surgery

Researchers Devise X-ray Approach to Track Surgical Devices and Minimize Radiation Exposure
04/16/2013 - 13:43

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) have developed a new tool to help surgeons use X-rays to track devices used in “minimally invasive” surgical procedures while also limiting the patient’s exposure to radiation from the X-rays.

 

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Social Contact Can Ease Pain Related to Nerve Damage, Animal Study Suggests
10/16/2012 - 11:15

Companionship has the potential to reduce pain linked to nerve damage, according to a new study. Mice that were paired with a cage-mate showed lower pain responses and fewer signs of inflammation in their nervous system after undergoing surgery that affected their nerves than did isolated mice, suggesting that the social contact had both behavioral and physiological influences.

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Surgery Has a More Profound Effect than Anesthesia on Brain Pathology and Cognition in Alzheimer's Animal Model
09/14/2012 - 11:19

A syndrome called “post-operative cognitive decline” has been coined to refer to the commonly reported loss of cognitive abilities, usually in older adults, in the days to weeks after surgery.  In fact, some patients time the onset of their Alzheimer’s disease symptoms from a surgical procedure. Exactly how the trio of anesthesia, surgery, and dementia interact is clinically inconclusive, yet of great concern to patients, their families and physicians.

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New report cites link between alcohol abuse and bariatric surgery
06/22/2012 - 12:55

An addiction to food may be replaced by an addiction to alcohol in certain bariatric patients. According to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, having Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, where the size of the stomach and the intestine are decreased to reduce food consumption, can increase the risk of alcohol-use disorders.

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Device is effective in managing incontinence after surgery
06/22/2012 - 09:00

A device used to prevent incontinence in women who undergo a common pelvic-floor surgery reduces symptoms but increases side effects in these patients. These findings were published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Serious complications after oesophageal surgery cause lasting health problems in long-term survivors
04/04/2012 - 08:09

Oesophageal cancer is a very serious form of cancer that, if not fatal, requires extensive surgery. A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that when serious complications arise after surgery for oesophageal cancer, many patients suffer other health problems, such as breathlessness, fatigue, insomnia and eating problems, for five years afterwards.

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