Surgery
Acupuncture reduces pain after neck surgery
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Acupuncture helped alleviate lingering pain and decreased shoulder mobility in people who had surgery for head and neck cancer, U.S. researchers said on Saturday.
The ancient Chinese therapy also resulted in significant improvements in extreme dry mouth or xerostomia, which often occurs in people who have had radiation treatment for head and neck cancer, they said at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.
Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York studied 70 patients who were at least three months past their surgery and radiation treatments.
Study shows benefit of statins before heart surgery
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People given cholesterol-fighting statin drugs before heart surgery are far less likely to die or suffer complications afterwards, German researchers said on Wednesday.
The analysis of more than 31,000 patients provides some of the strongest evidence yet of the benefits of statins before heart surgery but it also found that too few doctors are prescribing them, they said in the European Heart Journal.
“This is the first big summary of all the existing studies about people undergoing cardiac surgery,” said Oliver Liakopoulos, a researcher at the University of Cologne, who led the study.
Leg bypass surgery outcome poor in diabetics
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Patients with diabetes fare worse than their non-diabetic counterparts after leg bypass surgery to restore restricted blood flow to the legs due to hardening of the leg arteries, Swedish researchers report.
They found that survival free of amputation after leg bypass surgery for severely reduced blood flow to the legs (i.e., critical limb ischemia) is lower in diabetics than non-diabetics, and death associated with this procedure is also higher among diabetics.
Dr. Jonas Malmstedt of Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm and colleagues note that patients with critical limb ischemia usually require leg bypass surgery to prevent amputation. They also point out that there is a lack of population-based studies involving diabetics.
Medicare may broaden obesity surgery payment
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The U.S. Medicare program may expand reimbursement for bariatric surgery for the obese, in light of a study that found the treatment can help reverse diabetes, the agency said on Monday.
Recent research found the surgery can completely reverse type 2 diabetes, a metabolic condition spurred by weight gain and suffered by millions of Americans.
Medicare, the government health plan for the nation’s 44 million elderly, “will assess the nature of the scientific evidence supporting surgery for the treatment of diabetes,” the agency said on its Web site.
China girl’s legs amputated to free her from rubble
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Chinese doctors amputated a teenage girl’s crushed legs on Thursday, the only way they could pull her alive from the wreckage of her school three days after an earthquake flattened swathes of the country’s southwest.
Yang Liu was trapped in what appeared to be a doorway by Monday’s massive 7.9 magnitude quake, near the top of a massive pile of bricks and concrete.
Her position likely saved her life.
Psychologist develops post-operative care for heart patients in Bermuda
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31 March 2008: A psychologist at the University of Liverpool is helping to create a potentially life-saving post-operative care service for heart patients in Bermuda.
The service, being developed in conjunction with the Bermuda Heart Foundation, will help support patients who have been fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). ICDs are used to treat irregular heart beats, which can lead to heart attacks. If the heart rhythm increases in speed the ICD delivers low-voltage electrical impulses to the heart in an attempt to correct the rhythm.
Health care services in Bermuda are unable to offer the implants so patients are referred to Baltimore and other cities in the US where the ICD can be fitted. Patients returning to Bermuda after surgery have no post-operative care available to support them with any emotional or physical effects.
Men Seeking Vasectomy Reversals Can Expect High Rates of Success
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This retrospective study compared postoperative semen analysis parameters and patency rates of vasovasostomy performed in the convoluted versus straight portion of the vas deferens. This study was undertaken to assess whether or not the perceived increased technical difficulty that may be encountered resulted in a change in success rates.
Patient age, partner age, obstructive interval, gross and microscopic appearance of the intraoperative fluid aspirated from the testicular portion of the vas deferens, and postoperative semen analysis results were examined. Patency was defined as any sperm in the postoperative ejaculate and was compared for the 2 groups.
There were no significant differences in the postoperative semen analysis parameters of volume, total count, sperm density, motility or total motile count between the 2 groups. The patency rate was 98.1% and 97.3% for convoluted vasovasostomy and straight vasovasostomy, respectively, and was not statistically different.
Snoring may be chronic despite surgery
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Children who gain weight rapidly after having their tonsils and adenoids removed to treat sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) may improve in the short-term, but over time they may relapse or even worsen. African-American children also tend to relapse, according to new research from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Adenotonsillectomy is the most commonly performed surgery in children, ranging from about 19 per 10,000 in Canada to 115 per 10,000 in the Netherlands. In the U.S., the rate is about 50 per 10,000. It is the first line of treatment for SDB in children. For many kids, undergoing this major surgery provides only temporary relief.
“The high rate of recurrence we observed in both obese and non-obese children indicates that SDB is a chronic condition,” said Raouf Amin, M.D., director of pulmonary medicine at the hospital.
Many can return to sport after hamstring surgery
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Surgical repair of a ruptured hamstring offers the most promise for individuals who want to return to high or full activity levels, researchers report.
Individuals who have suffered a hamstring detachment may “feel a pop in the buttock area that is followed by bruising over the posterior thigh and knee,” Dr. Christopher M. Larson told Reuters Health.
Rehabilitation alone may result in persistent weakness, poor leg control, and difficulty returning to higher levels of activity. By contrast, surgery results in improved strength and a high return to sports, said Larson, of the Minnesota Sports Medicine Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship, in Eden Prairie.
Real-time Imaging Device May Improve Surgery for Congenital Colon Disease
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Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are developing a spectral imaging system that could result in shorter operating times for infants undergoing surgery for Hirschsprung’s disease, according to a mouse study reported in the Journal of Biophotonics.
The study documents that in addition to its diagnostic potential, spectral imaging may provide an “optical biopsy,” allowing precise localization of a needed intervention.
Spectral imaging is based on the fact that light reflected from a target can be captured and measured by highly sensitive equipment to develop a characteristic “signature” based on wavelength. In this study, the colon tissue of six mice with the equivalent of Hirschsprung’s disease was analyzed and compared to that of controls. With repeated measurements and calculations, unique signatures for normal tissue and for diseased tissue emerged.
CT scans lower risk of unnecessary appendix surgery
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The chance of having an appendix removed unnecessarily has plummeted since 1996 in the United States, possibly because more doctors are using CT scans to confirm appendicitis diagnoses, researchers said on Wednesday.
The likelihood of an unnecessary appendectomy went from 24 percent in 1996 down to 3 percent in 2006, according to a team of researchers led by Dr. Steven Raman at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Mental Health Care Needed Before, After Bariatric Surgery
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Bariatric surgery is the most effective weight-loss option for people who are severely obese. However, the surgery involves substantial risks and requires a lifelong commitment to behavioral change. People eligible for the surgery often have a history of mental health problems or eating disorders. Therefore, patients must be prepared mentally as well as physically before surgery, reports the January 2008 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter.
The psychological aspects of bariatric surgery are less well understood than the physical risks and benefits. Although the surgery is generally associated with improved mental health and quality of life, postsurgical psychological and behavioral changes are less predictable than physical changes.
Hispanic Patients Receive Fewer Surgical Interventions and Less Favorable Outcomes for Treatment of
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Hispanic Patients Receive Fewer Surgical Interventions and Less Favorable Outcomes for Treatment of Vascular Disease
Reasons for Disparities May Include Socioeconomic Factors and Genetic Variations
Surgeries in New York State and Florida Studied by Researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical College
Many obesity surgery candidates fail psych screen
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Pre-operative psychiatric evaluations can reliably spot patients who are not yet ready for obesity surgery, a new study suggests.
Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University in Providence found that of 500 candidates for so-called bariatric surgery at their center, nearly one-fifth did not pass their initial psychiatric evaluation.
Obese often return to full-time work after surgery
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After undergoing gastric bypass surgery to treat extreme obesity, also known as “morbid” obesity, roughly one third of patients who were medically disabled and on Medicaid can return to full-time work, according to a report in the Archives of Surgery. The likelihood appears to be greatest among patients with obesity-related conditions that resolve after treatment.
Gastric bypass surgery, also referred to as bariatric surgery, “is the only effective treatment for morbid obesity,” according to Dr. Richard C. Thirlby and associates at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle.
