It used to be when a woman needed a hysterectomy she could expect full abdominal surgery with a long recovery time. Dr. Melissa Lee uses less invasive methods that can cut the patients downtime in half.

"We were trained in more laparoscopic and minimally invasive cases so of course that's what I'm more comfortable with doing right now."

She sees a new generation of patients opting for laparoscopic surgery.

"Laparoscopy is the use of small cameras with small incisions and instruments that are guided by the hand, and you're able to see directly into the abdomen without actually fully opening the abdomen," says Dr. Lee, an obstetrician-gynecologist with Lee Memorial Health System.

Nowadays, even a large mass or uterus can be removed using the slender tools.

"There are multiple different laparoscopic instruments that you can use. Whether they're blunt dissections or just dissectors that hold and retract back or actual scissors or cutting instruments, there are multiple different options," says Dr. Lee.

While a standard abdominal hysterectomy requires a four to eight inch incision, the laparoscope needs only a quarter to half inch. It's enough to make a big difference in terms of recovery.

"They're able to get up and move around faster. They're able to recover faster, their pain level and their need for pain medicine is much lower," says Dr. Lee.

The laparoscopic procedure also cuts down on scarring and more importantly, shortens the hospital stay. The trend now is home within 24 hours.

"Where the patient is done early in the morning, they're doing well they're tolerating oral intake they're able to getup and move around. And those patients a lot of times will feel comfortable to go home that same nigh after a major surgery," says Dr. Lee.

New studies show women who've had a laparoscopic hysterectomy viewed their quality of life as better than those who had an open abdominal procedure, making this a good option for the right patient.

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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.

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Watch that Vaginal Lips Trimming Surgery

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.

fixation of a tibial fracture utilizing the Titanium Cannulated Tibial Nail

The camera sends images to an external monitor so the doctor can study the inside of your colon. The doctor can also insert instruments through the channel to take tissue samples (biopsies) or remove polyps or other areas of abnormal tissue. A colonoscopy typically takes about 20 minutes to an hour.

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.

Physiology of Urinary System in Arabic

The bilateral sagittal split osteotomy is an indispensable tool in the correction of dentofacial abnormalities. The technique has been in practice since the late 1800s, but did not reach widespread acceptance and use until several modifications were described in the 1960s and 1970s. Those modifications came from a desire to make the procedure safer, more reliable, and more predictable with less relapse. Those goals continue to stimulate innovation in the field today and have helped the procedure evolve to be a very dependable, consistent method of correction of many types of malocclusion. The operative surgeon should be well versed in the history, anatomy, technical aspects, and complications of the bilateral sagittal split osteotomy to fully understand the procedure and to counsel the patient.

Arteriolotomy Open Heart Surgery

3D scans show still pictures of your baby in three dimensions. 4D scans show moving 3D images of your baby, with time being the fourth dimension. It's natural to be really excited by the prospect of your first scan. But some mums find the standard 2D scans disappointing when all they see is a grey, blurry outline.

Detailed examination of the joints is usually not included in the routine medical examination. However, joint related complaints are rather common, and understanding anatomy and physiology of both normal function and pathologic conditions is critically important when evaluating the symptomatic patient. By gaining an appreciation for the basic structures and functioning of the joint, you'll be able to "logic" your way thru the exam, even if you can't remember the eponym attached to each specific test!

For blunt trauma patients lying supine, drains should be placed anteriorly in the chest. This pevents a tension pneumothorax developing if the chest tube is blocked by dependent lung tissue. Normal movement of the lungs will allow drainage of a basal haemothorax through an anterior chest tube

Frostbite is an injury caused by freezing of the skin and underlying tissues. First your skin becomes very cold and red, then numb, hard and pale. Frostbite is most common on the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin. Exposed skin in cold, windy weather is most vulnerable to frostbite. But frostbite can occur on skin covered by gloves or other clothing.

IV cannulation is a skill that has scared a lot of student nurses and even professionals. Perhaps it’s because IV insertion is an invasive procedure, and nurses are too worried that they might hurt their patients. Or maybe it’s because they are just clueless about IV therapy do’s and don’ts–things that one can only fully understand through constant practice.

Vaginal discharge serves an important housekeeping function in the female reproductive system. Fluid made by glands inside the vagina and cervix carries away dead cells and bacteria. This keeps the vagina clean and helps prevent infection. Most of the time, vaginal discharge is perfectly normal. The amount can vary, as can odor and hue (its color can range from clear to a milky white-ish), depending on the time in your menstrual cycle. For example, there will be more discharge if you are ovulating, breastfeeding, or are sexually aroused. The smell may be different if you are pregnant or you haven't been diligent about your personal hygiene. None of those changes is cause for alarm. However, if the color, smell, or consistency seems significantly unusual, especially if it accompanied by vaginal itching or burning, you could be noticing an infection or other condition. What causes abnormal discharge? Any change in the vagina's balance of normal bacteria can affect the smell, color, or discharge texture. These are a few of the things that can upset that balance:

Male 19 y. age victim of penetrating brain injury. All the criteria for the encephalic death diagnosis were present. The presence of this complex spinal reflex doesn't exclude the brain death diagnosis and must be known and understood by the professionals involved in this very important diagnosis

Vertigo is a sense of rotation, rocking, or the world spinning, experienced even when someone is perfectly still. Many children attempt to create a sense of vertigo by spinning around for a time; this type of induced vertigo lasts for a few moments and then disappears. In comparison, when vertigo occurs spontaneously or as a result of an injury it tends to last for many hours or even days before resolving.

Mouth ulcers are sores that appear in the mouth, often on the inside of the cheeks. Mouth ulcers, also known as aphthous ulcers, can be painful when eating, drinking or brushing teeth. Occasional mouth ulcers are usually harmless and clear up on their own. Seek medical advice if they last longer than 3 weeks or keep coming back. Mouth ulcers cannot be caught from someone else. Up to 1 in 5 people get recurrent mouth ulcers.

This animation describes the goals of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) management and how patients can take an active role in managing their disease.

Today, hair transplant physicians are able to make use of different techniques to extract and transplant large numbers of hair follicles (follicular units). There are two primary techniques for hair transplantation currently in use. The FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) and the FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation) methods. They differ primarily in the way hair follicles are extracted from the donor area. Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) The FUT process involves removing a small strip of tissue from the back of the head, from which the donor hair follicles will be extracted. The hair follicles are harvested from the strip by a skilled clinical team before being individually transplanted to the recipient areas. In most cases, and especially cases of advanced hair loss, FUT is the preferred method because it allows the physician to fully utilize the scalp area to deliver results consistent with patient expectations. FUT typically allows for the greatest number of grafts to be transplanted in a single session. Pain Management Some patients report higher levels of discomfort with FUT procedures compared to FUE due the potential swelling in the area where the strip of tissue was removed, but both methods have a very manageable recovery period and pain medication can be prescribed by your physician if needed. Both techniques of hair transplantation are relatively simple. Hair transplantation procedures are outpatient surgeries with some patients going back to work as soon as the very next day. Scarring The FUT strip extraction method typically results in a very narrow linear scar in the back of the head (typically 1mm in diameter or less in size). Since the scar is very thin, it’s easily concealed by all but the shortest of haircut styles. A short to moderate crop setting on most clippers is sufficient to conceal the scar for the majority of patients, and over time the scar will become less noticeable as it fades. Costs The industry norm for pricing is on a per-graft basis. This allows each individual to pay for only what they need and receive in number of grafts, and not a flat rate that in the end may cost you more. The per-graft cost of a FUT procedure is generally lower than that of a FUE procedure. Lately however, in response to the rising popularity of the FUE technique, many hair transplantation clinics have started lowering the per graft cost on FUE procedures, so that the cost difference between the two types of procedure are not as much as most people think. The costs of medical procedures always vary by patients’ conditions, needs and objectives. For the most accurate assessment of your hair loss and the associated cost of your hair restoration, you will need to speak to a physician. Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) In an FUE hair transplantation, each follicular unit is individually taken directly from the scalp with no strip of tissue being removed. Hair follicles are removed in a random fashion and the result is less density in the donor area that many say is not even noticeable. This is the main difference between FUE & FUT. Since follicles are removed one at a time, fewer follicles can be harvested during a typical session, making FUE a better option to restore hair in smaller cases (number of grafts) compared to the traditional FUT method. FUE is constantly evolving and what was once utilized for only smaller cases is now being utilized for larger and larger cases. Some people that prefer the FUE method may have the option of splitting their procedure into two days in order to complete their recommended transplantation goals. Pain Management With no stitches required and no linear scar left to heal, FUE procedures do have a faster healing time and less post-procedure discomfort compared to the traditional FUT procedure. Scarring Since FUE procedures involve removing hairs individually from the scalp, there is no linear scar left behind. However, there will be tiny 1mm in diameter or less puncture marks that tend to heal by themselves after scabbing-over in the days following the procedure. These tiny wounds typically heal within three to seven days. Costs Since the physician must remove each hair follicle individually, the time-sensitive nature of an FUE procedure typically makes it more expensive than an FUT procedure. As stated earlier, FUE technology is improving as well as gaining popularity and many hair restoration practices (including Bosley) have started to lower the cost per graft price for FUE procedures. Nowadays, the cost difference between a FUE and a FUT procedures is less disparate.