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Ventricular septal rupture (VSR) is a rare but lethal complication of myocardial infarction (MI). The event occurs 2-8 days after an infarction and often precipitates cardiogenic shock. [1] The differential diagnosis of postinfarction cardiogenic shock should exclude free ventricular wall rupture and rupture of the papillary muscles. (See the image below.)
People whose back or neck pain has not been relieved by back surgery or other treatments may have another option to consider: spinal cord stimulation. Around the world, some 14,000 patients undergo spinal cord stimulator implants each year. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) delivers mild electrical stimulation to nerves along the spinal column, modifying or blocking nerve activity in a non-medicinal way to minimize the sensation of pain reaching the brain.
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.
Loa loa filariasis (also known as loiasis, loaiasis, Calabar swellings, Fugitive swelling, Tropical swelling and African eyeworm) is a skin and eye disease caused by the nematode worm, loa loa. Humans contract this disease through the bite of a Deer fly or Mango fly (Chrysops spp), the vectors for Loa loa. The adult Loa loa filarial worm migrates throughout the subcutaneous tissues of humans, occasionally crossing into subconjunctival tissues of the eye where it can be easily observed. Loa loa does not normally affect one's vision but can be painful when moving about the eyeball or across the bridge of the nose.The disease can cause red itchy swellings below the skin called "Calabar swellings". The disease is treated with the drug diethylcarbamazine (DEC), and when appropriate, surgical methods may be employed to remove adult worms from the conjunctiva.
The veins around your anus tend to stretch under pressure and may bulge or swell. Swollen veins (hemorrhoids) can develop from an increase in pressure in the lower rectum. Factors that might cause increased pressure include: Straining during bowel movements.