Top videos
Pediatric orthopedic surgeons at Columbia are using a new device with magnetic technology that avoids the need for multiple spine-lengthening surgeries to correct early-onset scoliosis, a severe curvature of the spine in young children. In April 2014, Michael Vitale, MD, the Ana Lucia Professor of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery at CUMC and 1995 graduate of P&S, performed the first procedure in the New York area, using the device to treat a 5-year-old boy. When braces and casts cannot control scoliosis in young children, surgeons turn to growing rods, which help correct the curve while allowing the spine to grow. When spinal maturity is near, the rods are removed and a spinal fusion can be performed. But during years of treatment with growing rods, patients must undergo surgery every six months to lengthen the rods to keep up with the patients’ growth. A patient may undergo eight to 10 procedures, which are costly and result in lost time for parents at work and children at school. The new device—MAGEC (MAGnetic Expansion Control) rods—contains a mechanism inside the growing rods that allows surgeons to lengthen the rods with a handheld external magnet, without surgery.
Super Obese individuals (people with a Body Mass Index over 45) have an increased risk during any surgery. And the longer the time under anesthesia, the greater the risk. Gastric bypass surgery can last over 2 hours. Duodenal switch surgery often takes over 4 hours. That’s a long time to be under anesthesia.
Intussusception (in-tuh-suh-SEP-shun) is a serious condition in which part of the intestine slides into an adjacent part of the intestine. This "telescoping" often blocks food or fluid from passing through. Intussusception also cuts off the blood supply to the part of the intestine that's affected, which can lead to a tear in the bowel (perforation), infection and death of bowel tissue.
hemothorax is most often defined as rapid accumulation of ≥ 1000 mL of blood. Shock is common. Patients with large hemorrhage volume are often dyspneic and have decreased breath sounds and dullness to percussion (often difficult to appreciate during initial evaluation of patients with multiple injuries).
An estimated 20 million LASIK procedures have been performed since 1998. The FDA website is filled with stories of complications, including pain, dizziness and detached retinas. CBS2's Chris Wragge reports.
Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) (also known as "Pheochromocytoma and amyloid producing medullary thyroid carcinoma", "PTC syndrome," and "Sipple syndrome") is a group of medical disorders associated with tumors of the endocrine system. The tumors may be benign or malignant (cancer).
In developing countries, domestic animals (eg, dogs) are common sources of infection. In the United States, bats and wild animals (eg, raccoons) are the most common reservoirs of infection. The acquisition of rabies from bats can occur from an unrecognized bite or a scratch, and possibly by inhalation of aerosolized viral particles. Bats are found in all states except Hawaii, and spelunking (cave exploration) is a risk factor for rabies acquisition from bats.
ADC was first identified early in the AIDS epidemic as a common and novel CNS syndrome.(4,5) The three components of the term, AIDS dementia complex embody central features of the condition. AIDS emphasizes its morbidity and poor prognosis, particularly when its severity is at stage 2 or greater (see Table 1), a severity comparable to other clinical AIDS-defining complications of HIV-1 infection. Dementia designates the acquired and persistent cognitive decline with preserved alertness that usually dominates the clinical presentation and determines its principal disability. Complex emphasizes that this disease not only impairs the intellect, but also concomitantly alters motor performance and, at times, behavior. This involvement of the nervous system beyond cognition is evidence of a wider involvement of the CNS than occurs in some other types of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, myelopathy may be an important, indeed predominating, aspect of ADC, and organic psychosis may also be a feature in a subset of patients (see Rheumatologic and Musculoskeletal Manifestations of HIV). These manifestations are therefore also encompassed within this term. By contrast, neither neuropathy nor functional psychiatric disturbance are included in ADC.