Older patients with peptic ulcer hemorrhage who had upper endoscopy within one day of presentation fared better than counterparts who had the procedure later, a national population-based study found. Early endoscopy was independently associated with a lower likelihood of surgery, according to Gregory S. Cooper, MD, and colleagues from the Case Medical Center in Cleveland.

A study published in the June 2009 issue of the Archives of Surgery depicted that laparoscopy-assisted surgery for early gastric cancer resulted in a 98.8% three-year overall survival rate in patients with early gastric cancer. Laparoscopic gastrectomy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure, in contrast with the total removal of the lymph nodes in traditional treatment. In Laparoscopic gastrectomy, a surgeon removes the stomach through a lighted tube, eliminating the need for large surgical incisions and possibly reducing the risk of infection, healing complications, pain and blood loss.

Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine have reported that fenoldopam mesylate, a selective dopamine 1 receptor agonist which is used intravenously for the treatment of hypertension in adults, can also be effective in producing deliberate hypotension in children scheduled to undergo a surgery. The study, according to the lead author, Dr. Gregory Hammer, affects pediatric labeling for fenoldopam and guides practitioners about appropriate intraoperative dosing for deliberate hypotension.

Doctors at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine have suggested a surgical approach for the treatment of peritoneal surface disease (PSD) that gives positive results. Currently, most patients suffering from colorectal metastases receive chemotherapy as the only treatment. However, the research suggests that combining it with cytoreductive surgery will improve the condition of the patients.

Researchers at Shinshu University School of Medicine have developed a technique to take out the entire mammary gland including early-stage breast cancer without damaging the skin of breast. Many patients abandon breast-conserving surgery because of multiple tumors. However, this method prevents breast deformity, facilitating such patients. The procedure assisted by endoscopy can carry out skin-sparing mastectomy, while providing desired appearance.

A research published in the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, details a new back lift procedure which removes unsightly bumps and bulges while hiding the scars under the bra line. This procedure will facilitate those who wish to wear body hugging clothes. The procedure takes about an hour from start to finish and has minimal complications. It is a safe method to contour the upper and middle back, removing all the rolls and folds.

According to a report by heart surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the addition of one ablation in a series of ablations in the Cox-Maze procedure led to a substantial improvement in the atrial fibrillation surgical treatment outcome. Atrial fibrillation is the most common irregular heart rhythm condition that affects over two million patients in the US.

Dr Shane Grey of the Garvan Institute for Medical Research and Professor John Dalton of the Institute for the Biotechnology of Infectious Diseases are working towards copying the parasites’ tactic of making the body accept transplanted tissues or organs. Parasites work by deviating the immune system so that it is unable to come up with an effective response.

According to a report to be published in the Journal of Arthroplasty, a new surgical technique, called cellular grafting, was performed on three young patients suffering from steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the knee. This surgical technique involved pelvic area cellular material transplantation into the knee. The orthopedic surgeon, Stuart Goodman, MD, PhD, who performed the operation, said that all three patients returned to near normal activity.

A little more than 5% of patients undergoing breast surgery developed infections at the incision site, resulting in more than $4,000 extra hospital-related costs per patient, according to research reported in the January Archives of Surgery. The research headed by Dr. Margaret A. Olsen of the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis showed that 50 of the 949 women studied, who had undergone mastectomy or breast reconstruction, developed surgical site infections within a year.