Red Cross Warns of Severe Blood Shortage

• Robert Preidt
• June 17, 2021
• Full Page

There's a severe blood shortage in the United States due to a recent surge in trauma cases, organ transplants and elective surgeries, the American Red Cross says.

The Red Cross is appealing to Americans to roll up their sleeves and donate blood immediately.

"Our te...

Many U.S. Seniors May Need Better Knee Arthritis Care

• Denise Mann HealthDay Reporter
• June 15, 2021
• Full Page

Just a fraction of older Americans with arthritic knees try physical therapy, pain-relieving injections or other more conservative measures before undergoing knee replacement surgery, new research shows.

And this may be driven by what type of doctor they see to treat the...

Cataracts: Common, and Easy to Treat

• June 13, 2021
• Full Page

Many aging Americans can have their vision dimmed by cataracts, but the good news is that they're easily treated, one expert says.

By age 80, half of Americans either have cataracts or have had surgery to remove them, according to Dr. Waid Blackstone, an ophthalmologist ...

Old Age No Bar to Successful Heart Transplant, Study Finds

• Robert Preidt
• June 11, 2021
• Full Page

People over 70 are far less likely to be considered for or to receive a new heart -- even though new research suggests their survival rates after transplant are similar to those of younger patients.

For the study, the researchers analyzed data on more than 57,000 adults ...

Can You Keep Your Bladder After Bladder Cancer Strikes?

• Serena McNiff HealthDay Reporter
• June 7, 2021
• Full Page

After being diagnosed with bladder cancer, some patients face an almost impossible decision -- have their bladder removed or take a risk knowing that the cancer may be more likely to spread if the bladder is left intact.

But what if there was another way?

For David...

Don't Delay Lung Cancer Surgery, Study Suggests

• Robert Preidt
• May 28, 2021
• Full Page

Surgery soon after a diagnosis of early-stage lung cancer is crucial in reducing the risk of recurrence and death, a new study finds.

"Patients with early-stage cancer have the best chance for survival," said senior author Dr. Varun Puri, a thoracic surgeon and professor...

Many Pre-Surgery Tests Are Useless, So Why Are Hospitals Still Using Them?

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 27, 2021
• Full Page

Patients facing relatively simple outpatient surgeries are nonetheless being told to undergo a number of preoperative tests that just aren't necessary, a new study reports.

More than half of a group of patients facing low-risk outpatient surgery received one or more test...

What Surgery Works Best for Advanced Ankle Arthritis?

• Robert Preidt
• May 21, 2021
• Full Page

For patients with severe ankle arthritis, total ankle replacement provides better function over the long haul than the traditional surgical treatment, a new study finds.

Researchers assessed outcomes in 517 patients with end-stage ankle arthritis - meaning they have a co...

What Type of Stent Did I Get, Where? Most Heart Patients Don't Know

• Cara Murez
• May 19, 2021
• Full Page

When someone comes in for a new heart stent, it's critical that the medical team doing the procedure knows several key facts about previous stents the patient has had.

But fewer than half of patients receiving a stent were still carrying the stent card that has those de...

Surgical Snip Might Prevent Stroke in People With A-fib

• Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
• May 17, 2021
• Full Page

A simple surgery may help lower the risk for strokes by more than a third in patients with atrial fibrillation, a common irregular heartbeat, a new trial finds.

The reduction in stroke risk is achieved by blocking the left atrial appendage, an unused, finger-like tissue ...

U.S. Seniors Are Getting Fewer Abdominal Surgeries

• Steven Reinberg
• May 12, 2021
• Full Page

Older Americans, especially those 85 and older, are having fewer abdominal surgeries than in decades past, a new study finds.

The study examined data from 2002 to 2014, and was not able to tell the exact reasons for the trend. It might be that improvements in medical tr...

Most Top U.S. Surgeons Are White and That's Not Changing

• Robert Preidt
• May 5, 2021
• Full Page

White people continue to dominate top surgery positions at U.S. universities, while the number of Black and Hispanic surgeons remains flat, a new study finds.

"There are a lot of talented surgeons of different races, ethnicities and genders who do wonderful work and are ...

How the Pandemic Changed Breast Cancer Care

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• May 4, 2021
• Full Page

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, breast cancer experts realized space in operating rooms and hospitals could become scarce. That meant rethinking standard care, to provide the best way to treat patients under these suddenly restricted conditions.

One of the new ideas: ...

Gender-Affirming Surgeries Improve Mental Health in Young, Study Says

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• April 28, 2021
• Full Page

When gender-diverse or transgender people have surgeries to affirm their gender, they experience a variety of positive mental health outcomes, new research shows.

The study found an association between the surgeries, which participants had at least two years prior to a s...

'Nerve Zap' Pain Treatment Could Cut Need for Opioids After Surgeries

• Sarah D. Collins HealthDay Reporter
• April 21, 2021
• Full Page

An emerging technology could zap your post-op pain away -- little or no opioids needed.

The technique is called percutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation. It involves inserting a small wire next to a nerve and using a stimulator to deliver a mild electrical current to th...

Breast Cancer Over 70: How Much Treatment Is Enough?

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• April 20, 2021
• Full Page

Many women older than 70 can safely receive fewer treatments for early-stage breast cancer, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that adding lymph node removal or radiation to women's treatment did not seem to cut their risk of a breast cancer recurrence, which was lo...

Non-Emergency Surgeries Are Rebounding, But Backlogs Remain

• Robert Preidt
• April 9, 2021
• Full Page

The coronavirus pandemic put elective ear, nose and throat surgeries in the United States on the back burner last spring, but a new study finds those numbers largely rebounded within a few months.

Still, "as the pandemic continues, we've noted that otolaryngology surgeri...

Surgery Can Boost Outcomes After Chemo for People With Pancreatic Cancer

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• March 31, 2021
• Full Page

Even in patients with stage 2 pancreatic cancer, surgery is typically worthwhile after chemotherapy, because it appears to extend patients' lives, a new study concludes.

In stage 2 cancer, the tumor has already grown large enough to be close to vessels that supply blood ...

Black Patients Often Treated at Hospitals With Poorer Safety Records: Report

• Alan Mozes HealthDay Reporter
• March 30, 2021
• Full Page

Compared with white patients, Black adults are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to hospital safety in the United States, a new report warns.

Black patients are significantly less likely to gain access to "high-quality" hospitals, an Urban Institute analysis found...

Smoking Rates High Among Surgery Patients

• Robert Preidt
• March 29, 2021
• Full Page

U.S. surgery patients have a high rate of smoking, which could be one reason why some wind up on the operating table, researchers say.

A look at nearly 329,000 Michigan residents who had common surgical procedures between 2012 and 2019 found that nearly a quarter had smo...

Most Post-Surgical Opioids Go Unused: Study

• Robert Preidt
• March 26, 2021
• Full Page

Using cellphones to track patients' painkiller use, a new study found more than 60% of opioid painkillers prescribed to surgical patients after their procedures went unused.

That has implications for the ongoing epidemic of opioid misuse in the United States, where unuse...

Postpartum Bleeding Doesn't Have to Mean Hysterectomy, Experts Say

• Alan Mozes HealthDay Reporter
• March 24, 2021
• Full Page

Heavy bleeding following birth can threaten the life of the mother, and doctors at times turn to a hysterectomy to end the bleeding. But a new study suggests a less invasive, underused procedure might be a better, less drastic option.

Investigators determine...

Knee Replacement a Good Option, Even for Severely Obese: Study

• Robert Preidt
• March 24, 2021
• Full Page

Total knee replacement is a cost-effective treatment for extremely obese people with knee osteoarthritis, a new study claims.

The painful condition affects more than 14 million U.S. adults, and total knee replacement is often recommended to treat advanced knee osteo...

Lab-Made Heart Valves Can Grow Along With Youngest Heart Patients

• Cara Murez
• March 22, 2021
• Full Page

Lab-created heart valves that grow with the recipient could spare kids born with heart defects from the repeated valve-replacement surgeries they now endure.

University of Minnesota researchers found that lab-created valves implanted in young lambs for a year were capabl...

Surgical Patients Allergic to Penicillin Have Another Safe Alternative

• Robert Preidt
• March 19, 2021
• Full Page

The antibiotic cefazolin is a safe alternative to prevent infection in most surgical patients who are allergic to penicillin, according to a new study.

Cefazolin is a type of antibiotic known as a cephalosporin. It's the recommended antibiotic for most surgical procedure...

Need an Operation? Here's How COVID Has Changed Surgery

• Robert Preidt
• March 16, 2021
• Full Page

This year, COVID-19 has made decisions around surgery tougher than ever for folks who may need one. But one major medical group can help provide some answers.

Top on their list: Is it safe to have surgery right now?

"It is very safe to have surgery, especially with...

Is It Safe to Have Surgery Soon After a COVID Diagnosis?

• Robert Preidt
• March 10, 2021
• Full Page

If you have surgery scheduled and you just found out you are infected with COVID-19, new research suggests you should push your operation back by at least seven weeks.

Why? Because not doing so could raise your risk of postoperative death, British scientists warn.

...

For Amputees, a New Kind of Surgery May Allow Better Control, Sensation

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• March 9, 2021
• Full Page

A new type of surgery offers amputees better control of muscles that remain after surgery, and of their prosthetic limbs, its inventors say.

The standard surgical approach to amputation has changed little since the American Civil War, according to developers of the new a...

Had Sinus Surgery? Better Skip Nasal Swab COVID Test

• Robert Preidt
• March 8, 2021
• Full Page

If you've had major sinus or skull base surgery, you should talk with your ear, nose and throat doctor before getting a COVID-19 nasal swab test, researchers advise.

It's also crucial for health workers performing swab testing to ask whether the patient has had extensive...

'Rerouting' Brain Blood Flow: Old Technique Could Be New Advance Against Strokes

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• March 3, 2021
• Full Page

Doctors are testing a decades-old surgical technique as a new way to treat certain stroke patients. And the preliminary results look promising, they say.

At issue are strokes caused by intracranial atherosclerosis, where blood vessels within the brain become hardened and...

Tiger Woods Hospitalized Following Car Crash

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• February 23, 2021
• Full Page

Golfing legend Tiger Woods is in the hospital after his car flipped over in a Los Angeles neighborhood on Tuesday morning.

"Tiger Woods was in a single-car accident this morning in California where he suffered multiple leg injuries. He is currently in surgery, and we tha...

Fetal Surgery Is Changing Lives for Kids With Spina Bifida

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• February 10, 2021
• Full Page

Spina bifida is a diagnosis no parents-to-be want to hear as they await their child's birth, and the idea of performing surgery on a baby while it is still in the womb can be terrifying. But new research shows that performing the delicate procedure before the baby is born, and...

Bedside Manner Even More Important for Hospital Patients Admitted Via the ER

• Robert Preidt
• February 4, 2021
• Full Page

Being rushed into hospital care can be an emotional experience. So, what a surgeon says to trauma or emergency surgery patients plays a role in how satisfied they are after their operations, a new study finds.

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 187,000 patients discha...

'So Happy:' World's First Hand/Face Transplant Patient Doing Well

• Denise Mann HealthDay Reporter
• February 3, 2021
• Full Page

Joe DiMeo's life changed forever when he fell asleep at the wheel on U.S. Route 22 in New Jersey on July 14, 2018.

The horrific crash left him with third-degree burns on 80% of his body and a grim prognosis.

Now, more than two years later, DiMeo, 22, is the recipie...

Pandemic Cut U.S. Heart Surgeries in Half as Patients Avoided Hospitals

• Ernie Mundell and Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporters
• February 2, 2021
• Full Page

There has been a sharp decline in heart surgeries and an increase in heart surgery patient deaths in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers say.

An analysis of national data revealed a 53% decrease in all adult heart surgeries, including a 40% declin...

Knee Procedure Done Earlier Might Prevent Knee Replacement Later

• Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
• February 1, 2021
• Full Page

For some patients suffering from knee arthritis, a special procedure may reduce the need for a total knee replacement, Canadian researchers say.

By getting what is known as a 'high tibial osteotomy,' younger patients with less severe joint damage who are physically acti...

Music Could Be a Post-Op Panacea, Study Finds

• Ernie Mundell and Cara Murez HealthDay Reporters
• January 29, 2021
• Full Page

Heart surgery can be stressful, but researchers may have found a way to reduce patients' anxiety and postoperative pain -- without any extra side effects.

A team from the Netherlands found that the simple act of listening to music around the time of surgery may help pati...

Kids Aren't Scared by Medical Workers' PPE, Study Finds

• Robert Preidt
• January 26, 2021
• Full Page

Kids aren't scared when surgical staff wear personal protective equipment (PPE), and many feel reassured by use of the gear, researchers say.

Anxiety is common before, during and after surgery, and can result in complications such as pain and delayed recovery. Concerns h...

Estrogen Taken During Gender-Affirming Surgeries Won't Raise Blood Clot Risk: Study

• January 18, 2021
• Full Page

Most transgender women can safely continue their estrogen treatments during gender-affirming surgery, a new study finds.

Estrogen therapy and surgery can increase the risk of blood clots, so experts have suggested that transgender women stop taking the hormone when havin...

More Breast Cancer Survivors Opting for 'Going Flat' After Mastectomy

• Cara Murez
• January 14, 2021
• Full Page

When journalist Catherine Guthrie learned that she would need to have a mastectomy following a breast cancer diagnosis, she was shocked by what seemed like a cursory explanation from her surgeon about what would happen next.

That included removing both of her breasts, ad...

'Awareness' Under C-Section Anesthesia May Be Less Rare Than Thought

• Robert Preidt
• January 13, 2021
• Full Page

It's a woman's worst nightmare: You're having a C-section under anesthesia, but you suddenly become aware of what is happening during your surgery.

Now, a new study shows that phenomenon, known as "accidental awareness," is more common than believed. In fact, it may occu...

Kids With Congenital Heart Disease Face Higher Odds of Mental Health Issues

• Denise Mann
• January 5, 2021
• Full Page

Kids born with heart defects may be more likely to develop anxiety, depression and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), regardless of the severity of their heart condition.

Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect in the United Sta...

Surgery Could Boost Survival for Women With Advanced Breast Cancers: Study

• Denise Mann
• December 30, 2020
• Full Page

Women with advanced breast cancer who undergo surgery to remove the tumor after chemotherapy or another type of systemic treatment may live longer than those who don't have surgery, a new study suggests.

The findings challenge a long-held belief that surgery confers litt...

Dislocation Risk After Hip Replacement Higher Than Thought: Study

• Robert Preidt
• December 28, 2020
• Full Page

Hip dislocations are much more common in people who've had total hip replacements than previously reported, Danish researchers say.

The investigators analyzed data from Denmark and found that the rate of hip dislocations within two years after total hip replacement was 3...

Older and Getting Surgery? Get Fit Beforehand

• Robert Preidt
• December 22, 2020
• Full Page

Getting fit before surgery can limit the amount of muscle older adults will lose during their recovery, researchers say.

Strength training before a scheduled operation ("prehabilitation") helps counteract muscle wasting during bed rest after a procedure. But it ...

Weight-Loss Surgery Lowers Long-Term Heart Risks for Diabetic Teens

• Steven Reinberg
• December 21, 2020
• Full Page

Weight-loss surgery significantly reduces the risk of heart problems in obese teens with type 2 diabetes, a new study finds.

Teens who have the surgery can see their long-term risk for heart attack, congestive heart failure, stroke and coronary death lowered nearly three...

Don't Schedule Your Operation on Your Surgeon's Birthday

• December 10, 2020
• Full Page

If you have a choice, you might want to avoid having an operation on your surgeon's birthday.

A new study finds that seniors who have emergency surgery on their surgeon's birthday have a much higher risk of dying in the following weeks.

Researchers analyzed data on...

A Better, Safer Way to Rid Some Kids of Seizures?

• Cara Murez
• December 8, 2020
• Full Page

Children with tough-to-treat epilepsy now have another choice to help them live a life free of seizures, a new study suggests.

MRI-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy, a minimally invasive procedure for kids who have drug-resistant epilepsy, is successful in more ...

Post-Op Deaths Decline for Cancer Patients, But Blacks Still More Vulnerable

• Robert Preidt
• December 8, 2020
• Full Page

Fewer U.S. patients are dying after cancer surgery, but Black patients still have a higher risk than white patients, new research shows.

For the study, researchers analyzed Medicare data on nearly 871,000 cancer surgeries conducted from 2007 to 2016 on patients with nine...

COVID-19 Can Damage Lungs So Badly That 'Only Hope' is Transplant

• Robert Preidt
• December 1, 2020
• Full Page

Case studies and autopsy results are confirming that, in some cases, COVID-19 can cause such severe lung damage that patients require a lung transplant to survive.

In a new study, researchers in Chicago analyzed discarded tissue from COVID-19 patients who had lung transp...