Certain commonly prescribed anti-nausea medications given to patients during or after an operation could increase their risk of developing an irregular heartbeat, new research has found.
Brain surgery is famously difficult for good reason: When removing a tumor, for example, neurosurgeons walk a tightrope as they try to take out as much of the cancer as possible while keeping crucial brain tissue intact — and visually distinguishing the two is often impossible. Now Johns Hopkins researchers report they have developed an imaging technology that could provide surgeons with a…
For all the advances being made in this discipline, postoperative infections remain a great challenge for orthopaedists and trauma surgeons. More than 7,000 experts from around the globe are gathering in Prague for the 16th EFORT Congress to consult on ways to optimise prevention and therapy for these dreaded complications.
Blocked blood vessels can quickly become dangerous. It is often necessary to replace a blood vessel – either by another vessel taken from the body or even by artificial vascular prostheses. Together, Vienna University of Technology and Vienna Medical University have developed artificial blood vessels made from a special elastomer material, which has excellent mechanical properties. Over time,…
Picture Archiving and Communications systems (PACS) are well established for managing radiology images. Could this robust and mature technology now become the backbone for creating the digital operating theatre? Report: John Brosky
In the future, TAVIs can only be carried out in German hospitals with cardiac surgery departments and cardiac wards, as decided by the German Government’s Expert Panel on Health (G-BA) last January. An interim arrangement in force until 2016 is anticipated for Heart Centres that currently carry out the TAVI procedure without cardiac surgery departments on site. The Federal Ministry of Health is…
NDS Surgical Imaging (NDSsi) designed a revolutionary visualization platform for operating rooms and minimally invasive suites to help surgeons see more, know more, and ultimately do more for their patients. The company released its highly anticipated 27" Radiance® Ultra, a next-generation surgical visualization platform boasting the brightest LED backlight in its class*. The ultra-high…
When a patient receives a new hip, it is usually adjusted only approximately to leg length. Greater accuracy requires a more precise measuring process as well as adjustable implants. Now, a new type of measurement method coupled with a modular implant should allow orthopedic surgeons to precisely calibrate leg length after the operation so it matches its original length.
‘There are still only 24 hours in a day – even for surgeons,’ said Professor Vogt MD during our interview. The Director of the clinic for plastic, hand and reconstructive surgery at Hanover Medical School and President of the DGCH (German Society of Surgery) is calling for solutions to the dilemma trainee surgeons face: undergoing high-quality specialist medical training while completing…
Surgeons at the University Hospitals Leuven have used a new technique for two recent liver transplants: in both cases the organ was preserved prior transplantation in a device that mimics the environment of that in the human body, making sure the liver stays ‘healthier’. The device can even assess and improve the quality of the liver.
Publicly insured Americans who undergo lung transplantation for cystic fibrosis fare markedly worse in the long run than both publicly insured patients in the United Kingdom and privately insured Americans, according to the results of a study conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and U.K. colleagues working in that nation’s government-funded National Health Service.
Although sedatives are often administered before surgery, a randomized trial finds that among patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia, receiving the sedative lorazepam before surgery, compared with placebo or no premedication, did not improve the self-reported patient experience the day after surgery, but was associated with longer time till removal off a breathing tube…
Delegates were asked an increasingly vital question during ECR 2015: do they rather want to be imagers or doctors? “This will probably be one of the most interesting sessions of this meeting and, after this congress, maybe even your career,” said Jim Reekers, professor of interventional radiology at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as he kick started the eponymous Professional…
The O-arm has successfully established as a gold standard imaging device for high contrast items in the market. Surgeons, all over the world consider the O-arm their system of choice, convinced by image quality, ease of handling, and reliability.
The majority of hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project (ACS NSQIP®) improve surgical outcomes over time, and improvement continues with each year that hospitals participate in the program.
A surgical algorithm developed and implemented by ovarian cancer specialists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center dramatically increases the frequency of complete removal of all visible tumor - a milestone strongly tied to improved survival.
David A. Etzioni, M.D., M.S.H.S., of Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, and colleagues compared rates of any complications, serious complications, and death during a hospitalization for elective general/vascular surgery at hospitals that did vs did not participate in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP).
A study from Northwestern Medicine and the American College of Surgeons suggests that penalizing hospitals for patient readmissions following surgery may be ineffective, and even counterproductive, for improving the quality of hospital care in America.
JAMA study shows death, complication, readmission and costs are no lower at hospitals in American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, a prominent quality-reporting program.
The very first successful organ donation from a newborn to be carried out in the UK is reported in the Fetal & Neonatal Edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood. The donor was a girl born at term after an emergency caesarean section in the neonatal unit of Hammersmith Hospital, London. The donation involved the kidneys, which were transplanted into a patient with renal failure, and liver…
Sucking up blood spilt during a major surgical procedure, or drained from a heart-lung machine after surgery, the Hemosep cell concentration system has a blood bag that uses a chemical sponge technology and mechanical agitator to filter red and white blood cells and platelets through a plastic membrane so that they can then be returned to the patient by intravenous transfusion. Report: Mark…
Ampronix, a world class manufacturer of innovative medical imaging technology, reintroduces it’s Medvix line of near-patient surgical displays. The high quality HD surgical displays are now available for a lower cost.
Another patient in the final stages of heart failure has received an artificial heart at Nantes UniversityHospital Centre, according to Carmat, the manufacturer of the device. Report: John Brosky
The adage ‘practice makes perfect’ is applicable to every profession – but even more so for pilots and surgeons. Flight simulation technology has been used for decades to hone aviators’ skills, and this technology is now being used by neurosurgeons to plan as well as practise surgical procedures and for real-time virtual assistance in operating theatre. Report: Cynthia E Keen
Optimising protective operating theatre clothing in terms of comfort and durability enables significant amounts of waste to be avoided and valuable resources saved.