Virtual Surgery Coming Soon?

Inducing hypothermia causes body to shut down

(NEWSER) - Surgeons are about to begin human testing on a bold new technique for treating trauma patients in which they intentionally induce extreme hypothermia, the Daily Telegraph reports. By injecting cold saline solution into the patient’s blood, they can all but shut down the body, reducing brain and organ damage and giving doctors more time to operate. More»

Fishy practice highlights challenge of medical regulation

(NEWSER) - As Congress wrestles with health-care reform, studies show it’s tough to regulate the status quo: Doctors’ “self-referrals” for medical imaging have continued despite efforts to legislate against them, the Washington Post reports. Doctors who own the equipment that scans patients stand to make more cash—and tend to order a lot more scans, costing Americans billions in taxes and insurance premiums. More»

Less-painful procedure could pave the way to more donations

(NEWSER) - Doctors in Maryland removed a kidney from a donor through the vagina in what they believe to be the first operation of its kind, the Baltimore Examiner reports. The procedure reduced the 48-year-old donor’s pain and recovery time compared with more traditional methods. “We are all about trying to reduce the disincentives to donation,” said one of the Johns Hopkins University doctors. More»

Phone helps save Congolese teen

(NEWSER) - A volunteer surgeon in a Congolese war zone followed texted instructions to perform an amputation that saved a 16-year-old boy's life. The teen's badly injured and infected arm required that his collar bone and shoulder blade be immediately removed, but Dr. David Nott had never conducted such a procedure. He contacted a British colleague back home via phone text, "and he texted back step-by-step instructions," the Guardian reports. More»

(NEWSER) - The precise application of electricity to certain areas of the brain—the same principles a pacemaker uses for the heart—is showing promise for people with an array of illnesses such as Parkinson's, severe depression, epilepsy, and Alzheimer's, the Chicago Tribune reports. The treatment, called deep brain stimulation, remains in the preliminary stages, but its potential grows as researchers develop ever-more detailed maps of the brain and its circuitry. More»