Expectant parent' desire to see images of their unborn children has given rise to commercial companies offering keepsake ultrasound scans without medical supervision, often referred to as "boutique ultrasonography."In a special report in this week's British Medical Journal, journalist Geoff Watts considers whether this non-medical use of the technique can be justified.Improvements in ultrasound technology have transformed antenatal scans f...Monday, 5-Feb-2007 / [ Details... ]
Uterine artery embolization, a less-invasive treatment for uterine fibroids, is as effective as hysterectomy and myomectomy, according to a study published in the Jan. 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the Washington Post reports (Washington Post, 1/25). Uterine artery...Sunday, 28-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]
Lap band surgery appears to be an effective procedure to combat obesity in adolescents, according to a new study conducted at NYU Medical Center. It is the first study to evaluate the lap band in patients under the age of 17, and it revealed that patients on average lost about 50% of their excess weight by one year after surgery. The study is published in the January issue of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery. Currently, the lap band device is o...Tuesday, 23-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]
The debate over ethical concerns of financial compensation for kidney donation continues to spark controversy, but a discussion in the latest issue of American Journal of Transplantation proposes a practical solution. "Live persons who donate kidneys assume real financial and health risks that are not well understood," says Robert S. Gaston, M.D., lead author of the article. "I believe that it may be possible to find a middle-g...Sunday, 19-Nov-2006 / [ Details... ]
Expectant parent' desire to see images of their unborn children has given rise to commercial companies offering keepsake ultrasound scans without medical supervision, often referred to as "boutique ultrasonography."In a special report in this week's British Medical Journal, journalist Geoff Watts considers whether this non-medical use of the technique can be justified.Improvements in ultrasound technology have transformed antenatal scans f...Monday, 5-Feb-2007 / [ Details... ]
Uterine artery embolization, a less-invasive treatment for uterine fibroids, is as effective as hysterectomy and myomectomy, according to a study published in the Jan. 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the Washington Post reports (Washington Post, 1/25). Uterine artery...Sunday, 28-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]
Lap band surgery appears to be an effective procedure to combat obesity in adolescents, according to a new study conducted at NYU Medical Center. It is the first study to evaluate the lap band in patients under the age of 17, and it revealed that patients on average lost about 50% of their excess weight by one year after surgery. The study is published in the January issue of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery. Currently, the lap band device is o...Tuesday, 23-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]
Britain's Royal College of Surgeons has given their approval, albeit with some reservations, for face transplants to go ahead.The top professional medical body in the UK says it realises the inevitability of the procedures taking place but says face transplants should be performed in a strict "research setting" and should not merely be a "surgical exercise".Professor Sir Peter Morris, chairman of the College's Working Party on Facial Tr...Tuesday, 14-Nov-2006 / [ Details... ]
Patients with metastatic cancer tumors in their lungs are much more likely to live disease-free if they have an experimental treatment involving shaped-beam radiosurgery rather that conventional treatment, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study. The research, presented this week at the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology conference in Philadelphia, offers a new option for the tens of thousands of pa...Wednesday, 8-Nov-2006 / [ Details... ]
According to the National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC), the number of Americans who are travelling overseas for medical treatment reached somewhere in the region of 500,000 last year.Asian hospitals in Thailand, India and Singapore have attracted American medical tourists seeking cosmetic surgery for a number of years but now a large number of uninsured Americans are going abroad for high-quality heart, knee and back surgery.The NCHC say...Monday, 6-Nov-2006 / [ Details... ]