December 30th, 2011 by RamonaBatesMD in Medblogger Shout Outs, Medical Art
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The Boerewors Emergency Medicine Chronicles has a great post which I think is worth your time: On alzheimer’s
……..…I think it is beautifully written and provides a real window into the difficulty of loving someone who has this disease.
“The thing with this sentence, this arrest of dementia, is that its greatest victims aren’t those who have it. That’s not to say that the diagnosis isn’t dreadful for the recipient, but there is a peculiar and particular hammering sadness for those that love and care for an Alzheimer’s spouse or parent.
It is a wearying and lonely obligation, but with the added cruelty that the person you’re looking after vanishes, escapes before your eyes. In the end, you’re caring for the case that someone came in………”
………………………………….
Check out this post from @JordanGrumet who blogs at In My Humble Opinion: From Birth To Death Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
December 21st, 2011 by RamonaBatesMD in Research
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There is an interesting article in the current edition of the Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Journal (December 2011). The focus of the article is a small subset of renal patients who need kidney transplants but whose abdominal panniculus excludes them due. A significant panniculus creates an infrapannicular area prone to increased moisture, skin maceration, and elevated bacterial counts, predisposing the patient to postoperative wound infections, necrosis, and dehiscence. Not good for anyone, but really not for someone on immunosuppression.
The article discusses the use of abdominal panniculectomy in these patients in preparation for the transplant. Nine patients, 3 men and 6 women, with a mean age of 54.5 years and a mean BMI 28.3 are the focus of the article. The focus is not Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
December 17th, 2011 by RamonaBatesMD in Opinion, Research
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There were two articles regarding deep venous thrombosis prevention in the November 2011 issue of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal. Both are worth reading. I have supplied the full references below with links.
From the second article:
Between 1 and 7 percent of surgeons have personally experienced a venous thromboembolism–related patient death after high-risk plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons’ self-reported practice patterns indicate a disparity between clinical understanding and clinical practice. The majority of surgeons can identify patients at high risk for postoperative venous thromboembolism. However, examination of their self-reported practice patterns indicates that a substantial proportion of surgeons (>50 percent) provide inadequate levels of venous thromboembolism prophylaxis for high-risk patients. In addition, surgeons recognize modifiable venous thromboembolism risk factors (such as oral contraceptive use) but may fail to modify those factors before surgery.
“Never event” is a poor descriptor for venous thromboembolism, as it implies that Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
November 28th, 2011 by RamonaBatesMD in Research
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This article (full reference below) on the additional benefits an individual gains from having a reduction mammoplasty (RM) has been published online ahead of print. The authors performed a systemic review of the literature focusing on functional outcomes after RM with regard to physical and psychological symptom improvement.
The authors performed a systematic review of the English literature using PUBMED for the period between 1977 to 2010. Studies were chosen that addressed the physical and psychological benefits of RM using a validated questionnaire.
The authors note that nearly eighty thousand breast reductions were performed in 2009. For insurance coverage in the United States a woman seeking breast reduction must have complaints of physical symptoms (i.e., Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
November 22nd, 2011 by RamonaBatesMD in True Stories
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A month ago during a storm with significant straight line winds we had a tree near the house loss it’s top half.
Upon inspection, it turned out the pine tree was infested with pine beetles. We were encouraged to burn the debris to help protect the other trees from the beetles.
This past week my husband cut up the felled tree (we still need to get a tree cutter out to cut down the 2/3s of the tree still standing) and carried it to an area of the front property. Yesterday morning after a light rain, he decided it was a good time to set it afire and burn it. Note the red container under the tree to the left. It contains gasoline. [Even though he told me he wouldn’t use an accelerant.] He did run a water hose down from the house which is barely visible in the forefront of the photo.
Medscape has a really nice article with video by Kenneth L. Silverstein, MD; Stephanie Josephon — Surgical Fires: How They Start and How to Prevent Them: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
