Cardiac imaging detects serious residual septal defects during child open heart surgery

19-Dec-2016 - Using cardiac imaging during heart surgery can detect serious residual holes in the heart that may occur when surgeons repair a child's heart defect, and offers surgeons the opportunity to close those holes during the same operation. Pediatric cardiology experts say using this tool, called ...

New findings about stem cells in the brain of patients with epilepsy

19-Dec-2016 - Neural stem cells have been found in epileptic brain tissue—outside the regions of the brain where they normally reside. In a group of patients who underwent surgery for epilepsy, over half had stem cells where healthy individuals do not have them, according to a study from Sahlgrenska Academy. ...

Virtual Reality in Medicine: New Opportunities for Diagnostics and Surgical Planning

08-Dec-2016 - Before an operation, surgeons have to obtain the most precise image possible of the anatomical structures of the part of the body undergoing surgery. University of Basel researchers have now developed a technology that uses computed tomography data to generate a three-dimensional image in real ...

Potential new tool to aid breast cancer surgery

01-Dec-2016 - University of Adelaide researchers have developed an s that distinguishes breast cancer tissue from normal tissue - potentially allowing surgeons to be much more precise when removing breast cancer. The device could help prevent follow-up surgery, currently needed for 15-20% of breast cancer ...

Mayo Clinic researchers map prostate cancer relapse

By using C-11 choline PET and MRI

05-Oct-2016 - A team of Mayo Clinic researchers has, for the first time, successfully mapped patterns of prostate cancer recurrence, following surgery. Using C-11 choline PET imaging and multiparametric MRI, researchers found an anatomically diverse pattern of recurrence, which may help optimize treatment of ...

When the brain is high and dry

22-Sep-2016 - Previously, the cause of the illness was often unknown. Neurosurgeons in Bern have now simultaneously found the cause of spontaneous intracranial hypotension and the solution. Fluid protects our brains and spinal cords. If it is lost and can no longer be reproduced, the brain is literally high ...

Researchers developing GPS for rectal cancer surgery

27-May-2016 - Researchers estimate that up to 10,000 rectal cancer patients undergo unnecessary surgery, and more than 25,000 suffer from pelvic sepsis, wound infection and permanent impairments from aggressive surgery in the United States annually. That's because it's difficult to reliably tell which patients ...

Chemo, radiation, surgery combo boosts survival for pancreatic cancer patients

26-May-2016 - In roughly one-third of pancreatic cancer patients, tumors have grown around the pancreas to encompass critical blood vessels. Conventional wisdom has long held that surgery to remove the tumors is rarely an option, and life expectancies are usually measured in months. Mayo Clinic, teaming ...

Laser treatment may boost effectiveness of brain tumor drugs

26-Feb-2016 - The human brain has a remarkable defense system that filters bacteria and chemicals. For brain tumor patients, the barrier works almost too well by blocking most chemotherapy drugs. Now, a team led by a University of Florida Health researcher has found that a laser system already used to kill ...

Regrowing functional joints in frogs

18-Jan-2016 - In a first, Japanese researchers have regenerated functional joints in frogs by activating a newly-found "reintegration" mechanism. Further understanding of this process may help transplanted tissues integrate with the original organs and limbs after surgical removal or amputation. "We expect ...