The Cutting Edge
News for the OR Professional
The Cutting Edge is a bi-weekly e-newsletter focused on news that directly impacts OR professionals. The content is compiled and circulated by Surgical Information Systems (SIS) as a complimentary service to the online surgical community. If you would like to receive The Cutting Edge we will happily send each issue directly to your inbox.
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Current Issue
The Cutting Edge Newsletter (November 14, 2008)
News for the OR Professional
Published by Surgical Information Systems
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IN THIS ISSUE:
- Pediatric Heart Surgeons: Best For Adult Heart Defect Surgery
- Post-Surgical Care Critical To Optimal Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery
- Combo Cosmetic Surgery Has Skeptics
- Nanotechnology for Stent Coating Promises Improved Post-op Performance
- Study Upholds Stopping Plavix Use Before Surgery
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Pediatric Heart Surgeons: Best For Adult Heart Defect Surgery
Adults with congenital heart disease are more likely to have cardiac surgery done by a heart surgeon not specialized in pediatric heart surgery but patients may be better off if it’s done by a pediatric or congenital heart surgeon, according to a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers identified congenital heart surgeries performed from 1988 to 2003, using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database. They analyzed the outcomes of cases performed by pediatric heart surgeons, defined as heart surgeons with a 75 percent yearly case volume spent on patients younger than 18 years. They compared those cases to outcomes of heart surgeons, without specialization in pediatric heart surgery. (American Heart Association – November 8, 2008)
More at http://www.emaxhealth.com/2/80/26295/pediatric-heart-surgeons-best-adult-heart-defect-surgery.html
Adults with congenital heart disease are more likely to have cardiac surgery done by a heart surgeon not specialized in pediatric heart surgery but patients may be better off if it’s done by a pediatric or congenital heart surgeon, according to a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers identified congenital heart surgeries performed from 1988 to 2003, using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database. They analyzed the outcomes of cases performed by pediatric heart surgeons, defined as heart surgeons with a 75 percent yearly case volume spent on patients younger than 18 years. They compared those cases to outcomes of heart surgeons, without specialization in pediatric heart surgery. (American Heart Association – November 8, 2008)
More at http://www.emaxhealth.com/2/80/26295/pediatric-heart-surgeons-best-adult-heart-defect-surgery.html
Post-Surgical Care Critical To Optimal Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery
Those patients who were most compliant with surgeon recommendations after bariatric surgery lost 35 percent more weight the first year and tend to keep more weight off even after five years, according to new patient and bariatric surgeon surveys conducted by Harris Interactive(R), for the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). The survey of 208 gastric bypass patients and 201 gastric band patients found that on average compliant patients lost more than 123 pounds the first year, while the less compliant lost 92 pounds. At the five year mark, compliant bariatric surgery patients lost more than 127 pounds while less compliant patients lost 100 pounds. (ASMBS – October 28, 2008)
http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-1/New-National-Patient-and-Surgeon-Surveys-Show-Post-Surgical-Care-Critical-to-Optimal-Weight-Loss-After-Bariatric-Surgery-27873-1/
Those patients who were most compliant with surgeon recommendations after bariatric surgery lost 35 percent more weight the first year and tend to keep more weight off even after five years, according to new patient and bariatric surgeon surveys conducted by Harris Interactive(R), for the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). The survey of 208 gastric bypass patients and 201 gastric band patients found that on average compliant patients lost more than 123 pounds the first year, while the less compliant lost 92 pounds. At the five year mark, compliant bariatric surgery patients lost more than 127 pounds while less compliant patients lost 100 pounds. (ASMBS – October 28, 2008)
http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-1/New-National-Patient-and-Surgeon-Surveys-Show-Post-Surgical-Care-Critical-to-Optimal-Weight-Loss-After-Bariatric-Surgery-27873-1/
Combo Cosmetic Surgery Has Skeptics
It seems like the Holy Grail of plastic surgery procedures: removing unwanted fat from the stomach and thighs and transferring it to the breasts to enlarge them. But the jury is still out among plastic surgeons on whether fat grafts should be used for cosmetic breast enhancement. The controversy over fat grafts was the subject of a panel discussion Monday at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons conference in Chicago. Fat can be a more natural-looking alternative to breast implants for women who aren't looking for a drastic increase in cup size. But critics say there are too many unknowns about the safety and effectiveness of injecting extra fat into the breasts. (Chicago Sun-Times – November 4, 2008)
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/health/1258352,CST-NWS-plastic04.article
It seems like the Holy Grail of plastic surgery procedures: removing unwanted fat from the stomach and thighs and transferring it to the breasts to enlarge them. But the jury is still out among plastic surgeons on whether fat grafts should be used for cosmetic breast enhancement. The controversy over fat grafts was the subject of a panel discussion Monday at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons conference in Chicago. Fat can be a more natural-looking alternative to breast implants for women who aren't looking for a drastic increase in cup size. But critics say there are too many unknowns about the safety and effectiveness of injecting extra fat into the breasts. (Chicago Sun-Times – November 4, 2008)
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/health/1258352,CST-NWS-plastic04.article
Nanotechnology for Stent Coating Promises Improved Post-op Performance
A nanomatrix for stent coating designed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) mimics natural endothelium, the substance that lines blood vessels, and promises the potential to prevent post-operative tissue scaring along the blood vessel wall, greatly reducing the possibility of future thrombosis, or blockage at the stent site. This next generation nanotechnology could prove vital to reducing coronary artery disease, the number one cause of death in the United States, said Ho-Wook Jun, Ph.D., a UAB assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering and principal investigator on the discovery. (University of Alabama at Birmingham – November 10, 2008)
More at http://newswise.com/articles/view/546309/
A nanomatrix for stent coating designed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) mimics natural endothelium, the substance that lines blood vessels, and promises the potential to prevent post-operative tissue scaring along the blood vessel wall, greatly reducing the possibility of future thrombosis, or blockage at the stent site. This next generation nanotechnology could prove vital to reducing coronary artery disease, the number one cause of death in the United States, said Ho-Wook Jun, Ph.D., a UAB assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering and principal investigator on the discovery. (University of Alabama at Birmingham – November 10, 2008)
More at http://newswise.com/articles/view/546309/
Study Upholds Stopping Plavix Use Before Surgery
Someone who has taken the clot-preventing drug Plavix less than five days before having bypass surgery runs a higher risk of excess bleeding, is more likely to require a second operation, and will spend more time in the hospital, says a study that buttresses current guidelines. Those guidelines from the American College of Surgeons recommend discontinuing Plavix five to seven days before coronary artery bypass surgery, said Dr. Richard C. Becker, a professor of medicine in cardiology and hematology at Duke University, and co-author of a report in the Nov. 18 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology – November 10, 2008)
More at http://www.drugs.com/news/study-upholds-stopping-plavix-before-surgery-14597.html
Someone who has taken the clot-preventing drug Plavix less than five days before having bypass surgery runs a higher risk of excess bleeding, is more likely to require a second operation, and will spend more time in the hospital, says a study that buttresses current guidelines. Those guidelines from the American College of Surgeons recommend discontinuing Plavix five to seven days before coronary artery bypass surgery, said Dr. Richard C. Becker, a professor of medicine in cardiology and hematology at Duke University, and co-author of a report in the Nov. 18 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology – November 10, 2008)
More at http://www.drugs.com/news/study-upholds-stopping-plavix-before-surgery-14597.html
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