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Surgery

News, opinions and meeting coverage in surgery.

Device May Cut Re-Excision Rate in Breast Cancer

SAN FRANCISCO -- Re-excision after breast-conserving surgery occurred 50% less often with intraoperative margin assessment by a device that distinguishes cancer cells from normal tissue, results of a randomized study showed.

Low Preop Sodium Raises Mortality Risk

Preoperative hyponatremia significantly increased the risk of 30-day postsurgical mortality, a risk that extended across all subgroups of surgical patients, investigators reported.

Anatomy of an Epidemic: The Opioid Movie

The national clamor over abuse of prescription opioids is now at a fever pitch, but little has been said about what drove the boon in opioid prescriptions. This latest report from 番茄社区/ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analyzes a pivotal Oxycontin marketing video, it's impact and its aftermath.

Gallbladder Polyp Size Can Guide Treatment

The follow-up strategy for patients with gallbladder polyps should be based on the size of the lesions, which can influence progression and malignancy potential, British researchers advised.

Jesse Jackson, Jr. Responding to Bipolar Therapy

After months of silence from his office about his absence from Congress, the Mayo Clinic has announced that Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., (D-Ill.) is being treated at the facility for bipolar disorder.

Engineers Turn Fat into Blood Vessels

Liposuction can provide the raw materials for growing new small-diameter blood vessels in the lab, researchers found.

Adult Lungs Can Sprout New Growth

The lungs may have greater capacity for regeneration in adults than thought, according to a case report of new growth after lung cancer resection.

Drug Restores Normal Orgasm in Men

ATLANTA -- Inability to achieve orgasm improved or resolved completely in almost 70% of men treated with the dopamine receptor agonist cabergoline, results of a small study showed.

Repeat Surgery Less Likely After Prostate Resection

ATLANTA -- Transurethral resection of the prostate for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia reduced the reoperation rate by half compared with newer procedures, a case review showed.

Facebook Status: Need Kidney

WASHINGTON -- Promoting living kidney donation on social networks could increase the organ donor pool, researchers said here.

Second Kidney Transplant Lasts as Long as First

WASHINGTON -- Patients who have a second kidney transplant may not be as bound for failure as once thought, researchers said here.

Most ICD Patients Die of Heart Failure

Patients with implantable defibrillators or resynchronization devices with defibrillator were most likely to die of heart failure or non-cardiac causes, not sudden death, a single-center study found.

Doctors Say 45 Common Tests 'Overused'

Nine specialty groups have listed tests and treatments that are frequently overused, such as antibiotics for sinus attacks and CT scans for low back pain, in the first phase of a long-term project.

Extreme Obesity Adds More Risk in Hysterectomy

AUSTIN, Texas -- Increasingly severe obesity drives up complication rates after hysterectomy, and outcomes continually worsen with rising body mass index, according to results from a study reported here.

Cheney's Heart Makes Him a Million Dollar Man

Keeping former Vice President Dick Cheney's heart beating probably will cost the healthcare system at least a million dollars, cardiac transplantation experts told 番茄社区.

Feds Finalize Next Stage of 'Meaningful Use' Guidelines

LAS VEGAS -- Doctors now have an extra nine months to prove to the federal government that they've accomplished the early stages of "meaningful use" of health information technology, National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari announced Thursday.

Follow the Money: Pain, Policy, and Profit

When the Federation of State Medical Boards decided it needed to put a model guideline for opioid use into a book, it reached out and touched the makers of opioid drugs to make it happen.

Early VTE Therapy OK After Brain Bleed

HOUSTON --The risk of re-bleeding after intracranial hemorrhage did not increase when patients received early prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism (VTE), a retrospective review showed.

Epidural Plus Fever During Labor Put Baby at Risk

A temperature spike during labor with epidural analgesia may indicate serious risks for the baby in an otherwise low-risk delivery, researchers found.

Gastric Ca Survival Rates Down, Chemo Use Up

SAN FRANCISCO -- A decline in survival rates in stage IV gastric cancer coincides with the increased use of chemotherapy rather than radiation and surgery, researchers found.

50-Year-Olds Get New Knees in Record Numbers

During the past three decades there has been a dramatic increase in knee replacement surgeries, particularly among individuals in their 50s, a Finnish study found.

India Emerges as Source for Execution Drugs

Unable to get Pentothal through regular channels, Nebraska prison officials turned to a broker in India so they could execute two convicted murderers.

Post-Ear Tube MRSA Infections Not Serious

Among children with ear infections following tympanostomy tube placement, infections associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) did not result in worse outcomes than those caused by other pathogens, a single-center study showed.

Breast Reduction Riskier After 50

Outcomes of breast reduction surgery worsen with age, with more infections and a tendency toward wound-healing problems in women older than 50, researchers found.

Training Technique Stresses Athletes' Spines

CHICAGO --The squat lift, an exercise that has long been a standard training technique for athletes, puts inordinate stress on the spine and likely is the cause of chronic stress fractures in young athletes.

Go With the Flow When Treating LAD Stenosis

Medical treatment was as effective as surgery for patients with moderate to severe isolated stenosis in the proximal left anterior descending artery who had fractional flow reserve of 0.80 or greater, according to results from a single-center study.

Anemia Worsens Surgical Outcomes

Patients who are anemic before going into surgery are at greater risk of death and other complications, researchers found.

Colonoscopy Pioneer William Wolff Dead at 94

One of the pioneers of modern colonoscopy, William Wolff, MD, has died at the age of 94.

Lab-Grown Trachea Implanted in Patient

A 36-year-old cancer patient is the recipient of the first-ever bioartificial trachea grown on a synthetic substrate using the patient's own stem cells, researchers at the Karolinska Institute announced.

Spine Fusion Device Ignites Academic Feud

Responding to a series of studies linking Medtronic's bone morphogenetic protein-2 product to a number of serious adverse events, a leading BMP-2 researcher is taking the offensive by taking aim at his critics in a manner that some observers say goes too far. This latest report in an ongoing Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/番茄社区 series details the claims and counterclaims.

Researcher Sounded Alarm on Medtronic's Infuse Years Ago

As part of a continuing investigation into a bone morphogenetic protein-2 product marketed as Infuse, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/番茄社区 describe a first-hand account of early signs of problems with the device as well as efforts to minimize the clinical significance of those problems.

ASCO GU: Long Learning Curve for Robotic Prostate Removal

ORLANDO -- Three experienced surgeons needed more than 1,600 cases to achieve acceptable outcomes with robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy, data from a retrospective chart review showed.

AHA: One or Two Drinks May Not Hurt Bypass Patients

CHICAGO -- Having an alcoholic drink does not appear to cause problems for patients following coronary artery bypass graft surgery -- but doctors warn that these patients cannot have more than one or two drinks a day.

Not Enough Evidence to Use BMP Off-Label, Panel Says

BALTIMORE -- A Medicare advisory committee has voted that there is not enough evidence to warrant off-label use of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein, or BMP, for bone surgery.

Cough, Wheezing Raise Risk in Kids' Anesthesia

Children with a dry cough at night or wheezing during exercise are at elevated risk of respiratory adverse events during and after general anesthesia, researchers reported.

Give Antibiotics Before C-Section, Group Urges

Women scheduled for cesarean section should be started on antibiotics an hour before delivery, according to new recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Greater Infection Risk with Staples in Hip Surgery

Closure of wounds following orthopedic surgery with staples rather than sutures is associated with a significantly higher risk of superficial infection, a meta-analysis found.

The Top 10 Medical Advances of the Decade

From genome to hormones, doctors pick the top medical advances of the decade.

Rib Cartilage Safe for Rhinoplasty

Irradiated homologous rib cartilage was durable, well tolerated, and safe for use in rhinoplasty, long-term follow-up showed.

Hospital Fined for Wrong-Site Surgery

Rhode Island Hospital, located in Providence, will pay $150,000 and install video cameras in all of its operating rooms after performing its fifth wrong-site surgery since 2007, according to the state's department of health.

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