Surgery

While researchers looking for a more effective treatment for pancreatic cancer await their breakthrough moment even slow progress is an accomplishment in working toward their ultimate goal.

While a considerable amount of progress has been made in the treatment of prostate and breast cancer the field of pancreatic cancer has not seen as much success in helping this patient population.

The diagnosis and treatment processes for brain tumors are very important and delicate times for the patients which requires a delicate touch by their doctors.

There are many varieties of brain tumors and they each require different approaches in treatment if one exists. Finding the right treatment and potential new ones is a focus of the field overall.

There is a natural fear and anxiety when patients hear the term brain tumor. However, doctors are working to alleviate that as much as possible through a variety of treatments and procedures.

Retrospective analysis of ablation outcomes before and after a medical center began using ultrasound to guide vascular access indicates that the technology significantly reduces complications.

The field of population health may still be a relatively new venture but work is being done on a variety of levels to raise its profile and make it a larger contributor to the medical community as a whole.

For many veteran doctors there may be a leaning toward staying the course that has guided them through their careers. As times change there have been signs that doctors must also adapt to the changing medical landscape.

There may not be a lot known about population medicine across the medical community but those involved believe as more is known about the specialty the more benefit it can provide for doctors and patients alike.

At the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting in Chicago the opening discussion in front of thousands of the top doctors across the country focused on a developing specialty aimed at improving patient health in non-traditional ways.

It has become increasingly common for patients having experienced as few as three episodes of diverticulitis to opt for colectomy. A study examines the efficacy of younger, less frequent sufferers receiving the surgery earlier than guidelines typically recommend.

While many physicians recommend weight loss in advance of bariatric surgery, and many insurance provides require it, a wide-ranging study suggests that the benefits of such preparatory dieting may actually be negligible.

Studies conflict as to whether bilateral simultaneous total knee arthroplasty can be as safe and effective as staged procedures, though researchers believe it may be suitable for some patient populations.

Formerly known as alternative or complimentary medicine, integrative medicine is a new venture in the field aiming to bring together the best of traditional care and other approaches to help patients in a variety of specialties.

With a new armamentarium of medications, procedures, and operations patients with any number of cardiac conditions are seeing their quality of lives improve dramatically for considerably longer.

As the field of cardiology advances new procedures are being developed to help patients in more effective methods. The SCOUT trial looked at one potential treatment to help patients with tricuspid regurgitation.

Survey results suggest nearly one-half of parents whose child had leftover prescription opioids following a surgery or for an illness keep the pain medication in the home.

Gastric bypass may be one of the most common solutions in the weight loss struggle, but there is also work being done to find less invasive options as well.

Study results show that newly initiated combined antiretroviral therapy (ART) in treatment-naïve patients with HIV appears to not effectively prevent the progression of significant arterial inflammation.

The rate of endophthalmitis after more than 90,000 intravitreal injections was found to be approximately 1 in 3000 in a retrospective study of a consecutive series of cases at a multicenter, retina-only practice. Prophylactic use of topical antibiotics was not found to decrease this rate.

The FDA has approved UltraShape Power (Syneron Medical Ltd) for non-invasive reduction of abdominal circumference through fat cell destruction.

Public health issues are nothing new in the medical community, but for issues like high sodium levels the pressing issue can be what to do to help bring the levels to healthier levels.

The intake of sodium is becoming a greater problem across the world, but especially in the United States. While people for the most part are not adding sodium to the food themselves the processed foods they are eating contain more sodium than they did in the past.

It was just three years ago that the American College of Cardiology approved new guidelines regarding lowering cholesterol levels. However, in that time new treatments have been approved necessitating the implementation of new potential methods to help this patient population.

The approval of medications like statins and PCSK9 inhibitors to help lower cholesterol levels have proven helpful but a recent study looked at whether patients were getting not only the treatments they needed but whether they were getting the right dosage levels to help improve their health.

For many years, warfarin has been the primary option for anticoagulation, but recently newer medications have been approved that may provide better options for this patient population. While the clinical trials of the novel oral anticoagulant drugs showed positive results, there were still lingering questions about how they would fare in the field.

In a very short period of time a lot has been learned that can help people diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. For as much work has been done in the field it is only useful if it reaches patients in need which can be an issue no matter where they live.

Though it may seem logical that people who are prescribed opioids to treat pain after surgery are at risk of becoming chronic users, a study of privately insured patients showed that the risk is slight. Over 99 percent of patients in the retrospective analysis recovered without turning to regular opioid use.

As new medications are introduced to the market there can be some hesitation by doctors to make the jump from more traditional treatment options. Moving beyond that has shown benefits for a patient's long term health.

As more focus is put on the treatment of heart failure, especially more serious cases, specialized training and certification is being offered to give patients the highest quality of care possible.