Surgery

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. just announced that it has received marketing approval from the FDA for XIAFLEX(TM) (collagenase clostridium histolyticum), a novel, first-in-class, orphan-designated, biologic, for the treatment of adult Dupuytren's contracture patients with a palpable cord.

Is it just me, or is everyone else out there dying to get their hands on an iPad?

New research indicates that catheter ablation is much more effective than drug treatments in patients with atrial fibrillation, a condition that affects more than 2 million Americans.

A compilation of news summaries and links to additional information about new developments in atherosclerosis research.

It's hard to determine which came first; blog posts or newspaper articles about sales reps in operating rooms.

HCPLive has scoured the blogosphere to find the best postings about Haiti. We've included some here.

Come join us for the latest tweets, videos, and other multimedia coverage live from San Francisco.

Splenic artery aneurysm is the most common form of visceral artery aneurysm. Most present asymptomatically with incidental findings on CT or ultrasound which are diagnostic, although about 20% present with vague left upper quadrant abdominal pain. Treatment should be aimed at preserving splenic function whenever possible and endovascular treatments offer a less invasive option to patients than open surgical ligation or resection.

HCPLive blogger Jill Taylor takes a look at some of the stories developing in Haiti and how healthcare providers are responding to the earthquake and subsequent aftershock.

Data show that for every 3.5 to 4.7 patients treated with light sedation compared to deep sedation, one incident of delirium will be prevented.

Isabelle Jeanson, a Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières emergency communications officer, has been with the MSF teams in Port-au-Prince since January 15. Here she describes the situation as of January 17.

Healthcare professionals looking to donate time or money to disaster relief efforts in Haiti will find information on how to do so through these ten organizations.

University of Pennsylvania researchers are testing whether people with a lower body mass index may benefit from surgery to treat type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or other significant health problems.

The 2010 Consumer Electronics Show recently concluded in Las Vegas; but aside from everything transforming into 3D, there were some other advances and introductions in the world of tech gadgets that are worth mentioning.

The HOPE4HF trial will evaluate a new type of electrical device designed to stimulate blood-flow sensors in patients with diastolic heart failure.

It looks like 2010 is starting off with some changes in healthcare on the horizon – from a number of angles.

I became a blogger 4 months ago, a gig that I find fascinating and refreshing. A place for me to vent, pontificate, and generally hold forth with a jaundiced view of my profession and the industrial Goliaths that support it.

I overhead two women chatting about symptoms the other day while they were surfing WebMD on their respective iPhones for diagnoses - their discussion was as public and non-chalant as if they were shopping. I mused over this for a minute, unsure if I should be disturbed or not, and then found myself wondering which URLs really are the "go-to" sites for health information. An answer was only a click away via Google search at eBizMBA.com.

Way back in January, Phil Baumann, RN, provided an empathic answer to the question/concern that was on everyone's mind then: "Yeah Twitter seems great and all, but can you use it for anything useful in healthcare?" We followed up with him to see how 2009 went.

HITECH says covered entities must be able to monitor and record every time that patient data is accessed, enabling the entity to comply with the new notification requirements should unauthorized access occur. Will the new rules end up restricting the efficient exchange of data that is crucial to providing high-quality healthcare?

As EHRs are widely adopted and the quantity of information about a patient expands dramatically, does provider liability increase even if the quality of care is vastly improved?

Bravo. The government finally has its healthcare IT priorities straight. Unfortunately, it won't be able to achieve them.

For those interested in health information technology, there is now an excellent, new, powerful website about this topic called the Huffington Post Investigative Fund. In their most recent report, "Can Cleveland Clinic Be a Model for Digital Medicine?" they discuss how this hospital system has failed to recoup their $100 million investment to date.

The Diabetes Surgery Summit position statement promotes the legitimacy of gastrointestinal surgery as a dedicated treatment for type 2 diabetes in carefully selected patients.

I have been following with interest all the discussions about the new Medical Home (aka, the Patient Centered Medical Home) concept. This is our silver bullet that will improve patient access, raise quality levels, increase overall satisfaction and save billions of healthcare dollars - all at the same time!

The new health Internet being designed by federal officials will hopefully be up and running by next year, a move that will allow physicians and patients to more easily exchange health information.

Georgia Tech has been working on an interactive surgical planner that analyzes MRI scans to simulate potential surgical options in pediatric cardiac patients.

In well selected patients with refractory epilepsy, seizure surgery is a safe and effective treatment option. Sadly, it is also much underused.