A blood transfusion is a routine medical procedure that can be lifesaving. During a blood transfusion, donated blood is added to your own blood. A blood transfusion may also be done to supplement various components of your blood with donated blood products. In some cases, a blood transfusion is done with blood that you've donated ahead of time before you undergo elective surgery. During a typical blood transfusion, certain parts of blood are delivered through an intravenous (IV) line that's placed in one of the veins in your arm. A blood transfusion usually takes one to four hours, though in an emergency it can be done much faster.

A good starting point for any scientist in any field is to recognize that there is much we do not know. We do not know, for example, why there is more matter than antimatter in the universe. We do not know very well how the evolution of the dinosaurs filtered out. And, perhaps most surprising of all is that we do not know very well how many organs the human body has or what all its functions are.

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with Alzheimer’s, symptoms first appear in their mid-60s. Estimates vary, but experts suggest that more than 5 million Americans may have Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer's disease is currently ranked as the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, but recent estimates indicate that the disorder may rank third, just behind heart disease and cancer, as a cause of death for older people. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia among older adults. Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning—thinking, remembering, and reasoning—and behavioral abilities to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities. Dementia ranges in severity from the mildest stage, when it is just beginning to affect a person’s functioning, to the most severe stage, when the person must depend completely on others for basic activities of daily living. The causes of dementia can vary, depending on the types of brain changes that may be taking place. Other dementias include Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal disorders, and vascular dementia. It is common for people to have mixed dementia—a combination of two or more disorders, at least one of which is dementia. For example, some people have both Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer noticed changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual mental illness. Her symptoms included memory loss, language problems, and unpredictable behavior. After she died, he examined her brain and found many abnormal clumps (now called amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibers (now called neurofibrillary, or tau, tangles). These plaques and tangles in the brain are still considered some of the main features of Alzheimer’s disease. Another feature is the loss of connections between nerve cells (neurons) in the brain. Neurons transmit messages between different parts of the brain, and from the brain to muscles and organs in the body.

The objective of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is to prevent strokes. In the United States, stroke is the third leading cause of death overall and the second leading cause of death for women.[1] Among patients suffering a stroke, 50-75% had carotid artery disease that would have been amenable to surgical treatment. Several prospective randomized trials have compared the safety and efficacy of CEA with those of medical therapy in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Data from these prospective trials have confirmed that CEA offers better protection from ipsilateral strokes than medical therapy alone in patients presenting with either symptomatic or asymptomatic carotid artery disease.

Bone healing can be divided into four stages: inflammation; soft callus formation; hard callus formation; remodeling.

Vertigo is a sensation of feeling off balance. If you have these dizzy spells, you might feel like you are spinning or that the world around you is spinning.

They are the leaders of the pack when it comes to minimally invasive surgeries. Laparoscopic and robotic. Different techniques with the same benefits.

"There's significantly less blood loss, it's a quicker procedure, quicker recovery, less scarring, less chance for post operative wound complications or infections," says Dr. Darren Miter, laparoscopic surgeon with Lee Memorial Health System.

In a laparoscopic procedure surgeons operate through a series of poke holes, manually inserting thin cutting tools and a camera to provide magnified vision. It's used in a variety of surgical specialties.

"The vast majority of gallbladder surgeries are performed laparoscopically. A single incision in the belly button, one up under the breastbone and either one or two in the right upper side of the belly. Using long skinny instruments and looking up at a TV monitor, remove the gallbladder that way," says Dr. Miter.

While laparoscopic is a hands-on approach, robotic procedures are surgeon-controlled. Working at a console, surgeons direct the robotic arms, which have super-human capabilities and 3D, hi def vision.

"I mean you have to see it to believe it, that's a great tool to have. You got a very good depth perception. Plus the other thing when you're working with your hands it's more intuitive," says Dr. Nagesh Ravipati, colorectal surgeon with Lee Memorial Health System.

The robotic system performs maneuvers the human hand can't.

"Especially if you have to do any suturing, it is so much simpler with the robots because you can just turn around 360 degrees," says Dr. Ravipati.

Robotic surgery is gaining momentum in precise procedures, including the field of cancer.

"The robot is good when you're going to operate on just one field. For rectal surgery you're in one place, it's docked. It gives you the best 3 dimensional vision," says Dr. Ravipati.

Robotic and laparoscopic. Both cutting edge options, with less cutting.

View More Health Matters video segments at leememorial.org/healthmatters/

Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we've been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

Visit leememorial.org

Mohs surgery is a procedure used to remove skin cancers (most commonly basal and squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma) in a way that preserves a maximum amount of healthy tissue. It is useful for skin cancers when:

(1) the location of the cancer is near sensitive areas, like the fingers or face;
(2) earlier treatments have not worked;
(3) a skin cancer is large; and
(4) regular surgery is less likely to remove the cancer.

This procedure video illustrates the procedure on 2 patients with basal cell carcinoma. Click https://ja.ma/3b4scuY to learn more.

0:00 Disclaimer
0:07 Introduction
0:28 What this video will cover
0:43 Mohs "stage" steps
1:09 Marking surgical sites
1:27 Stage 1: skin layer resection (patient 1)
1:59 Maintaining skin layer orientation
2:55 Stage 1: processing layer onto slides (patient 1)
3:53 Stage 1: histology review for cancer (patient 1)
4:31 Discussion on wound closure
5:10 Wound closure (patient 1)
5:47 Stage 1: histology review for cancer (patient 2)
6:24 Stage 2: skin layer resection (patient 2)
6:38 Stage 2: histology review for cancer (patient 2)
6:56 Stage 3: skin layer resection (patient 2)
7:07 Stage 3: histology review for cancer (patient 2)
7:20 Wound closure (patient 2)
7:57 1-week follow-up before-and-after wound healing

DMC Orthopaedic Specialists are the state leaders in a unique new procedure to resurface the knee joint, preserving more bone for the patient. ~ Detroit Medical Center

Hysteroscopy is a procedure that allows your doctor to look inside your uterus in order to diagnose and treat causes of abnormal bleeding. Hysteroscopy is done using a hysteroscope, a thin, lighted tube that is inserted into the vagina to examine the cervix and inside of the uterus.

This tutorial explains the difference in mechanisms between the 2 palsies. Bulbar palsy is a lower motor neuron condition and pseudobulbar palsy is an upper motor neuron condidtion.

How to cannulate the Internal Jugular Vein with the aid of ultrasound.

A disease of the immune system due to infection with HIV. HIV destroys the CD4 T lymphocytes (CD4 cells) of the immune system, leaving the body vulnerable to life-threatening infections and cancers. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the most advanced stage of HIV infection. To be diagnosed with AIDS, a person with HIV must have an AIDS-defining condition or have a CD4 count less than 200 cells/mm³ (regardless of whether the person has an AIDS-defining condition).

a video of abdominal physical examination including all the required items:
-Inspection
-Palpation
-Percussion
-Auscultation

A ventricular septal defect (VSD), a hole in the heart, is a common heart defect that's present at birth (congenital). The hole occurs in the wall that separates the heart's lower chambers (septum) and allows blood to pass from the left to the right side of the heart. The oxygen-rich blood then gets pumped back to the lungs instead of out to the body, causing the heart to work harder. A small ventricular septal defect may cause no problems, and many small VSDs close on their own. Larger VSDs need surgical repair early in life to prevent complications.

The term chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) has been used to identify patients with a chronically progressive or relapsing symmetric sensorimotor disorder with cytoalbuminologic dissociation and interstitial and perivascular endoneurial infiltration by lymphocytes and macrophages. It can be considered the chronic equivalent of acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, the most common form of Guillain-Barré syndrome. Signs and symptoms CIDP typically starts insidiously and evolves slowly, in either a slowly progressive or a relapsing manner, with partial or complete recovery between recurrences; periods of worsening and improvement usually last weeks or months. Most experts consider the necessary duration of symptoms to be greater than 8 weeks for the diagnosis of CIDP to be made. Symptoms reported include the following: Preceding infection (infrequent) Initial limb weakness, both proximal and distal Sensory symptoms (eg, tingling and numbness of hands and feet) Motor symptoms (usually predominant) In about 16% of patients, a relatively acute or subacute onset of symptoms In children, usually a more precipitous onset of symptoms Symptoms of autonomic system dysfunction (eg, orthostatic dizziness) Pertinent physical findings are limited to the nervous system, except when the condition is associated with other diseases. Such findings may include the following. Signs of cranial nerve (CN) involvement (eg, facial muscle paralysis or diplopia) Gait abnormalities Motor deficits (eg, symmetric weakness of both proximal and distal muscles in upper and lower extremities) Diminished or absent deep tendon reflexes Sensory deficits (typically in stocking-glove distribution) Impaired coordination See Clinical Presentation for more detail. Diagnosis Laboratory studies that may be helpful include the following: Cerebrospinal fluid analysis: Elevated protein levels are common (80% of patients); 10% of patients also have mild lymphocytic pleocytosis and increased gamma globulin Complete blood count (CBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), antinuclear antibody (ANA) level, biochemistry profile, and serum and urine immunoelectrophoresis (to exclude associated systemic disorders) In certain instances, genetic testing Other tests and procedures that may be warranted are as follows: MRI of the spine with gadolinium enhancement Electromyography (EMG) is a critical test to determine whether the disorder is truly a peripheral neuropathy and whether the neuropathy is demyelinating Peripheral (sural) nerve biopsy (see the image below): This is considered when the diagnosis is not completely clear, when other causes cannot be excluded, or when profound axonal involvement is observed on EMG; biopsy was once commonly recommended for most patients before immunosuppressive therapy, but current guidelines no longer recommend it

Testicular sperm aspiration (TESA) is a procedure performed for men who are having sperm retrieved for in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI). It is done with local anesthesia in the operating room or office and is coordinated with their female partner's egg retrieval.

If you are a medical student, a resident, a primary care physician or you practice in an emergency department, you can improve your suture skills with this detailed instruction. As you practice towards a cosmetically perfect technique, your confidence will increase, especially when dealing with complex wounds. Areas of study include: methods of closure, closure materials, anesthetics, suture removal, infection, prophylaxis, when to call in a plastic surgeon, recapping techniques and more

Lumpectomy means that a focal area of cancer is going to be removed. A lot of patients with a lumpectomy don’t need any specific breast reconstruction, explains Dr. Miguel Angel Medina, Director of Microsurgery with Miami Cancer Institute.
Al the end of surgical treatment, all those patients go on to need radiation therapy. For patients who have large breasts, physicians have to take a larger lumpectomy than normal.

An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a hole in the wall between the two upper chambers of your heart (atria). The condition is present from birth (congenital). Small atrial septal defects may close on their own during infancy or early childhood. Large and long-standing atrial septal defects can damage your heart and lungs. Small defects may never cause a problem and may be found incidentally. An adult who has had an undetected atrial septal defect for decades may have a shortened life span from heart failure or high blood pressure that affects the arteries in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension). Surgery may be necessary to repair atrial septal defects to prevent complications.