Right now, one in 12 children and adolescents in the US are severely obese. If that isn’t startling enough, consider this: among 12-to-15-year-olds, that number jumps to one in 10 — and among 16-to-19-year-olds, it is one in seven. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the best hope for many of these youths… Read More »
I find myself shaking my head in disbelief when I read that the American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending gastric bypasses in young children. I’m gobsmacked because weight loss surgery is normally the last resort for severely obese adults who have failed to control their weight over decades and had lots of failed attempts at… Read More »
The findings of a large federal study on bypass surgeries and stents call into question the medical care provided to tens of thousands of heart disease patients with blocked coronary arteries, scientists reported at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association on Saturday. The new study found that patients who received drug therapy alone… Read More »
Cannabis users need 220% more anesthesia to undergo surgery, study finds The report comes from a small study of 250 surgery patients in Colorado Marijuana has been legal medically and recreationally in Colorado since 2012 The researchers found a need for more anesthesia in patients who regularly used marijuana By Mia De Graaf Health Editor… Read More »
(Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for UNICEF) Former NBA star Dikembe Mutombo is mourning the death of the 8-year-old African boy that he flew to the United States earlier this month for surgery to remove a tumor. The child, Matadi Sela Petit of Kinshasa, Congo, died after suffering a “rare and unpredictable genetic reaction to… Read More »
The Virginia Institute of Robotic Surgery at Reston (Va.) Hospital Center is implementing a new version of the Mazor X imaging system for robotic-assisted spine surgery. The hospital says it is the first facility worldwide to use the upgraded version, called the Mazor XStealth Edition System. Christopher Good, MD, performed the first spine fusion using… Read More »
This is a Kaiser Health News story. Danette Lake thought surgery would relieve the pain in her knees. The arthritis pain began as a dull ache in her early 40s, brought on largely by the pressure of unwanted weight. Lake managed to lose 200 pounds through dieting and exercise, but the pain in her knees… Read More »