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Shamika Burrage survived a near-fatal car accident two years ago, but not without losing something pretty important: her left ear. Now, thanks to a novel procedure performed at an Army medical center in Texas, Burrage is getting that ear back in a most unusual way. Plastic surgeons harvested cartilage from Burrage's ribs to create a new ear and then grew it under the skin of her forearm. Then the doctors at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso successfully transplanted the ear from her arm to her head. The technique -- a first time in the Army -- is called prelaminated forearm free flap, said Lt. Col. Owen Johnson III, chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at William Beaumont Army Medical Center. Some of the big advantages of it is that it reduced the chance of more scarring around Burrage's ear. Also, growing the ear under the skin of her forearm allows new blood vessels to form. "(The ear) will have fresh arteries, fresh veins and even a fresh nerve so she'll be able to feel it," Johnson said on the US Army's website. Burrage, a 21-year-old private, still has to endure two more surgeries, but she's feeling more optimistic about the future than ever in the years since her accident. "It's been a long process for everything, but I'm back," said Burrage.
PURPOSE: Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) is an alternative modality of treatment for small sized renal cell carcinoma. Robot assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (RLPN) has also been performed with an advantage in repairing resected surface after tumor resection. We compare the periopera...
tive data of patients treated with laparoscopic partial nephrectomy with those of RLPN undertaken patients. MATERIAL AND METHOD: From September 2006 to April 2008, 22 patients were treated with LPN and 22 were RLPN. 3 arms were used for RLPN; camera was inserted through the 12mm, umbilical trocar port. The laparoscopic Bulldog clamp was used for the clamping of renal hilum. We retrospectively compared each group about tumor size, operation time, estimated blood loss, warm ischemic time and hospital stay. RESULT: Operation time of LPN was shorter than that of RLPN (p=0.033). Tumor size, estimated blood loss and hospital stay was not significant different in each group. No case had conversion to open surgery. 1 patient of RLPN group, however, had conversion to radical nephrectomy due to severe bleeding. CONCLUSION: RLPN was safe and feasible in small sized renal cell carcinoma. Warm ischemic time was reasonable and morbidity associated with RLPN was also low. RLPN LPN p-value Tumor Size (cm) 2.5 2.1 0.605 Op time (min) 169.3 140.8 0.033 EBL (ml) 243.2 213.2 0.878 Warm Ischemic Time (min) 29.2 26.4 0.237 Transfusion (%) 4.5 4.5 0.756 Hospital stay (day) 4.4 5.5 0.053
Mastectomy is surgery to remove all breast tissue from a breast as a way to treat or prevent breast cancer. For those with early-stage breast cancer, mastectomy may be one treatment option. Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy), in which only the tumor is removed from the breast, may be another option.
Frostbite is an injury caused by freezing of the skin and underlying tissues. First your skin becomes very cold and red, then numb, hard and pale. Frostbite is most common on the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin. Exposed skin in cold, windy weather is most vulnerable to frostbite. But frostbite can occur on skin covered by gloves or other clothing.
Cluster headaches, which occur in cyclical patterns or clusters, are one of the most painful types of headache. A cluster headache commonly awakens you in the middle of the night with intense pain in or around one eye on one side of your head. Bouts of frequent attacks, known as cluster periods, can last from weeks to months, usually followed by remission periods when the headaches stop. During remission, no headaches occur for months and sometimes even years. Fortunately, cluster headache is rare and not life-threatening. Treatments can make cluster headache attacks shorter and less severe. In addition, medications can reduce the number of cluster headaches.
A ventricular assist device (VAD) — also known as a mechanical circulatory support device — is an implantable mechanical pump that helps pump blood from the lower chambers of your heart (the ventricles) to the rest of your body. A VAD is used in people who have weakened hearts or heart failure. Although a VAD can be placed in the left, right or both ventricles of your heart, it is most frequently used in the left ventricle. When placed in the left ventricle it is called a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). You may have a VAD implanted while you wait for a heart transplant or for your heart to become strong enough to effectively pump blood on its own. Your doctor may also recommend having a VAD implanted as a long-term treatment if you have heart failure and you're not a good candidate for a heart transplant.
In dark or dim light, the pupil dilates to allow more light into the eye to improve vision. Normal pupil size tends to range between 2.0 and 5.0 millimeters, depending on the lighting. The younger you are, the larger your pupils tend to be.
A plastic surgeon in China has successfully grown an artificial ear on a man's arm in a pioneering medical procedure. The patient, surnamed Ji, lost his right ear in an accident and yearned to have it back. Doctor Guo Shuzhong from a hospital in Xi'an, China's Shaanxi Province, used Mr Ji's cartilage from his ribs to build the new ear; and he expects to transplanted the organ to the man's head in about four months. According to the Huanqiu report, Mr Ji sustained serious injuries in the right side of his face in a traffic accident about a year ago. His right ear was torn from his face. The man, whose age is not specified, has since received multiple surgical operations to restore his facial skin and his cheeks. However, he felt frustrated about losing his right ear for good. The patient told a report from China News: 'I lost one ear. I have always felt that I am not complete.' Having sought medical advice from multiple sources, Ji realised that it was impossible to restore his ear through conventional medical procedures as a substantial part of his right ear had gone missing. Upon hearing recommendations, Mr Ji went to see doctor Guo Shuzhong, who works at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University in the city of Xi'an. Doctor Guo, a renowned plastic surgeon, conducted China's first face transplant operation in 2006, according to China Daily.
Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a persistent opening between two major blood vessels leading from the heart. The opening, called the ductus arteriosus, is a normal part of a baby's circulatory system before birth that usually closes shortly after birth. If it remains open, however, it's called a patent ductus arteriosus.
Most folks remember puberty – and not always in a good way. It can be an awkward stage of budding breasts, unwanted hair, acne and unexpected body odor. Puberty, when a child undergoes physical changes and becomes sexually mature, typically begins around age 8 in girls and age 9 in boys. But imagine, say, a 6- or 7-year-old undergoing such changes? Studies are showing that the onset of puberty for both boys and girls is occurring earlier and earlier, a phenomenon defined as precocious puberty. A study published in Pediatrics in 2010 found that among a population of 1,200 American girls, about 23 percent of African-Americans,15 percent of Latinas and 10 percent of Caucasian girls had begun puberty (marked by breast development) at age 7. In 2012, another study published in Pediatrics found that puberty in American boys – measured by testicular enlargement and pubic hair growth – was beginning six months to two years earlier than what research in previous decades had documented, particularly among African-American children.
A hernia occurs when an organ or fatty tissue squeezes through a weak spot in a surrounding muscle or connective tissue called fascia. The most common types of hernia are inguinal (inner groin), incisional (resulting from an incision), femoral (outer groin), umbilical (belly button), and hiatal (upper stomach).