Feature Channels: Surgery

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A simple item found in almost every medicine cabinet – a cotton swab -- may be a key tool in the fight against post-surgical wound infections.

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Nine-year-old Greer Underwood was healthy until February 2011. What seemingly began as sinusitis on a Tuesday became almost fatal by the weekend when her heart began to fail. Now, after a historic series of events at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, she’s the only child in the country to have used the experimental heart pump, Heartware, as a bridge to transplant.

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For women undergoing mastectomy for breast cancer, immediate breast reconstruction has a low risk of complications—including serious complications related to radiation therapy—and does not cause undue delays in cancer treatment, reports a study in the July issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

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A "body sculpting" technique using high-intensity focused ultrasound to eliminate unwanted abdominal fat effectively reduces waist circumference, with only minor pain and side effects, reports a study in the July issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

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An essential aspect of oral surgery is controlling the patient’s pain following a procedure. The goal is to relieve pain and promote a rapid recovery, without opioid side effects. An initial study shows that Dyloject, a new intravenous form of the drug diclofenac, has promise for achieving these goals.

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Electronic data from automated drug dispensing carts can help to identify drug diversion by anesthesia care providers, according to a report in the July issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

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For patients with hypertension undergoing heart surgery, large variations in blood pressure before, during, and after the operation are associated with an increased risk of death, reports the July issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

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Heart bypass surgery is considered the gold standard for most patients with left main coronary artery disease, one of the most serious types of heart disease and one that affects thousands. But a new UCLA study reports favorable long-term outcomes for lower-risk patients with this condition who underwent angioplasty with medication-coated stents, rather than bypass surgery.

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A study published in the July issue of Anesthesiology has found that parents who smoke are more likely to attempt to quit during the time of their child’s surgery – but that they are not more likely to succeed.

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There are several anesthetic complications that may have a hereditary background, including postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). A new study from the July issue of Anesthesiology analyzed whether patients who experience PONV have a genetic predisposition for the side effect.

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A new study in the July issue of Anesthesiology helped developed a model that could determine which patients are at high risk of developing acute lung injury (ALI).

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New research shows that gastric bypass significantly reduces the inflammation associated with diseases including cancer and diabetes – more proof of the overall health benefits of such surgery beyond weight loss. “We’re amassing evidence that weight loss is a very important part of changing the way the body’s systems work in people with high-risk diseases like diabetes and heart disease,” said Gary D. Miller, an associate professor at Wake Forest University and chief investigator on the study.

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Julie Flores will celebrate her 39th birthday on June 26 standing upright, something she has been unable to do most of her life because she suffered from severe scoliosis that bent and twisted her body nearly in half. (June is National Scoliosis Awareness Month)

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Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that parathyroid glands have a natural fluorescence that can be used during surgery to identify these tiny organs, which are hard to find with the naked eye.

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Zilver PTX® Paclitaxel-Eluting Stent shows sustained effectiveness even in diabetic patients.

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National reegistry results from 11-year study presented at Vascular Annual Meeting.

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Implementation of real-time monitoring reduces risk and proper use of prophylaxis.

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Each year more than 200,000 people with morbid obesity undergo gastric bypass surgery, but research shows that more than half of patients regain at least 20 percent of the weight lost. Even celebrities find it difficult to keep the pounds off after gastric bypass. TV personality Al Roker and singer Carnie Wilson both have detailed their battle with weight gain after surgery; Wilson’s struggle has lasted for years.

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At the 65th Vascular Annual Meeting of the Society for Vascular Surgery®, Gilbert R. Upchurch, Jr., MD from the division of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, spoke about gender differences in abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA’s).

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Washington University physicians and surgeons at St. Louis Children’s Hospital collaborated to make several strategic and innovative decisions that led to the first successful use of an artificial lung in a toddler.