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UT Southwestern surgeons complete North Texas' first single-incision gallbladder removal
UT Southwestern Medical Center surgeons have removed a gallbladder through a unique operation requiring only a single incision in the bellybutton rather than the traditional four incisions in the abdomen. It is the first such operation in North Texas.
Battling diabetes with beta cells
Affecting eight percent of America's population, diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney failure, strokes and heart disease. Thanks to Tel Aviv University researchers, a new cure –– based on advances in cell therapy –– may be within reach.
Protein complementarity may offer new insights into autoimmune diseases
The discovery of "complementary" antibodies against plasminogen in patients with blood vessel inflammation caused by anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCAs) may lead to new approaches to research, testing, and treatment of ANCA vasculitis and other autoimmune diseases, suggests a paper in the December
Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (
JASN).
Revolutionary technique could reduce lifelong drugs for transplant patients
Researchers have developed a ground-breaking procedure that could avoid the need for transplant patients to spend the rest of their lives taking a cocktail of drugs to stop their system from rejecting their new organ, according to a series of papers in the August issue of
Transplant International.
Kidney transplants less successful at night
Kidney transplants should be carried out during the day if possible. At least this is the conclusion suggested by a survey just published by urologists and internists at the University of Bonn (
Transplantation Proceedings, vol. 40, p. 1341 ff.). Hence operations carried out at night require a further operation more than twice as often as other operations. Moreover, the risk of premature failure of the transplant is higher with operations taking place at night. The reason is probably that the surgeon is more alert and focused during the day. Particularly with a complicated procedure such as a transplant, surgical skill is a critical factor for success. Still, currently every third kidney transplant is performed at night, as donor organs should be as fresh as possible.
Disruption of blood sugar levels after heart surgery is common
A study reveals today that inadequate blood sugar control in patients having heart surgery is associated with a four fold increase in post-surgery death and major complications - and that the blood sugar disturbances occur in patients with and without diabetes.
Study links gastric bypass surgery to increased risk of kidney stones
Procedure associated with kidney stone formation earlier than previously reported
CHICAGO (June 26, 2008) – Morbidly obese patients who undergo a particular type of gastric bypass surgery called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) are at an increased risk of developing kidney stones – small, pebble-like deposits that can result in severe pain and require an operation to remove them – earlier than previously thought. These stones develop in patients within only a few months following the procedure rather than several months to years, according to research published in the June issue of the
Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Researchers determine risk factors for infection after liver transplantation
Nearly 9 percent of patients who recently underwent liver transplantation suffered a subsequent surgical site infection (SSI). Risk factors included having had biliary-enteric anastomosis (choledocho-jejunal or hepatic-jejunal reconstruction), previous liver or kidney transplant, and more than four red blood cell units transfused. These findings are published in the June issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal by John Wiley & Sons.
