When Professor PD Dr Dr Marcos Tatagiba operates the recently installed five ton, ceiling mounted MRI scanner in the operating theatre at the Neurosurgery Clinic in University Hospital Tubingen, he will be using systems technology currently unique in Europe.
There is a large variation in unplanned reoperation rates after colorectal surgery in English NHS hospitals, finds a study published on bmj.com today. As such, researchers suggest that reoperation rates could be used alongside other quality measures to help improve surgical performance on a national scale.
Bypass surgery figures declined again in 2010. Reason: Most coronary heart disease (CHD) patients are being treated by removal of the obstruction followed by stent implantation -- a situation criticised by Professor Jochen Cremer, first Vice President of the DGTHG (German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery).
Given the increase in overweight or obese populations (estimated at around 50% in Europe alone), hospital equipment that supports patients must be tried, tested and proved to be robust indeed. Like many hospital equipment manufacturers, the Tuttlingen-based firm Berchtold is well aware of this growing concern, already providing components and accessories for obesity surgery.
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, a global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring, announced that interim data from a multi-center European prospective study of the investigational EDWARDS INTUITY Valve System showed promising results for patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR).
Major disasters and natural catastrophes occur all the time – but in most cases we are only aware of them as images in the news on our TV screens or in the newspapers. Fortunately, most European hospitals are confronted with such major events only occasionally.
The 12th EFORT Congress, celebrating the 20th year of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, aims to update knowledge of any specialty or subspecialty involving the diagnosis and management of bone and joint problems. The event will draw experts from over 30 European countries, and also benefit from specific contributions from Nordic countries.
Innovative mobile C-arm solutions by Nuremberg-based Ziehm Imaging are quickly conquering interventional radiology. At this year‘s European Congress of Radiology in Vienna, Martin Herzmann, Director of Global Marketing at Ziehm Imaging, met with EH correspondent Karoline Laarmann to discuss developments.
State-of-the-art operating theatres are shifting from X-rays to the display of images on monitors. The variety of different picture sources is also increasing, ranging from boom and endoscopy cameras to C-arms or PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication) systems. Thus the trend is to use an image management system to display the various surgical images on just one monitor.
Mechanical suturing tools are an indispensable part of modern surgery. Gastro-intestinal surgery as well as minimally invasive surgeries, would be unthinkable without this technology, a growing sub-market in an ever-growing industry, possibly driven by the patient’s benefit, writes Holger Zorn.
Cornelis Van De Velde, Professor of Surgical Oncology at the Leiden University Medical Centre, in the Netherlands, and President of the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO), describes the work and aims of the society within the EU.
Smooth, flawlessly running reprocessing systems ensure regulatory hygiene standards as well as the constant availability of all endoscopes. To this end, along with the established Partnership and Complete Coverage Contracts for endoscopy, Olympus Deutschland GmbH has developed CDS Care and CDS Care+ Contracts and a Validation Service.
In technical terms ‘hybrid’ is a system that connects two technologies so they may benefit from each other. This also applies to the newest generation of operating theatre*: hybrid OTs combine diagnostic and surgical facilities that are usually found in separate locations. Thus procedures can be carried out in less time and involve less discomfort and risk for the patient.
This is imaging with a ‘wow’-effect: The Swedish Centre for Medical Image Science & Visualisation (CMIV) in cooperation with the Norrkoping Visualisation Centre has developed a ‘Virtual Autopsy Table’ that allows a unique look inside the human body and takes interaction with volumetric medical data to a new level.
One year after boldly launching a far-reaching programme for reforming France’s troubled hospitals a newly created French agency has surprised its detractors and created a way forward.
The new surgical wing at Knappschafts Hospital in Bottrop, Germany, has exceeded all expectations. In four years the concept has increased available operation times by over 30%. We asked the project supervisor, Dr Peter Hügler, who heads the Anaesthesia, Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy Clinic, how such a significant success was realised.
Treating seriously injured patients is part of daily routine for medical teams at the Orthopaedics and Traumatology Department of the University Hospital in Brno, Czech Republic. Up to 2,600 operations a year take place in this department alone, in the second largest Czech clinic. Updated with Trumpf medical technology, the centre reports quicker and more appropriate responses to planned as well…
Despite some uncertainty about how it works, there is a growing consensus that Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) – also known as Vacuum Assisted Closure (VAC) – is revolutionising wound care. Speaking at the 1st International Surgical Wound Forum, held recently in Amsterdam, surgeons from Europe and the USA predicted the growing use of this innovative technology across the spectrum of…
The normal regulation of the core body temperature of a healthy, resting adult human (around 37°C) is affected during surgery, which can lead to an increased rate of wound infections, bleeding and cardiac complications. The manufacturer of MoeckWarming System reusable blankets reports that these provide comprehensive temperature management to ensure patients remain normothermic.
Post-operative wound infection occurs after an estimated 17% of surgical operations – sometimes with devastating consequences for the patient. The list of preventive measures is manifold and long. However, one strategy is increasingly moving into the spotlight: the use of antibacterial coated sutures. Ethicon Products is at the cutting edge in this field. Sandra Rasche, head of this Business…
Surgical planning is complex. Today’s surgeons can utilise information from various sources – including CT and MRI images, as well as f-MRI, PET or electro-physiological signals. For minimally invasive surgery (MIS) these additional imaging data are of particular importance, in that they enable precise navigation within the body.
Intra-operative MR imaging is still uncommon in Europe – particularly in neurosurgery. One of the first neurosurgery departments to work with a 3-T MR is in the Central Military Hospital in Prague. The experience and initial clinical findings from treating more than 300 patients, over a two-year period, was reported at this year’s ECR.
Basically, a hybrid operating theatre (OT) is a combined operating room containing large imaging equipment, such as MRT and CT, which enables intra-operative diagnostics. If provided for in the hygiene and theatre concept, the hybrid OT can also be used purely as a diagnostics room, or as a classic operating room.
Last January Dr Maurizio Pupi became the International Business Manager of Vanguard Healthcare – the UK supplier of mobile healthcare facilities – which intends to spread its already very established and necessary services beyond the United Kingdom.
From 1 April 2010, the Olympus Group will be pooling its expertise in the field of minimally invasive diagnostics and therapy under a common “Olympus Surgical Technologies Europe” umbrella. To this end, Olympus Winter & Ibe GmbH, Celon AG and Olympus Medical Products Czech SPOL. S.R.O. will be joining forces to accomplish a shared presence under a new, single brand.