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.

An antisperm antibody test looks for special proteins (antibodies) that fight against a man's sperm in blood, vaginal fluids, or semen. The test uses a sample of sperm and adds a substance that binds only to affected sperm. Semen can cause an immune system response in either the man's or woman's body. The antibodies can damage or kill sperm. If a high number of sperm antibodies come into contact with a man's sperm, it may be hard for the sperm to fertilize an egg. The couple has a hard time becoming pregnant. This is called immunologic infertility.

For more information please visit: https://www.yalemedicine.org/c....onditions/acl-injury

Serious injuries, by and large, cause a lot of swelling in the knee. Especially in younger patients. Now, someone could be arthritic and they overdo it going for a big long hike and they get some swelling the next day. But rapid onset of swelling, it's like hard to make out where your kneecap is, is a pretty big cardinal sign that there's something serious that's happened to your knee. Rapid onset swelling is usually due to blood in the joint. "A meniscus that really tears and flips in the front. You tear your quad or your patellar tendon, your kneecap dislocates, you tear a little blood vessel, your ACL tears, a piece of cartilage in bone gets knocked off and causes bleeding. So a lot of the really significant injuries, people get rapid onset swelling within three to four hours and they should seek attention There's always exceptions to rules, but if your knee looks like a grapefruit, you should go get it checked.

If you’re thinking about going on the pill, you may have questions. What do birth control pills do? Are birth control pills safe? Here’s all the info on how to use birth control pills.

Open appendectomy (simulated)

❀ The Color of the BLOOD of YOUR PERIOD Reveals Something VERY IMPORTANT about Your Health!

Breastfeeding attachment Attaching your baby at the breasT

surgical procedure used to remove excess skin and fat from the abdomen and to tighten the muscles of the abdominal wall. Most tummy tuck patients are dealing with the effects of pregnancies and weight loss and find themselves with loose skin in spite of exercise and weight control. Each year, thousands of Americans undergo a tummy tuck to tone, firm and define the abdominal area.

Venipuncture can be a challenging process for medical professionals especially when a patients veins are difficult to see. VeinViewer uses near infrared light to create a digital image of patient vasculature in real time.

Women who have untreated chlamydia might develop pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause ectopic pregnancies, chronic pelvic pain and infertility. ... The antibiotics used to treat chlamydia are safe in pregnancy and are used in pregnant women for many other types of infections.

Among common cancers, pancreatic cancer has one of the poorest prognoses. Because pancreatic cancer often grows and spreads long before it causes any symptoms, only about 6% of patients are still alive five years after diagnosis. For some pancreatic patients, however, a complex surgery known as the Whipple procedure may extend life and could be a potential cure. Those who undergo a successful Whipple procedure may have a five-year survival rate of up to 25%.

This video shows the technique of suprapatellar tibial nailing as used for a segmental tibia fracture. The broken leg was treated with the nail to allow immediate mobility and range of motion; no cast was needed for this injury.

Usually a sebaceous cyst grows very slowly and doesn't cause pain. However, they can become inflamed or infected, with the overlying skin becoming red, tender, and sore. Sometimes, they occur on a site that is constantly irritated, such as a cyst on your neck that rubs against your collar.

Skin grafting is a surgical procedure that involves removing the skin from one area of the body and moving it, or transplanting it, to a different area of the body. This surgery may be done if a part of your body has lost its protective covering of skin due to burns, injury, or illness. Skin grafts are performed in a hospital. Most skin grafts are done using general anesthesia, which means you’ll be asleep throughout the procedure and won’t feel any pain.

In Reye's syndrome, a child's blood sugar level typically drops while the levels of ammonia and acidity in his or her blood rise. At the same time, the liver may swell and develop fatty deposits. Swelling may also occur in the brain, which can cause seizures, convulsions or loss of consciousness. The signs and symptoms of Reye's syndrome typically appear about three to five days after the onset of a viral infection, such as the flu (influenza) or chickenpox, or an upper respiratory infection, such as a cold

The eustachian tube drains fluid from your ears to the back of your throat. If it clogs, otitis media with effusion (OME) can occur. If you have OME, the middle part of your ear fills with fluid, which can increase the risk of ear infection. OME is very common. According to the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality, about 90 percent of children will have OME at least once by the age of 10.

This medication is used to treat certain types of serious (possibly fatal) irregular heartbeat (such as persistent ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia). It is used to restore normal heart rhythm and maintain a regular, steady heartbeat. Amiodarone is known as an anti-arrhythmic drug. It works by blocking certain electrical signals in the heart that can cause an irregular heartbeat.

This animated video covers statins, fibrates, niacin, bile resins, and ezetimibe. We will discuss mechanisms of action, which part of the lipid profile is affected by each drug, and common side effects.

Video to help understand hearing loss and hearing impairment by explaining how hearing works. Cochlear implants can help children and adults with hearing loss