http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Knee replacement surgery is a very common procedure. However, it does not always resolve function or pain in all the recipients of new knees. A study by Robert Barrack, MD and his colleagues from the Washington University School of Medicine wanted to determine if any socioeconomic factors were associated with less successful outcomes of knee replacement surgery. Their study, which appears in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, published by Springer, found that lower-income individuals reported higher levels of dissatisfaction and poorer function than those with higher incomes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-people-higher-incomes-happier-knees.html Other Tue, 21 May 2013 11:50:36 EST news288355827 The LAP-BAND weight loss procedure is safe and effective in an expanded group of patients, not just in people who are morbidly obese. This conclusion is reported in a new study published in the scientific journal Obesity. The findings indicate that the procedure may help to intervene before obesity becomes life threatening to patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-weight-loss-surgery-safe-effective.html Overweight and Obesity Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:05 EST news286645911 A new study suggests that surgery for appendicitis that uses a pinhole incision through the navel may be a feasible alternative to traditional appendectomies. Published early online in the British Journal of Surgery, the findings indicate that larger studies to test the potential of the procedure are warranted. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-appendix-scarless-surgery-navel.html Surgery Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:00:02 EST news284832220 The biggest thing in operating rooms these days is a million-dollar, multi-armed robot named da Vinci, used in nearly 400,000 surgeries in America last year—triple the number just four years earlier. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-robot-hot-surgeons-fda.html Surgery Tue, 09 Apr 2013 04:50:01 EST news284700912 (HealthDay)—Nipple-sparing mastectomy with microsurgical breast reconstruction can be safely performed for select patients, according to a study published in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-complication-nipple-sparing-mastectomy.html Surgery Mon, 04 Feb 2013 05:30:02 EST news279175156 Urologists at Henry Ford Hospital have developed a new technique that could make minimally invasive robotic partial nephrectomy procedures the norm, rather than the exception for kidney cancer patients. The technique spares the kidney, eliminates long hospital stays and provides better outcomes by giving the surgeon more time to perform the procedure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-technique-minimally-invasive-robotic-kidney.html Surgery Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:43:09 EST news274628582 The precision and three-dimensional view provided by robots can enable essentially scar-free surgery for some women needing hysterectomies, physicians report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-robots-enable-scar-free-hysterectomies-women.html Surgery Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:43:22 EST news271942988 With a plethora of advice from websites and survivor support networks as well as friends, family and co-workers, it can seem daunting to make the "right" decision when facing breast cancer.  http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-breast-surgery-options-flex-personalized.html Surgery Fri, 12 Oct 2012 07:16:46 EST news269244990 (Medical Xpress)—After a promising clinical trial of focused ultrasound as a potential treatment for essential tremor, the University of Virginia Health System is launching a new study to investigate the scalpel-free technology's safety and effectiveness in reducing tremor related to Parkinson's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-focused-ultrasound-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Fri, 12 Oct 2012 05:45:37 EST news269239529 Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found that recovery from an emerging, minimally invasive surgical technique called Laparo-Endoscopic Single-Site Surgery (LESS) was less painful for kidney cancer patients than traditional laparoscopic surgery. Study results were published in the September online edition of Urology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-single-site-laparoscopic-surgery-pain-tumor.html Surgery Thu, 27 Sep 2012 13:00:32 EST news267969622 University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center is one of five institutions nationwide performing a novel scarless procedure that restores swallowing function in some patients with achalasia, a rare condition where the esophagus is unable to move food into the stomach. Per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is a state-of-the-art technique to treat patients without any external incisions or outside scars. With POEM, surgeons enter through the mouth and tunnel an endoscope down the esophagus to cut the muscle fibers to open the esophagus, allowing food to enter the stomach. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-uh-case-medical-center-scarless.html Surgery Mon, 24 Sep 2012 15:47:18 EST news267720430 Dr. John Lenihan sits at a computer console about 20 feet from his hysterectomy patient lying on the operating table. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-surgical-robots-booming-hefty.html Surgery Tue, 17 Jul 2012 17:40:01 EST news261764957 (AP) -- After 15 years of wearing a mask and living as a recluse, a 37-year-old Virginia man disfigured in a gun accident got a new face, nose, teeth and jaw in what University of Maryland physicians say is the most extensive face transplant ever performed. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-virginia-gun-accident.html Surgery Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:55:05 EST news252071698 Chubby, pink and anesthetized into unconsciousness and paralysis, 16-week-old Ian Lund was a small bump under blue drapes on an operating table at University of Chicago Medicine. Perched above him was a robot, with arms like a three-legged spider. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-remote-control-surgery-inconclusive-evidence.html Surgery Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:10:01 EST news249908687 A technique developed by Johns Hopkins surgeons is providing a new route to get to and remove tumors buried at the base of the skull: through the natural hole behind the molars, above the jawbone and beneath the cheekbone. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-scarless-surgery-tumors-natural-skull.html Other Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:59:45 EST news238845579 Jorge Sobenes is a husband and father who loves to cook for his family. In a nine month period however, he went from enjoying his favorite foods to not being able to eat or drink due to a tightening in his throat and difficulty swallowing. He lost 40 pounds and was desperate for answers. Sobenes was diagnosed with achalasia, a condition where the esophagus is unable to move food into the stomach, and was told he would need surgery. Historically, the procedure requires several incisions in the abdomen in order to access the blocked esophageal pathway. Sobenes however was able to undergo surgery without any external incisions thanks to an innovative new research approach called PerOral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM). The procedure is one of a growing number of surgeries to use the body's natural orifices as an entry point, thus eliminating the need for traditional incisions. Northwestern Memorial Hospital is one of only a few centers in the U.S. with surgeons trained to perform the procedure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-incisionless-surgery-treatment-esophageal-disorder.html Other Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:04:40 EST news233233458 Surgery and all its implications can be scary, especially so for pediatric patients and their parents who dread sometimes disfiguring scars. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-pediatric-urologist-procedure-scarring-kidney.html Other Fri, 01 Jul 2011 11:31:47 EST news228738689 (Medical Xpress) -- A Monash University researcher has developed a new form of surgical sealant that is not only easier for surgeons to manipulate, allowing for a more effective application, but significantly reduces the risk of virus contamination. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-sticky-solution-surgical-sealants.html Other Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:08:33 EST news227970382 Researchers at Stanford University have developed a special wound dressing that they report was able to significantly reduce scar tissue caused by incisions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-device-surgical-scarring.html Other Mon, 23 May 2011 03:53:36 EST news225341591 New techniques in science and technology allow the medical community to continually improve patient care and experience, but as these new procedures are introduced, physicians must closely consider the relative risks and benefits for each patient. Laparoscopic surgery offers the short-term benefits of smaller incisions, shorter hospital stays, and less pain during recovery, but are there negative consequences in the long run for some patients? Certain groups of patients, like those with localized renal masses, may be more appropriately treated through surgical techniques that focus on preserving as much functional kidney as possible––especially since emerging data suggests that a loss of kidney function can lead to higher long-term risks of morbidity and mortality. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-procedure-trends-patients-clinically-localized.html Other Mon, 16 May 2011 09:56:08 EST news224758550