Treatment • healthcare-in-europe.com

OPHTHALMOLOGY

Following 12 years of development, German surgeons and technicians have successfully implanted the world's first vision prosthesis in six blind patients.

Safe:Trac

A new trauma surgery training programme has been launched by the German Society of Trauma Surgery (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Unfallchirurgie - DGU).

Moscow's medical mighty

By Professor Gennady Souchkevich, Deputy Director of the Moscow Research and Clinical Institute of Emergency Children's Surgery and Trauma.

Rotational artherectomy - Around 33,000 patients are hospitalised annually due to myocardial infarction, but only five percent actually die, thanks to the various state-of-the-art treatments mastered by Czech physicians.

Article • Tobacco

France: Smoking ban lowers cardiac emergency admissions by 15%

The French Health Authorities announced in February that the smoking ban — which began in February 2007 for communal buildings and work places, and was implemented in January 2008 with effect on bars, restaurants and hotels — has produced striking results.

Russian surgeons perform cardiac autotransplantation to treat giant left atrium, severe mitral and tricuspid regurgitation

Arrythmogenic remodelling of the left atrium is a common complication of atrial fibrillation, leading to severe haemodynamic disturbances.

Nutrition and health

Cardiovascular diseases kill more than 12 million people worldwide every year and are the cause of death for more than 50% of all Europeans over the age of 65.

Further reports from the ACC 57th Scientific Session

A five-year study of 516 participants with coronary artery disease showed that patients who reduced their anxiety levels or kept them steady were 60% less likely to have a heart attack or die compared with those who had increased anxiety levels.

Cardiology 'must be evidence-based' says ACC

Ian Mason reports from Chicago

Interventional radiology

Along with paediatric radiology, interventional radiology will have a high profile at the 89th German Radiology Congress and 5th Joint Congress with the Austrian Radiology Society. During a discussion with Meike Lerner of European Hospital congress president Professor Dierk Vorwerk outlined what's on the agenda for the expected 6,900 visitors.

Radiation treatment decisions in patients with prostate cancer and suspected lymph node metastasis based on USPIO-MRI

Prostate cancer is the most frequent cancer in men with about 49,000 newly diagnosed cancers in Germany and 6,000 in the Netherlands, annually.

A danger to patients' security and privacy?

Unexpected risks my result from today's medical devices, such as implantable cardiac defibrillators and pacemakers, if they are equipped with wireless technology to enable remote device checks.

LIFEBRIDGE" ASSUMES CONTROL OVER HEART AND LUNG OUTSIDE THE OR

The clinical center of the university of Mainz, Germany, reported the first successful use of a newly developed mobile heart-lung support system with a patient suffering from life-threatening pulmonary embolism. "Lifebridge", a highly automated system, was connected via the inguinal vessels right after the embolism had occurred and immediately took over the functions of lung and heart, supplying…

A small Hospital with a lot of technology

Torrevieja's Hospital, sited on the south coast of the 'Comunidad Valenciana', in the Alicante's Province; starts on October 2006, for a peculiar population, with a media of 200,000 habitants and a maximum of 600,000 on holidays. The challenge of making a versatile hospital, modern and above all efficient, claims the best technologic advances for health services.

Surgeons urged to 'think twice'before giving blood transfusions

Hospitals are urged to tighten up on blood transfusions, following a growing number of reports on unrecognised risks from blood transfusions - and these are not the generally-known infection risks, such as HIV.

Improvement to therapeutic effects for seasonal rhinitis

Patients suffering from moderate to severe seasonal allergic rhinitis experience significantly improved therapeutic effects when combining nasal Azelastine spray with Fluticason nasal spray as opposed to using Fluticason nasal spray by itself. Those are the surprising results of a study released by the Annals of Allergy & Asthma Immunology (1) in January 2008. Azelastine is a first-line,…

Education and follow-up for heart failure patientes more effective

Today the key results of the Heart Failure Home Care trial, a study designed to assess the impact of a home-based heart failure monitoring system on healthcare costs for heart failure patients will be presented at the American College of Cardiology's 57th Annual Scientific Session (ACC.08).

Russia: New cardiology centre signals better healthcare

One of the most painful problems of modern Russia is the high death rate, especially among able-bodied people. In 2005, the average life expectancy for men was 58.8 years.

Fibroid Embolisation: So Promising for Women, So Unavailable in Europe

Uterine fibroids are the most common form of benign pelvic tumor, with about 30-50% of women between the ages of 35-45 years reporting them. Although many women are asymptomatic, those who experience the symptoms of bladder pressure, frequent and very heavy menstrual periods, and uterine pain, have a reduced quality of life.

Launching a brand new hospital?

A newly constructed 220-bed hospital, with 11 operating theatres, an entirely new IT infrastructure and with 1,200 employees, all fully operational and able to provide a comprehensive range of clinical services from day one - impossible?

Hospitals must be governed by business rules

In those European countries where citizens are entitled to comprehensive healthcare financing the healthcare systems are becoming increasingly daunting tasks. Whilst in some isolated cases medical progress may indeed lead to certain cost reductions, overall this inflates costs.