Results for search "Surgery: Misc.".
16 Oct
Researchers say Black and Hispanic patients face a higher risk of death after surgery due to ongoing racial and ethnic disparities.
At least 20 million hernia surgeries are performed globally each year, making it one of the most common medical procedures in the world. But does gender matter when it comes to hernia risk?
New Australian research says yes: Half of the nearly 436,000 hernia repair procedures performed in adults in that country between 2017 and 2021 were for inguinal (groin) hernias, with men accounting fo...
Wildfire smoke could interfere with the safety of surgeries, a new study warns.
Inhaling the smoke could complicate the effects of anesthesia on surgical patients, and it also might hamper their recovery, researchers reported Aug. 6 in the journal Anesthesiology.
“Wildfire smoke poses significant health risks, particularly in people with preexisting heart and lung dis...
Surgery is being overused to correct breastfeeding difficulties in infants, a new report says.
A growing number of newborns are being diagnosed with ankyloglossia, also called “tongue-tie.â€
Tongue-tie restricts the tongue’s range of motion in a baby. An unusually short or tight band of tissue holds the tip of their tongue close to the bottom of their mouth, making...
The virus responsible for COVID-19 is widespread among wildlife, a new study finds.
SARS-CoV-2 was detected in six common backyard species, including deer mice, opossums, raccoons, groundhogs, cottontail rabbits and red bats, researchers reported July 29 in the journal
Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer in one breast, even in the early stages, sometimes opt for a double mastectomy, due to the fear that the cancer will migrate to the other breast.
But that decision may not offer any real benefit in terms of survival, an exhaustive new study of more than 600,000 patients tracked for two decades has found.
Canadian researchers report that wh...
Brent Ruch, a collegiate basketball center, opted to have his left knee replaced at age 35 after struggling with pain for years.
“Walking with a limp and living with a consistent aching pain was physically and emotionally difficult. I didn’t want to live like that,†said Ruch, who lives in a suburb of Chicago.
When his doctor told him he’d be pla...
Many tweens and teens are filling prescriptions for opioids far in advance of surgeries unlikely to be associated with severe pain afterward, a new study says.
Worse, a significant minority continue to fill those opioid prescriptions three to six months after
Diabetes can make lumbar spinal fusion surgery much more likely to fail, a new study says.
People with diabetes are nearly three times more likely to have their vertebrae fail to properly heal and fuse together, what surgeons call a non-union complication, according to results recently published in the journa...
Opioid addiction often starts with a prescription for post-surgery pain relief, and two new studies identify a handful of procedures that account for large shares of those prescriptions.
The findings were published recently in two major medical journals.
"Our findings suggest that surgical opioid prescribing is highly concentrated among a small group of procedures," said
You're getting heart surgery, but your surgeon notices a new anomaly that perhaps could be fixed at the same time.
That's more likely to happen if you're a man than a woman, new studies find.
The findings came as little surprise to lead researcher Dr. Catherine Wagner, an integrated thoracic surgery re...
John Nicolas was deep into kidney transplant surgery when he decided to ask his doctors if they'd started yet.
"At one point during surgery, I recall asking, 'Should I be expecting the spinal anesthesia to kick in?'"Nicolas, 28, recalled in a news release. "They had already been doing a lot of work and I had been completely oblivious to that fact. Truly, no sensation whatsoever."
Ni...
A surgery that helps 7- to 10-year-olds with cerebral palsy walk also helps older kids and teens with the condition, a groundbreaking study shows.
"We had thought that the older kids would not do as well, but there was really no difference in outcomes between the two groups," said senior study author Dr. Robert Kay, director of th...
British retiree David Butler was surprised to find that he had prostate cancer, and that it had spread to the lymph nodes and other places near the prostate.
"I had literally no symptoms apart from needing to pee more quickly whenever I did go to the toilet,"Butler, 77, said in a ...
Older adults who avoid surgery because they fear general anesthesia will cause thinking declines need not worry, researchers report.
A study of more than 1,000 patients who had heart surgery at four hospitals in Canada found that the amount of anesthesia used did not affect the risk of delirium after surgery. Post-surgery delirium may contribute to cognitive decline.
How much anesth...
Despite recent concerns that taking Ozempic, Wegovy or other GLP-1 medications might be unsafe before a surgery, a new review has uncovered no such danger.
The issue arose because weight-loss drugs slow gastric emptying. The thought was that food might linger in the stomach so patients might be at higher risk of aspirating food particles and choking while under anesthesia.
But a ne...
A woman who was the second person to ever receive a kidney from a genetically modified pig has had the transplanted organ removed due to complications linked to a heart pump she is using, her doctors said.
Lisa Pisano, 54, remains hospitalized and has been transferred back to kidney dialysis after having the transplanted organ removed.
The organ, transplanted 47 days earlier, had n...
Nerve surgery can reduce the number of headache days for people who suffer frequent migraines, a new review finds.
The procedure also can decrease the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks, according to results published in the June issue of the journal
California skateboarder Jared Hager has become the first person to receive a transparent skull replacement, which allows doctors to better view the function of his brain.
The window has allowed doctors to both monitor his progress and test new and better scanning methods for assessing brain health.
Hager, 39, of Downey, Calif., sustained a traumatic brain injury from a skateboarding...
A 4,000-year-old skull provides evidence that ancient Egyptians might have tried to treat cancer, a new study claims.
Microscopic observation of the skull revealed 30 or so lesions scattered across its surface that are consistent with cancer, researchers report.
T...
Heading for surgery? The ratio of women to men in the operating room could influence your recovery, new research shows.
Hospitals in Canada that had 35% or more surgeons and anesthesiologists who were female on staff tended to produce better outcomes for patients undergoing surgery, ...
Chicago resident Arthur "Art"Gillespie fell ill in early March 2020 with COVID, after he and his father went to visit an uncle in a nursing facility.
"I was hospitalized for 12 days with a high fever and cough, and during that time, they were taking scans of my lungs, which showed stage 1 lung cancer on my right lung,"Gillespie, 56, recalled in a news release. "I had no symptoms of lung c...
Robot-assisted total knee replacements tend to have better outcomes on average, a new study reports.
Unfortunately, there's a downside"having a surgical robot assist a human surgeon can make the procedure much more costly.
Patients who had a robot-assisted knee replacement stayed i...
A blood test could help doctors spot the signs of knee osteoarthritis at least eight years before it shows up on X-rays, a new study claims.
After analyzing the blood of 200 white British women, half diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis and half without, researchers discovered a small number of biomarkers distinguished the women with osteoarthritis from those without it.
"We found we ...
Each year, thousands of Americans head home after a surgery clutching prescription opioids to help ease post-surgical pain.
Trouble is, most won't use all those pills, and that could lead to a lot of misuse and addiction, one study found.
And with National Prescription Drug Take Back Day slated for Saturday, it's time yet again to rais...
Most seniors probably view any emergency surgery with a certain level of anxiety.
Now, a new study seeks to sort out who might be at highest risk for a complication from such surgeries -- and which surgeries are more prone to trouble.
Two key factors emerged: How frail any patient over 65 was prior to their emergency procedure, and whether the surgery was deemed to be high- or low...
New Jersey native Lisa Pisano was staring down the end of her days.
The 54-year-old had heart failure and end-stage kidney disease, but several chronic medical conditions excluded her as a candidate for heart and kidney transplants.
"All I want is the opportunity to have a better ...
It's long been documented that women have a slimmer chance of surviving heart bypass surgery compared to men, and researchers believe that they now know why.
Women tend to be more vulnerable to blood loss during surgery -- red blood cells, specifically -- than men are, concluded a team from Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.
Early-onset arthritis may hit as many as one in every four young people who undergo anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgeries, new research warns.
The arthritic pain emerges within 6 to 12 months post-surgery, according to Michigan State University (MSU) researchers.
Many of these cases occur in people under 40 and go unrecognized and untreated.
"We're trying...
Researchers say they are close to perfecting a bioengineered, 3D printed replacement human ear that looks, feels and resists injury like the real thing.
Such an advance would greatly benefit people with congenitally malformed ears from birth, or those who have had an ear lost or damaged through injury, says a team at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.
Right now, "ear reconst...
People taking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy need to drop them in the days or weeks prior to surgery, a new study warns.
Folks on one of these drugs -- known as GLP-1 receptor agonists -- have a 33% higher risk of developing pneumonia by breathing in their own vomit during surgery, researche...
Dr. Gary Gibbon didn't have long to live.
A harsh cocktail of chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy for his advanced lung cancer had permanently destroyed his lungs and caused irreparable damage to his liver.
But Gibbon, a 69-year-old resident of Santa Monica,...
A surgical treatment used to treat conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome and back sciatica might also help relieve the pain of patients with diabetic neuropathy, a new study finds.
Surgical nerve decompression significantly eased pain among a small group of people with diabetic neuropathy for up to five years, researchers report.
In the surgery, researchers removed inflexible tissu...
THURSDAY, March 21, 2024 (HealthDay news) -- For the first time ever, doctors have transplanted a genetically edited pig kidney into a human suffering from advanced kidney failure.
Such pig kidneys, altered to lower the risk of rejection and disease, have been successfully placed into monkeys and brain-dead human donor bodies.
But Rick Slayman, 62, is the first living patient to rec...
Weight-loss surgery may help patients struggling with obesity and kidney failure become eligible for a lifesaving transplant, researchers report.
Obesity is a key reason why some kidney patients are turned down for a transplant.
But weight-loss surgery "not only helps in reducing the patients' weight to a level where they can safely receive a transplant, but also addresses the broad...
Nurses who specialize in anesthesia have issued new guidelines to reduce the risk that patients taking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy throw up during surgery.
"These medications have exploded in popularity," said
Weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic can increase a person's risk of throwing up during surgery while under anesthesia, a new study reports.
People are typically asked to fast prior to surgery because general anesthesia can cause nausea, and they might inhale and choke on their own vomit.
Unfortunately, part of the way that these drugs, called GLP-1 receptor agonists, help prom...
Major surgery is a dicey proposition for many seniors, with a substantial number landing back in the hospital just weeks or months after their operation, a new study warns.
Nearly one in eight seniors (12%) who undergo surgery are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of their procedure, researchers report Feb. 28 in the journal
Children exposed to anesthesia in the womb when their pregnant mom has surgery are more likely to suffer from behavioral issues later, a new study finds.
Exposure to general anesthesia before birth was associated with a 31% increased risk of diagnosis with a behavioral disorder as a child, researchers reported Feb. 29 in the
The position in bed of stroke victims' heads could influence how well they'll fare in upcoming surgery to remove a blood clot from their brain, a new study finds.
Hospital beds for stroke patients are typically set up to keep the head elevated, researchers said.
But a flat head position prior to blood clot removal might lead to better outcomes, the results showed.
Patients dis...
Patients who are bleeding out have a better chance of surviving if they're given whole blood transfusions, a new study shows.
Traditionally, patients with significant bleeding are given transfusions of specific blood components -- red blood cells, plasma and platelets that have been separated out from whole blood.
But researchers found that early whole blood transfusions were associ...
Elon Musk, co-founder of Neuralink, said this week that the company placed the first brain implant in a human over the weekend.
In a statement posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter that is now owned by Musk, the billionaire said the patient was "recovering well."He added that "ini...
Older adults frequently delay needed surgery because of financial concerns, a new study finds.
Nearly half of people ages 50 and older who were very concerned about the cost of surgery wound up not having an operation they had considered, researchers reported Jan. 30 in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Further, more than half who were very concerned about taking time off work...
Britain's King Charles III returned home on Monday after a planned prostate surgery, the same day his daughter-in-law Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, was also discharged following an undisclosed abdominal surgery.
Both had been treated at the London Clinic private hospital.
The King spent three nights there after surgery on Friday for an enlarged prostate, according to from B...
Too many American tourists looking for cheap cosmetic surgeries alongside their beach time are winding up dead in the Dominican Republic, a new report finds.
Between 2009 and 2022, 93 people -- almost all young or middle-aged women -- have died after undergoing tummy tucks, liposuction or buttock enhancement procedures in that country's clinics, reports a team from the U.S. Centers for Di...
Britain's King Charles III is expected undergo surgery next week to correct an enlarged prostate, and experts say these procedures are common in older men and safe.
The king, 75, has what's clinically known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
"An enlarged prostate means the gland has grown bigger. Prostate enlargement happens to almost all men as they get older," noted
Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, has undergone a planned abdominal surgery, Kensington Palace reported Wednesday.
As reported by the BBC, the surgery was successful and the 42-year-old princess will remain in the hospital for between 10 and 14 days.
No details were provided by the palace as to the reasons for the surgery.
"Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wale...
More than a few folks are considering a cosmetic skin procedure to enhance their looks heading into 2024.
Botox, fillers and lasers are common means to sculpt a person's appearance, but dermatologists recommend a comprehensive approach under the care of a qualified specialist.
"There is no one-size-fits-all or 'cookie cutter' approach to combat the signs of aging because aging looks...
Professional guitarist Christian Nolen took his stage show to an operating room last month, strumming out Deftones tunes for surgeons as they worked to remove a tumor from his brain.
Nolen's performance wasn't just for entertainment -- his guitar playing helped guide the brain surgeons during the delicate operation.
By playing the guitar during an "awake"portion of his two-hour surg...
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin remains hospitalized while recovering from complications related to a December surgery to treat prostate cancer, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.
His doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center,
A diet supplement derived from citrus fruits reduced swelling and pain after knee replacement surgery, a new clinical trial found.
The flavonoid supplement, diosmin, could offer a new approach to painful swelling after the procedure, according to a team led by Dr. Pengde Kang of Sichuan University in Chengdu, China.
"P...