The two biggest considerations when choosing a suture are the location and tension of the wound. Other important considerations are tensile strength, knot strength, handling, and tissue reactivity. Sutures are divided into two major groups: Absorbable – lose the majority of their tensile strength in less than 60 days. They are generally used for buried sutures and do not require removal. Non-absorbable – maintain the majority of their tensile strength for more than 60 days. They are generally used for skin surface sutures and do require removal postoperatively. Suture needles also come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Curved needles are almost exclusively used in dermatological surgery. Cutting needles move through the tissue more easily and may have their primary cutting edge on the inside of the curve (conventional cutting) or outside of the curve (reverse cutting). The benefit of reverse cutting is that the tapered puncture left by the suture is directed away from the wound edge and therefore tissue tearing is less common. Non-cutting round needles cause even less tissue tearing and may be especially useful in delicate areas and fascia.

Watch that video to learn How to Know When You Are Ovulating

Sickle cell anemia (sickle cell disease) is a disorder of the blood caused by an inherited abnormal hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein within the red blood cells). The abnormal hemoglobin causes distorted (sickled) red blood cells.

In patients with advanced congestive heart failure due to cardiomyopathy or ischemia, right ventricle shortening is the only significant independent associate of survival by multivariate analysis (as opposed to other parameters including left ventricular ejection fraction, cardiac index, and pulmonary resistance).

Voice annotated arthroscopic surgery on the right shoulder to perform a subacromial decompression.
Surgery was performed by Dr. Lamont Cardo

Pancreatic Auto Islet Transplantation is a procedure used to maintain insulin production and secretion in patients with chronic pancreatitis that are undergoing a total pancreatectomy, or removal of the entire pancreas. When all other medical therapies fail to control the pain, removal of the pancreas may be an option; however it can leave a person diabetic, which means that the body can no longer control blood sugar levels, and will require intensive testing of blood sugar and injections of insulin. The pancreas is an organ, located in the upper abdominal cavity, behind the stomach, liver and colon. Within the pancreas, specialized clusters of cells known as islets produce insulin, which maintain healthy blood sugar levels. The pancreas also produces enzymes to help digest food. In order to alleviate pain and maintain insulin production, the pancreas is removed from the body, processed and the islets are harvested. Once the pancreas is removed, it is placed in a solution and put into a machine where the pancreas is digested. The islets are then infused into the patient’s liver. Within a short time, the islets are expected to start producing insulin. In 80% of patients, the pain from pancreatitis is relieved by a total pancreatectomy. Over time, some patients may be diabetic and will need to take insulin to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. All patients will take pancreatic enzymes to help digest food after surgery.

Bartter syndrome has traditionally been classified into three main clinical variants, as follows: Neonatal (or antenatal) Bartter syndrome Classic Bartter syndrome Gitelman syndrome Advances in molecular diagnostics have revealed that Bartter syndrome results from mutations in numerous genes that affect the function of ion channels and transporters that normally mediate transepithelial salt reabsorption in the distal nephron segments. Hundreds of mutations have been identified to date. Such advances may result in the development of new therapies (see the image below). [2] (See Pathophysiology and Etiology.)

A little boy with a mystifying eye condition finally found an answer on the other side of the globe with the help of Dr. Harry Chugani at Children's Hospital of Michigan. ~ Detroit Medical Center

Traumatic penile injury can be due to multiple factors. Penile fracture, penile amputation, penetrating penile injuries, and penile soft tissue injuries are considered urologic emergencies and typically require surgical intervention. The goals of treatment for penile trauma are universal: preservation of penile length, erectile function, and maintenance of the ability to void while standing. Traumatic injury to the penis may concomitantly involve the urethra.[1, 2] Urethral injury and repair is beyond the scope of this article but details can be found in Urethral Trauma. Penile fracture Penile fracture is the traumatic rupture of the corpus cavernosum. Traumatic rupture of the penis is relatively uncommon and is considered a urologic emergency.[3] Sudden blunt trauma or abrupt lateral bending of the penis in an erect state can break the markedly thinned and stiff tunica albuginea, resulting in a fractured penis. One or both corpora may be involved, and concomitant injury to the penile urethra may occur. Urethral trauma is more common when both corpora cavernosa are injured.[4] Penile rupture can usually be diagnosed based solely on history and physical examination findings; however, in equivocal cases, diagnostic cavernosography or MRI should be performed. Concomitant urethral injury must be considered; therefore, preoperative retrograde urethrographic studies should generally be performed. See the images below.

If a fetal lung lesion is causing heart failure, fetal surgery may be performed to remove the CCAM before birth. http://fetalsurgery.chop.edu

N. Scott Adzick, MD, Mark Johnson, MD, and Holly Hedrick, MD, experts from the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, explain when fetal intervention for CCAM is recommended, the various approaches that may be used to treat the most complex fetal lung lesions before birth, and how these procedures are performed.

One concern with fetal lung lesions is that they take up space in the chest. If the lung mass grows and pushes the heart and other organs out of place, it can lead to complications such as fetal hydrops (heart failure in the fetus). If this happens, a fetal surgery procedure may be performed to remove the CCAM before birth.
In other cases, an EXIT procedure may be performed to partially deliver the baby, so the team can remove the mass before the baby is fully delivered.

In this video series, parents, nurses and doctors from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment talk about the different types of fetal lung lesions like congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM) and bronchopulmonary sequestration (BPS), the importance of accurate diagnosis and monitoring, and the most advanced treatment options currently available. They also discuss follow-up care and long-term outcomes for babies diagnosed with fetal lung lesions.

High definition video of a woman giving birth through water vaginal childbirth maneauver.

Zinc deficiency symptoms include growth and development problems, hair loss, diarrhea, impotence, eye and skin conditions, and loss of appetite. Other symptoms may include weight loss, delayed wound healing, taste changes, and mental slowness.

Walk through your mouth with Intra Oral Technology and see the unseen! Most of us can't really see what is going on in our mouths because it is a very small, and shadowed area. What we don't know is that many situations and conditions in the mouth and painless and not always visible to the naked eye.

The Intra Oral Camera is a fascinating innovation in dentistry that allows the client and our clinicians to look deep into the mouth and observe the teeth at a very close angle. This wand like camera which transfers images to a television, can see so close to a tooth that it can see mini fractures, chips, secondary decay, wear down of the teeth, damaged and broken fillings and crowns and even gum disease. At Yaletown we believe that people can decide what is best for their own health. The Intra Oral Camera is a wonderful educational tool for clients so they can learn about their mouths to help them on their journey to overall dental wellness.

Has your dentist or endodontist told you that you need root canal treatment? If so, you're not alone. Millions of teeth are treated and saved each year with root canal, or endodontic, treatment. Remember, root canal treatment doesn't cause pain, it relieves it. Watch our videos below to learn more! Inside the tooth, under the white enamel and a hard layer called the dentin, is a soft tissue called the pulp. The pulp contains blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue, and helps to grow the root of your tooth during development. In a fully developed tooth, the tooth can survive without the pulp because the tooth continues to be nourished by the tissues surrounding it.

The liver also detoxifies chemicals and metabolizes drugs. As it does so, the liver secretes bile that ends up back in the intestines. The liver also makes proteins important for blood clotting and other functions. First, for those impatient, short answers to the mini-questions (if you're reading this in the news feed, you may want to click through for the question details): No one knows why we evolved 2 kidneys and one liver.

Funny Video from hospital waiting room

Finding a donor heart can be difficult. The heart must be donated by someone who is brain-dead but is still on life support. The donor heart must be matched as closely as possible to your tissue type to reduce the chance that your body will reject it. You are put into a deep sleep with general anesthesia, and a cut is made through the breastbone. Your blood flows through a heart-lung bypass machine while the surgeon works on your heart. This machine does the work of your heart and lungs while they are stopped, and supplies your body with blood and oxygen. Your diseased heart is removed and the donor heart is stitched in place. The heart-lung machine is then disconnected. Blood flows through the transplanted heart, which takes over supplying your body with blood and oxygen. Tubes are inserted to drain air, fluid, and blood out of the chest for several days, and to allow the lungs to fully re-expand.

Dementia is the name for a group of symptoms that commonly include problems with memory, thinking, problem solving, language and perception. In a person with dementia, these symptoms are bad enough to affect daily life.