http://medicalxpress.com/surgery-news/ en-us PhysOrg Team Medical Xpress provides the latest research news on surgery, surgical procedures and operation Surgeons investigated sexual function in 62 patients, 50 years and older, who had received extensive spinal–pelvic instrumentation for spinal deformity at the University of Virginia Health Center. Based on their results, the surgeons found that it is very possible for older people to achieve satisfactory sexual function despite having extensive spinal–pelvic instrumentation. Details of this study are disclosed in "Sexual function in older adults following thoracolumbar to pelvic instrumentation for spinal deformity. Clinical article," by Dr. D. Kojo Hamilton and colleagues, published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-sexual-function-older-adults-thoracolumbar-pelvic.html Surgery 2013-05-21T11:50:01-07:00 Physicians at Monash University and The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia describe the logistic, medical, and societal challenges faced in treating spine trauma in morbidly obese patients. Based on a case series of six patients injured in high-speed motor vehicle accidents, the authors categorize difficulties faced in the care of morbidly obese patients from on-scene immobilization and medical transport through spinal imaging, surgery, and postoperative care. Details of the six cases and a thorough discussion of challenges posed by morbid obesity and possible solutions are covered in "Challenges in the surgical management of spine trauma in the morbidly obese patient: a case series. Clinical article," by Hannah E. Rosenfeld and colleagues, published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-encountered-surgical-spine-trauma-morbidly.html Surgery 2013-05-21T11:37:09-07:00 Arachnoid cysts are a common type of brain lesion that is usually harmless, but with a risk of rupture or bleeding. A new study identifies risk factors for rupture or bleeding in children with "incidentally" detected arachnoid cysts, reports the May issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-factors-rupture-arachnoid-cysts-children.html Surgery 2013-05-21T11:27:00-07:00 Posterior fossa subdural hematoma (PFSDH) is a serious and rare condition in newborns, generally occurring after difficult deliveries. But with appropriate treatment, there's an excellent chance of good long-term outcomes even in severe cases of PFSDH, reports a study in the May issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-aggressive-treatment-posterior-fossa-hematoma.html Surgery 2013-05-20T12:46:12-07:00 Many women in Texas who are found to have an abnormality on routine mammogram or discover a lump in one of their breasts end up having an old-fashioned surgical biopsy to find out whether the breast abnormality is malignant. Since 2001, national expert panels have recommended that the first course of action for women with breast lumps or masses should be minimally invasive biopsy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-one-third-texas-women-unnecessary-breast.html Surgery 2013-05-17T17:10:01-07:00 (HealthDay)—About 65 percent of surgical residents report that they disapprove of the 2011 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Common Program requirements, which place restrictions on duty hours, according to research published in the May issue of JAMA Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-majority-surgical-residents-hours.html Surgery 2013-05-16T16:03:31-07:00 Metal-on-metal hip implants can cause inflammation of the joint lining (synovitis) long before symptoms appear, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to identify this inflammation, according to a new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery. The study, which appears in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, demonstrates that MRI can be used to identify implants that are going to fail before people become symptomatic. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-tissue-metal-on-metal-hip-implants-pain.html Surgery 2013-05-15T13:34:28-07:00 Obese patients who received robotic kidney transplants had fewer wound complications than patients who received traditional "open" transplant surgery, according to surgeons at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-robotic-transplant-option-obese-kidney.html Surgery 2013-05-15T13:30:53-07:00 Doctors carried out life-saving surgery Wednesday on an Indian baby suffering from a rare disorder that caused her head to swell to nearly double its size, in a case that aroused sympathy worldwide. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-indian-medics-op-baby-swollen.html Surgery 2013-05-15T03:54:24-07:00 Results after seven years of follow-up suggest that women considering abdominal sacrocolpopexy (surgery for pelvic organ prolapse [POP]) should be counseled that this procedure effectively provides relief from POP symptoms; however, the anatomic support deteriorates over time; and that adding an anti-incontinence procedure decreases, but does not eliminate the risk of stress urinary incontinence, and mesh erosion can be a problem, according to a study in the May 15 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-long-term-effectiveness-surgery-pelvic-prolapse.html Surgery 2013-05-14T16:00:05-07:00 (HealthDay)—A simulator-based curriculum incorporating fundamental skills of robotic surgery (FSRS) is feasible and improves effectiveness in basic robotic surgery skills, according to a study published in the April issue of Urology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-simulator-based-robotic-sx-curriculum-hones.html Surgery 2013-05-13T13:10:02-07:00 (HealthDay)—The majority of patients undergoing endoscopic brow-lift are happy with the outcome and would recommend the procedure, according to research published online May 9 in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-endoscopic-brow-lift-patients-result.html Surgery 2013-05-10T13:36:58-07:00 Chicago (May 10, 2013): Ambient background noise—whether it is the sound of loud surgical equipment, talkative team members, or music—is a patient and surgical safety factor that can affect auditory processing among surgeons and the members of their team in the operating room (OR), according to a new study that appears in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. The findings are the first to demonstrate that a surgeon's ability to understand spoken words in the OR is directly affected by noise in the environment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-background-noise-room-impair-surgical.html Surgery 2013-05-10T13:00:01-07:00 People with higher levels of cadmium in their urine—evidence of chronic exposure to the heavy metal found in industrial emissions and tobacco smoke—appear to be nearly 3.5 times more likely to die of liver disease than those with lower levels, according to a study by Johns Hopkins scientists. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-elevated-cadmium-linked-disease.html Surgery 2013-05-09T16:08:13-07:00 Antibiotics for acute rhinosinusitis (ARS) are prescribed frequently— especially for younger adult patients and in primary care settings—despite recent consensus guidelines that discourage antibiotic use in mild cases, according to a study in the May 2013 issue of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-variations-antibiotic-acute-rhinosinusitis-states.html Surgery 2013-05-09T10:48:45-07:00 (HealthDay)—An acute increase in lung allocation score (LAS) before transplantation is associated with worse post-transplant survival, according to a study published in the May 7 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-shift-lung-allocation-score-transplant.html Surgery 2013-05-08T21:30:01-07:00 While the percentage of kidney transplants involving live donors has remained stable for other minority populations, African Americans have seen a decline in live donors even as more of them receive kidney transplants, according to a study by Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-african-americans-kidney-transplants-donors.html Surgery 2013-05-08T12:33:40-07:00 Interspinous spacer implantation—a less-invasive alternative surgical option for spinal stenosis—has a lower complication rate than spinal fusion, reports a study in the May 1 issue of Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-spinal-spacer-procedure-complications-higher.html Surgery 2013-05-07T12:13:40-07:00 Adults with end-stage respiratory failure and pulmonary hypertension requiring ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) have been "bridged" toward lung transplantation with novel lung assist devices such as the Novalung. This and related devices work based on pumpless application of oxygenators. A presentation by David M. Hoganson, MD, and colleagues from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis at the Congenital Heart Disease Session of the 93rd AATS Annual Meeting describes the first time application of this technology to newborns and small children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-kids-severe-respiratory-failure-survive.html Surgery 2013-05-06T17:10:02-07:00 Anemia increases operative mortality and morbidity in non-cardiac and cardiac surgical procedures. Anemic surgical patients may require more blood transfusions, raising the risk of transfusion-related complications and increasing costs. For those reasons, optimizing patient readiness by correcting anemia prior to surgery is an important clinical goal. A simple new protocol has been proposed that helps correcting anemia using a single, high dose of recombinant human erythropoietin (HRE) administered only two days prior to surgery. The results of a randomized study will be presented by Luca Weltert, MD, Cardiac Surgery Department of the European Hospital in Rome, during the Plenary Scientific Session of the 93rd AATS Annual Meeting in Minneapolis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-high-dose-erythropoietin-days-pre-op-transfused.html Surgery 2013-05-06T10:49:37-07:00 (HealthDay)—For eight inpatient surgical procedures, mortality is similar at critical access hospitals (CAHs) and non-CAHs, but costs are higher at CAHs, according to a study published online May 1 in JAMA Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-in-hospital-mortality-critical-access-hospitals.html Surgery 2013-05-05T16:43:25-07:00 French surgeons have fitted 650 people with replacement hips that had not been certified as meeting European standards, it emerged Thursday in a case with echoes of a scandal over faulty breast implants. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-unauthorised-hips-french-patients.html Surgery 2013-05-02T11:55:44-07:00 Half of U.S. plastic surgeons are using Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms in their professional practice, according to a survey in the May issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-plastic-surgeons-social-media.html Surgery 2013-05-01T12:28:59-07:00 Ninety-eight percent of women undergoing breast augmentation surgery say the results met or exceeded their expectations, according to a prospective outcome study published in the May issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-breast-augmentation-patients-high-satisfaction.html Surgery 2013-05-01T12:27:29-07:00 (HealthDay)—Depression is relatively common in patients who undergo heart bypass surgery, and a new study finds that short-term use of antidepressants may aid patients' recovery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-antidepressants-hasten-bypass-recovery.html Surgery 2013-05-01T11:40:48-07:00 The Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group is pleased to announce publication of two new studies on dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa®) and intracranial hemorrhage: one in the Journal of Neurosurgery and the other in Neurosurgical Focus. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-papers-dabigatran-etexilate-pradaxa-intracranial.html Surgery 2013-05-01T10:34:33-07:00 A highly underutilized anesthesia technique called neuraxial anesthesia, also known as spinal or epidural anesthesia, improves outcomes in patients undergoing hip or knee replacement, according to a new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery. The study, which appears in the May issue of the journal Anesthesiology, found that neuraxial anesthesia, a type of regional anesthesia, reduced morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stay and costs when compared with general anesthesia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-regional-anesthesia-technique-significantly-outcomes.html Surgery 2013-05-01T00:00:07-07:00 (HealthDay)—Increases in the upper thoracic scoliotic curve, thoracic kyphosis, and number of rod-lengthening procedures are risk factors for postoperative complications associated with growing-rod (GR) surgery for early-onset scoliosis (EOS), according to a study published in the April 15 issue of Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-factors-idd-scoliosis-surgery-complications.html Surgery 2013-04-30T14:10:01-07:00 An experimental procedure successfully tested in obese laboratory rats may provide a less-invasive alternative to bariatric weight-loss surgery, researchers report online in Endocrinology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-alternative-bariatric-weight-loss-surgery.html Surgery 2013-04-30T12:18:56-07:00 New statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) show that arm lifts in women have skyrocketed more than 4,000 percent in just over the last decade. It is a trend fueled, in part, by sleeveless fashions for women and more focus on strong-armed celebrities. In 2000, more than 300 women got upper arm lift procedures. Last year, more than 15,000 did. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-stats-plastic-surgery-trend-women.html Surgery 2013-04-29T04:57:00-07:00