AF, Ablation, Stents and Five Nuances
Joan has left an excellent comment on my recent 2019 AF ablation update.
She brings up many important issues. Let’s dissect it.
Q: Joan asks if it is common to see patients who think they are cured after AF ablation but are still in AF?
A: The scenario I described in my previous post is not common, but it is not rare. Since AF ablation entails much instrumentation and many burns, it can affect how the heart feels things. The heart has its own nervous system; yes, the heart feels. Also, the bigger the procedure, the bigger the placebo effect.
Q: If ablation doesn’t work, then I sure know a lot of peo...
Source: Dr John M - February 9, 2019 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr John Source Type: blogs
Should Fluoro be Your New Go-To?
Part Three in a Three-Part Series
This is the third and final part of our series on foreign bodies and fluoroscopy. Click here for part one and here for part two.
This month, we walk you through a step-by-step guide with bonus video footage to aid in your technique. This progressive procedure is absolutely significant to your practice, and we hope you all get a chance to try it.
The Approach
n Identification of foreign body on plain film or ultrasound
n Saphenous or posterior tibial nerve block
n Enlargement of the wound or entrance site using incision...
Source: The Procedural Pause - January 4, 2016 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Do negative clinical trials change practice?
One of the central themes of this blog from the very beginning is that all medicine, regardless of where it comes from or how it was developed, should be held to a single science-based standard with regards to efficacy, effectiveness, and safety. I tend to focus primarily on “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM), now more… (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - September 29, 2014 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Clinical trials Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking Surgery kaiphoplasty vertebroplasty Source Type: blogs
DePuy Announces Synflate Balloon for Vertebral Compression Fractures
DePuy Synthes is releasing its new SYNFLATE Vertebral Balloon, a device used to help repair compression fractures of the spine. The company touts that the strength of the semi-elastic balloon is double that of standard elastic balloons when completely inflated.
The SYNFLATE is available in three sizes (10, 15 and 20mm) and can be used alone or in pairs to create an appropriate volume for bone cement or other type of repair.
From the announcement:
“The SYNFLATE Vertebral Balloon offers a versatility not found in other vertebral body augmentation portfolios,” said Max Reinhardt, Worldwide President, DePuy Synth...
Source: Medgadget - October 15, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Editors Tags: Orthopedic Surgery Source Type: blogs
FDA Approves Crosstrees Medical’s Device to Treat Compression Spinal Fractures
The FDA has approved the PVA Pod System for percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA). The device is made by Crosstrees Medical, a Boulder, Colorado based medical device company. PVA is a minimally invasive procedure to augment a vertebra that has fractured due to vertebral compression fracture. A vertebral compression fracture occurs when osteoporosis, trauma, or any other medical condition causes the vertebra to become fragile and collapse, causing severe pain. Vertebral compression fractures can lead to loss of height, postural deformity and pulmonary complications. An estimated 700,000 people in the United States hav...
Source: Medgadget - September 20, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Gaurav Krishnamurthy Tags: Orthopedic Surgery Source Type: blogs
The role of physicians is set to evolve again
Talking with an insurance doctor, who denied a vertebroplasty for my patient with a spontaneous compression fracture, I started thinking about the dilemma of defining what a doctor-patient relationship is.
A couple of years ago a local doctor with a dwindling private practice joined an Internet medical site that promoted drugs like Viagra and offered online consultations with physicians who prescribed the medications when they felt it was appropriate. The state medical board disciplined the doctor with a warning, a stiff fine and a permanent blemish on his record.
The charge was prescribing without a physician-patient rela...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 11, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: Physician Health reform Primary care Source Type: blogs
