Mitral valve surgery is surgery to either repair or replace the mitral valve in your heart. Blood flows from the lungs and enters a pumping chamber of the heart called the left atrium. The blood then flows into the final pumping chamber of the heart called the left ventricle. The mitral valve is located between these two chambers. It makes sure that the blood keeps moving forward through the heart. You may need surgery on your mitral valve if: The mitral valve is hardened (calcified). This prevents blood from moving forward through the valve. The mitral valve is too loose. Blood tends to flows backward when this occurs. Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery is done through several small cuts. Another type of operation, open mitral valve surgery requires a larger cut.

Each year, thousands of babies in the U.S. are born addicted to opiates. And the problem is getting worse.

The medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) helps to keep the kneecap centered along the front of the knee, so that it tracks well during knee movements. MPFL injuries typically occur during a forceful traumatic kneecap dislocation. This injury is most common among young, active females. Depending on the severity of an MPFL injury, treatment may involve surgical reconstruction, followed by physical therapy. Physical therapists design treatment programs for individuals with MPFL injuries to help them gently restore their knee strength and function.

Spontaneous pneumothorax is a life-threatening condition in patients with severe underlying lung disease; thus, tube thoracostomy is the procedure of choice in SSP. Pleurodesis decreases the risk of recurrence, as does thoracotomy or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) to excise the bullae

New 2017 Hypertension guidelines

Surgeon performs a dissection of the transverse process during spine surgery, explaining the benefits of including the AQUAMANTYS System from Salient Surgical Technologies during the procedure. The AQUAMANTYS System uses Salient's patented TRANSCOLLATION technology, which has been clinically shown to reduce blood loss and lower blood transfusion rates when used during surgery.

One of the various variations of trabeculectomy...

The AutoPulse® Resuscitation System provides high-quality automated CPR to victims of sudden cardiac arrest. Easy to use and battery operated, the AutoPulse squeezes the patient’s entire chest to improve blood flow to the heart and brain.1,2,3 The only device of its kind, the AutoPulse automatically sizes to the patient, and has shown improved outcomes in numerous clinical trials.4,5 Designed for Patient Movement and Transport When the AutoPulse’s stabilizing board is placed on a soft stretcher, rescuers can continue providing high-quality CPR down steep stairwells, around sharp corners, or even in a cramped elevator. Compared with manual CPR, the AutoPulse has been shown to reduce interruptions in compressions during transport by more than 85%.6 The AutoPulse is made for resuscitation on the move.

Hypertensive emergencies encompass a spectrum of clinical presentations in which uncontrolled blood pressures (BPs) lead to progressive or impending end-organ dysfunction. In these conditions, the BP should be lowered aggressively over minutes to hours. Neurologic end-organ damage due to uncontrolled BP may include hypertensive encephalopathy, cerebral vascular accident/cerebral infarction, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and/or intracranial hemorrhage.[1] Cardiovascular end-organ damage may include myocardial ischemia/infarction, acute left ventricular dysfunction, acute pulmonary edema, and/or aortic dissection. Other organ systems may also be affected by uncontrolled hypertension, which may lead to acute renal failure/insufficiency, retinopathy, eclampsia, or microangiopathic hemolytic anemia.[1] With the advent of antihypertensives, the incidence of hypertensive emergencies has declined from 7% to approximately 1% of patients with hypertension.[2] In addition, the 1-year survival rate associated with this condition has increased from only 20% (prior to 1950) to a survival rate of more than 90% with appropriate medical treatment

Stress-relaxation is a well-established mechanism for laboratory skin stretching, with limited clinical application in conventional suturing techniques due to the inherent, concomitant induction of ischemia, necrosis and subsequent suture failure. Skin defects that cannot be primarily closed are a common difficulty during reconstructive surgery. The TopClosure tension-relief system (TRS) is a novel device for wound closure closure, providing secured attachment to the skin through a wide area of attachment, in an adjustable manner, enabling primary closure of medium to large skin defects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the TopClosure TRS as a substitute for skin grafting and flaps for primary closure of large soft tissue defects by stress-relaxation. We present three demonstrative cases requiring resection of large to huge tumors customarily requiring closure by skin graft or flaps. TRS was applied during surgery serving as a tension-relief platform for tension sutures, to enable primary skin-defect closure by cycling of stress-relaxation, and following surgery as skin-secure system until complete wound closure. All skin defects ranging from 7 to 26 cm in width were manipulated by the TRS through stress-relaxation, without undermining of skin, enabling primary skin closure and eliminating the need for skin grafts and flaps. Immediate wound closure ranged 26 to 135 min. TRS was applied for 3 to 4 weeks. Complications were minimal and donor site morbidity was eliminated. Surgical time, hospital stay and costs were reduced and wound aesthetics were improved. In this case series we present a novel technology that enables the utilization of the viscoelastic properties of the skin to an extreme level, extending the limits of primary wound closure by the stress-relaxation principle. This is achieved via a simple device application that may aid immediate primary wound closure and downgrade the complexity of surgical procedures for a wide range of applications on a global scale.

This video demonstrates the management of a large abscess in the emergency department. This abscess probably began as a sebaceous cyst that became infected.

Could this be a viable alternative to open heart surgery?

Thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder. People with Thalassemia disease are not able to make enough hemoglobin, which causes severe anemia. Hemoglobin is found in red blood cells and carries oxygen to all parts of the body. When there is not enough hemoglobin in the red blood cells, oxygen cannot get to all parts of the body. Organs then become starved for oxygen and are unable to function properly.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) is a hereditary condition associated with three primary types of tumors: medullary thyroid cancer, parathyroid tumors, and pheochromocytoma. MEN2 is classified into three subtypes based on clinical features. MEN2A, which affects 60% to 90% of MEN2 families Medullary thyroid cancer: 98% to 100% with MEN2A are affected Pheochromocytoma, a typically benign (noncancerous) tumor of the adrenal glands: 50% with MEN2A affected Parathyroid adenoma (benign tumor) or hyperplasia, meaning increased size, of the parathyroid gland: 5% to 10% with MEN2A affected MEN2B, which affects 5% of MEN2 families Medullary thyroid cancer: 98% to 100% with MEN2B affected Pheochromocytoma: 50% with MEN2B affected Mucosal neuromas, which is a benign tumor of nerve tissue on the tongue, lips and throughout the gastrointestinal tract: 95% to 98% affected Digestive problems caused by disordered nerves in the gastrointestinal tract: 75% to 90% affected Muscle, joint, and spinal problems: 95% affected Typical facial features, including swollen lips and thick eyelids: 75% to 90% affected Familial medullary thyroid cancer (FMTC), which affects 5% to 35% of MEN2 families Medullary thyroid carcinoma only Sources: Gagel RF, Marx SJ. “Multiple endocrine neoplasia.” Williams Textbook of Endocrinology, Chapter 40, 11th ed., Philadelphia, 2008, and Eng C, Clayton D, et al. Grubbs EG, Gagel RF. My, How Things Have Changed in Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2A! J Clin Endocrinol Metab 100(7):2532-5, 7/2015. PMID: 26151398. What causes MEN2? MEN2 is a genetic condition. This means that the cancer risk and other features of MEN2 can be passed from generation to generation in a family. The gene associated with MEN2 is called RET. A mutation (alteration) in the RET gene gives a person an increased risk of developing medullary thyroid cancer and other tumors associated with MEN2.

An arteriovenous fistula is an abnormal connection or passageway between an artery and a vein. It may be congenital, surgically created for hemodialysis treatments, or acquired due to pathologic process, such as trauma or erosion of an arterial aneurysm.

Women Health Tips: Importance of getting a pap smear, breast exam, and mammogram

Alzheimer Disease Effects

Amazing Lung Inflation

A detailed description of the causes and diagnosis of pleural effusion. The presentation includes a discussion of the causes and exudative and transudative pleural effusions. Light's criteria and its modification are described along with definition and clinical implication of pleural fluid acidosis, glucose, adenosine deaminase, hemorrhagic pleural effusion and protein and LDH as well.