Surgery

As the number of bariatric surgeries increase, clinicians require more and better data about its long-term outcomes. As we know, as more people take a medication or undergo a surgical procedure, the better the quality of the collective data. It's the strength in numbers concept. In the case of bariatric surgery, many clinicians have questions about treatment failure rates and they suspect that reports of sustained weight loss may be overly optimistic.

According to a recent study published in Radiology, computed tomographic (CT) findings may be able to predict the efficacy of nonsurgical treatment in patients afflicted with adhesive small-bowl obstruction.

There are many factors that go into a successful lung transplant operation. One key factor after surgery is routine radiological checks of a patient's progress.

The survival rate for lung transplant may be lower than other organs but many patients see dramatic changes in their quality of life following the complicated procedure.

Patients who need a lung transplant at any age face a wide range of complications and potential issues. For the youngest of patients that can particularly scary and overwhelming if not handled properly.

As the workload for doctors increases some practices and hospitals are turning to scribes to help with some of the duties. What they should be doing and how much involvement they should have remains a topic of discussion.

This is a 23-year-old female admitted for the first time who provides the history of congenital right chest wall deformity, right hypoplastic breast and absent right pectoralis muscles (1). Preliminary upright PA, lateral and right posterior oblique radiographs were obtained to evaluate the osseous and soft tissues of the thorax prior to cosmetic surgery and repair. No past history was made available.

Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) is frequently the go-to procedure for patients with complex or morbid obesity who need or want to reduce their weights. Laparoscopic procedures are attractive to surgeons, insurers and patients because in addition to being as effective as other procedures, they shorten hospital stay and allow patients to heal more quickly compared to other bariatric surgeries.

Laparoscopic interventions for rectal cancer are controversial. Oncologists have concerns about high conversion rates and long operating times associated with laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (TME), and they worry that laparoscopic TME violates the principle of sharp mesorectal dissection.

Currently studies are underway to refine a surgical approach for migraine headaches, determine the best way to triage patients, identify additional trigger points, and expand knowledge of migraine's anatomy.

Stress cardiomyopathy is a unique cardiac syndrome in which transient left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction mimics acute myocardial infarction (AMI). It is usually brought on by acute emotional or physical stress (or both) and has 3 distinctive features: acute LV wall dysfunction, absence of significant obstructive coronary artery disease, and rapid improvement of LV systolic function within days or weeks.

In morbidly obese but otherwise morbidly obese patients who had bariatric surgery, cardiovascular, and metabolic improvements were noted after 12 months.

Cushing syndrome occurs only rarely in children, but when it does, it causes weight gain and stunting. In young children, adrenal tumors are usually the cause while in adolescents, pituitary tumors are more likely.

Could portable perfusion devices be a game-changer for organ transplants? The machines keep organs "alive" for days at warm temperatures. That prolongs cell life, slowing the race against the damage that can set in within hours when donor organs are kept on ice in coolers. Manufacturer TransMedics, based in Andover, MA, makes devices for the lung, heart, and liver Researchers and clinicians express growing excitement-along with some skepticism-at the prospect that these medical devices could dramatically increase the viability of donor organs.

The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) has released new guidelines designed to prevent the occurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in thousands of patients who undergo lung surgery in the United States each year.

Deep brain simulation (DBS) -- surgically-implanted brain pacemakers that reversibly change brain activity and improve quality of life for many patients -- have been available since 1997 for essential tremor and approved for Parkinson's disease since 2002.

Readmission rates among cardiac surgery patients have been reported to range from approximately 14 percent to 63 percent, a rate that far exceeds that in patients who undergo other surgical procedures.

According to the Foundation for Quality Health Care, overall mortality rates associated with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) hover at or below 2 percent, a 27 percent decrease from as recently as 2002.

Prescription opioid analgesics play an important and legitimate role for surgical patients, and proper use by surgeons ensures that patients find the pain relief they need with few adverse events.

Study results show that the majority of adult patients with congenital heart disease and their clinicians ignore American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association recommendations that any non-cardiac surgery for these patients should be performed in regionalized centers of expertise.

Researchers compared outcomes from bariatric surgery with those achieved through medical weight management in patients with diabetes to determine the effectiveness of bariatric surgery in patients with BMI less than 35. They also evaluated a potential biomarker for identifying patients likely to experience the best surgical outcomes.

Researchers from the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, have published a study indicating that component position alone is not protective against instability.

Allergan's Ozurdex (dexamethasone intravitreal implant) 0.7 mg is now approved for use in the general diabetic macular edema patient population.

As more practices and hospitals enter the digital age with Electronic Health Records (EHR) and other health information technology tools, a recent article points out that all those efforts are only half the battle.

"Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" and "seeing the same glass as being half-empty or half-full" are two commonly cited adages and nowhere is their meaning more evident than in the ongoing debate of whether a pelvic examination should be part of the routine check-up of a female patient.

Implementation of Massachusetts health care reform reduced all-cause mortality and mortality from causes amenable to health care

Slam dunking basketball player reports pain in his left foot and undergoes exams to determine the cause of the problem

Organ supply and demand varies sharply by geography in the US. "The status quo is intolerable-there is too much geographic disparity," said Michael Charlton, MD, speaking at a Sept. 16 meeting in Chicago where transplant surgeons and others debated a controversial proposal to consolidate the nation's current regional organ distribution districts. The forum was convened by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), a non-profit organization that under a contract with the federal Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) runs the current system of deciding which donor organs go where.

Researchers have achieved good results in treating rectovaginal fistula through soft tissue augmentation via plastic surgery fat harvesting and subsequent transplantation by injection.

Bodily pain and headache are highly prevalent in pituitary disease, making pain screening and therapy an important part of the work-up for these patients.