Endoscopic Fundoplication Goes Forward: Medigus MUSE System for GERD Cleared in U.S.
Medigus (Omer, Israel) received FDA clearance for the latest version of its minimally invasive GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) treatment system. The MUSE, known as the SRS System in its previous incarnation, allows a physician to perform an anterior fundoplication using one instrument that includes a stapler, video camera, and ultrasonic sights that help with alignment.
Fundoplication normally involves opening the abdominal wall or less invasively with laparoscopic instruments. The MUSE system allows the procedure to be done endoscopically, restoring the functionality of the esophageal valve with just a few staple...
Source: Medgadget - March 25, 2014 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Editors Tags: GI Surgery Source Type: blogs
Adhesion Incidence and Severity Vary by Surgical Procedure
Experts estimate approximately 93% of patients who have undergone laparoscopic surgery develop abnormal fibroid bands that bind organ surfaces to the abdominal wall after a second surgery. Many adhesions are asymptomatic, but in some patients, they can cause pain, small bowel obstruction and other postoperative issues, as well as increase cost and complicate surgical suite workload. As surgeons underestimate the rate of adhesion development given that up to 93% of consent forms don’t address them, the March 2014 issue of Surgery Today contained a systematic review estimating the formation rate, distribution, and severity...
Source: Medical Hemostat - March 22, 2014 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: hemostatguy at gmail.com (hemostat guy) Source Type: blogs
Business, as usual
A story in HealthLeaders Media by Marianne Aiello asks "Can University of Illinois Hospital Save Its Brand?"A decision by hospital leaders to participate in an advertising effort with an equipment vendor was intended to promote institutional expertise with robotic surgery. Instead it sparked an outcry among critics.Despite the countless blog posts, tweets, and articles published about the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System's da Vinci advertisement controversy, I'm still left with one resounding question: How did so many high-ranking officials think featuring several physicians and staff...
Source: Running a hospital - March 20, 2014 Category: Health Managers Source Type: blogs
The Infertile woman with Pelvic Pain
Pelvic pain and infertility are both common complaints in young women of reproductive age. Since they are both so common, many patients will have both pelvic pain and infertility. There are various conditions which can cause these symptoms, including endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease ( PID). Each of these needs a different line of treatment.When a patient comes to me with these complaints, then it becomes imperative to decide what to treat first. For most patients, getting pregnant takes priority. The beauty is that getting pregnant will automatically take care of the pain as well ! Tackling t...
Source: The Patient's Doctor - March 8, 2014 Category: Obstetricians and Gynecologists Source Type: blogs
Patient Informed Consent from Partially Uninformed Physicians
Discussion Blog)
Source: Bioethics Discussion Blog - March 6, 2014 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs
Patient Informed Consent from Partially Uniformed Physicians
Discussion Blog)
Source: Bioethics Discussion Blog - March 6, 2014 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs
Robotic surgery: The Sequel?
The first time was such a hit, why not do it again? I refer, of course, to the marketing ploy used by Intuitive Surgical, Inc. when it introduced robotic surgery in the prostatectomy scene. Go with direct-to-consumer advertising to give the impression that the results from robotic surgery are better than from manual laparoscopic surgery. Make sure the early-adopter surgeons are on board and publicly proclaiming their great results. When it comes to men and the functioning of their penises, you can predict the result. Who can argue with that kind of success? The stock market rewarded the ...
Source: Running a hospital - March 4, 2014 Category: Health Managers Source Type: blogs
Informed Consent: Does that Include Personal Detailing of Your Doctor?
Discussion Blog)
Source: Bioethics Discussion Blog - February 15, 2014 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs
Tubal Reversal Insurance: Something To Consider
A screening laparoscopy can be a great insurance policy when having tubal reversal surgery. (Source: Tubal Reversal Blog)
Source: Tubal Reversal Blog - January 23, 2014 Category: Infertility Authors: Dr. Monteith Tags: Dr. Monteith reversing tied tubes tubal ligation tubal ligation reversal tubal reversal cost tubal reversal insurance tubal reversal procedure tubal reversal surgery tubal surgery why tubal reversal can my tubes be repaired costs e Source Type: blogs
More Pharmaceutical Misadventures - Actelion Damages Upheld, Genzyme (Sanofi Subsidiary) Settled, Merck Fined
The march of legal settlements by large health care organizations goes on, albeit with ever more quiet footsteps as the number of journalists available to amplify their sounds declines. Last week we noted the shutdown of PharmaLot, a journalistic blog edited by Ed Silverman that was one of the few that reported fearlessly on the pharmaceutical industry, warts and all.So we dedicate this round up of legal settlements by pharmaceutical companies announced last month, December, 2013, to Ed Silverman, who reported on two of the cases below, and whose reports have been silenced by the shutdown of the PharmaLot web-site by...
Source: Health Care Renewal - January 18, 2014 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: Actelion adverse effects deception Genzyme legal settlements Merck restraint of competition Sanofi-Aventis Source Type: blogs
Notes to myself – 2
Pentobarb coma – BIS should be 10-20 and SR (suppression ratio) should be 70-80
Consider lev albuterol
Should give vaccines after coiling of spleen or before if possible
No calcium channel blockers post MI definitely and post op in general
Toradol inhibits spine healing
Don’t do endoscopes with patients in supine position
don’t ambulate patients with known dvt’s. wait 2-3 days until clots get stuck.
dvt’s even with filter get heparin as much as possible for post phlebitic syndrome and to retard new clot formation
diffuse alveolar hemorrhage – secondary to chemo, goodpasture’s, wege...
Source: Inside Surgery - December 31, 2013 Category: Surgeons Authors: Editor Tags: General Source Type: blogs
Our IVF success story - a test of determination, love and professional support
It was the 3rd year of our marriage -2011. We lost our first baby girl at full term due to meconium aspiration. Just 2 days before this fatal day I had lost my mother to another doctors’ negligence. As a precaution, I had insisted our ob-gynaecologist on the next day of my moms’ death to perform C-section on my wife and then I could also break the news to my wife. She ignored my request despite my in-laws visiting her on the same day with my request to her clinic. All along she kept telling us that it was a precious pregnancy , a successful IUI outcome after diagnosis of mild endometriosis. A well planned c-section was...
Source: The Patient's Doctor - December 25, 2013 Category: Obstetricians and Gynecologists Source Type: blogs
The next patent cliff
Much attention has focused on the "patent cliff" faced by pharmaceutical companies. As their proprietary drugs lose patent protect, the drug companies face competition from low-cost generic drugs. With an exceptionally high cost and long lead time for new drug development, the pharmaceutical companies face significant strategic problems.There is another patent cliff approaching that has not yet received much attention--the end of patent protection for many minimally invasive surgery devices. Whether the basic stapling devices or more complicated instruments, the 20-year protection period on much laparoscopic eq...
Source: Running a hospital - December 15, 2013 Category: Health Managers Source Type: blogs
Unnecessary infertility tests - red flags that your doctor is wasting your money !
Many doctors routinely order a panel of tests for all the infertile patients they see. They do this mindlessly, as part of a "standard protocol", by simply ticking off a list of tests which the patient needs to do.There are however, several tests that are not indicated and/or are not cost-effective if done routinely. 1) Don’t perform routine diagnostic laparoscopy for the evaluation of unexplained infertility. In patients undergoing evaluation for infertility, routine diagnostic laparoscopy should not be performed. In patients with a normal hysterosalpingogram or the presence of a unilaterally patent tube, diag...
Source: The Patient's Doctor - December 15, 2013 Category: Obstetricians and Gynecologists Tags: infertility testing wasteful infertility tests wasteful medical tests Source Type: blogs
Real Time MRI Guidance and Visualization for Brain Surgery Using Clearpoint System: Interview with CEO of MRI Interventions
Ever since the 1950s neurosurgeons have been using static images, taken prior to the procedure, to guide them through an operation. Brain surgeries performed in this manner are based a great deal on trial and error, and require the patient to stay awake as the surgeon painstakingly works for hours to determine if the therapy reached the correct location in the brain. Now, MRI Interventions, an Irvine, CA company, is developing a novel technology called Clearpoint that uses real time, intra-procedural magnetic resonance imaging to guide neurological procedures. The Clearpoint system is intended to be used for treatment ...
Source: Medgadget - November 19, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Gaurav Krishnamurthy Tags: Medgadget Exclusive Neurological Surgery Radiology Source Type: blogs
