and leader.”
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