Facial Transplantation Shows Promise for Severe Disfigurement
Facial transplantation can be a useful treatment for severe disfigurement, although it is not without risks, according to two case reports involving facial damage caused by a bear attack and by growth of a rare aggressive tumor. Both reports appear in the August 23rd issue of The Lancet. In the first report, Dr. Shuzhong Guo […]
Catheter-Directed Embolectomy Life-Saving in Massive Pulmonary Embolism
Catheter-directed intervention can be life-saving for patients with massive pulmonary embolism (PE) who fail to respond to or cannot receive systemic thrombolysis, according to a report in the August issue of Chest. “Catheter-directed intervention is now a viable treatment option for massive PE at centers with the appropriate expertise,” Dr. William T. Kuo from Stanford […]
Elderly Patients May Be Less Likely to be Taken to a Trauma Center by EMS Personnel
Emergency medical services (EMS) providers may be less likely to transport elderly patients to a trauma center, according to the results of a retrospective analysis reported in the August issue of Archives of Surgery.“Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines strongly recommend that elderly trauma patients be treated as aggressively as non-elderly patients,” write David C. Chang, PhD, […]
New Imaging Technique May Enhance Accuracy of Cancer Surgery
Use of a chemofluorescence technique may allow surgeons to visualize, in real time, cancerous tissue, thereby increasing the precision of their resections, according to animal study findings presented Tuesday at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia. The technique makes use of a portable system called FLARE, short for Fluorescence-Assisted Resection and […]
Thromboembolism Prophylaxis Could Reduce Maternal Deaths After C-Section
Although most maternal deaths are not preventable, thromboembolism prophylaxis could reduce death rates in women undergoing cesarean delivery, according to a report in the July American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. “We have already successfully implemented the universal use of pneumatic compression devices for all cesarean patients in 96% of our facilities providing obstetric care, […]
High HBV Viral Load at Surgery Tied to Liver Cancer Return
In patients undergoing liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma related to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, viral load at the time of surgery is predictive of hepatoma recurrence, according to Chinese researchers. “High hepatitis B viral load,” senior investigator Dr. Man-Fung Yuen told Reuters Health, “is associated with a higher chance of HCC recurrence after surgical […]
Plasma DNA More Reliable Than CEA for Detecting Recurrent Esophageal Cancer
Elevated free plasma DNA is a reliable indicator of recurrent esophageal cancer, more so than carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and is able to detect recurrent disease in most patients before clinical evidence emerges. These findings come from a study by researchers at the University of Southern California, published in the July issue of the Journal of […]
Video Games Enhance Skills of Laparoscopic Surgeons
Laparoscopic surgeons who play video games requiring spatial skills and dexterity are faster and less prone to error when performing advanced surgical procedures, researchers reported on Sunday at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Boston. In two separate studies, “gaming ability was a better predictor of advanced surgical skills than years of […]
Earlier and More Aggressive LDL Lowering, or Better Approaches for Targeting High-Risk Individuals?
A new review by three renowned experts in cardiology suggests that efforts to treat elevated cholesterol levels are not exploiting the full potential of cholesterol-lowering strategies, and current approaches to treatment are simply doing “too little, too late. [1]” The evidence, say these experts, is strong enough to support even more aggressive use of lipid-lowering […]
Polyalkylimide Dermal Fillers Linked to Inflammatory and Granulomatous Reactions
Polyalkylimide implants (PAI) used as dermal fillers can infrequently result in delayed and recurrent chronic inflammatory and granulomatous reactions, according to the results of a study published in the May issue of the Archives of Dermatology. “According to the manufacturer’s information, polyalkylimide structures do not change over time and do not move or migrate,” write […]