May 7th, 2011 by RamonaBatesMD in Health Tips
Tags: Belly Fat, Fat Distribution, Liposuction, NYT, Plastic Surgery
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Here’s the tweet I posted Sunday evening:
I’ve told pts this for years now>>> Liposuction Study Finds That Lost Fat Returns – http://nyti.ms/kheltN
The New York Times article reports on a liposuction study published in the April issue of the journal Obesity (full reference below). The NY Times article uses this photo as graphic illustration
and a quote from a plastic surgeon who says he is surprised.
Dr. Felmont Eaves III, a plastic surgeon in Charlotte, N.C., and president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, said the study was “very well done,” and the results were surprising. He said he would mention it to his patients in the context of other information on liposuction.
I have told my patients for years to consider the fat cells in their body as drawers or storage bins. If I take away some of the drawers and they continue to take in “fat” that needs to be stored, the body will put it somewhere. If there are now fewer drawer options in the saddlebag or abdominal region, then where will it go? Most likely the upper body, etc. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
May 7th, 2011 by DavedeBronkart in Health Tips, Opinion
Tags: Booklets, Brochures, Cardiology, CHF, Empowerment, ePatients, Excellence, Griffin Hospital, Patient Education, Writing
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A vital aspect of participatory medicine is helping patients learn how to participate. This week I saw a great example of someone who’s doing it right. Here’s the story, including the patient aid for download.
We hear a lot about “patient-centered”: patient-centered care, patient-centered thinking, everything. Frankly, a lot of it strikes me as patient-centered paternalism: people mean well, but patients sense that the thinking didn’t happen while standing in patients’ shoes, because the advice, policies, and publications just don’t hit home. It’s like somebody guessed what you want, instead of knowing (because they’re like you).
A couple of years ago I learned about Planetree, a terrific, small organization in Connecticut that’s been thinking from the patient’s point of view for thirty three years. (Yes, since 1978. Why are they not better known??)
This week I attended a live webcast at a “Planetree designated” hospital, Griffin Hospital, in Derby CT, produced by HealthLeaders Media. When somebody’s truly patient centered, you rarely hear a puzzled “Do people really need that?” or “Isn’t this good enough?”, because they start with what patients want. (See founders’ story at bottom.)
A great example is this booklet about CHF (congestive heart failure), which Griffin Hospital was kind enough to share. (Click the image to download the entire PDF, (1.7MB).) In my day job I did a bit of instructional development, so I can appreciate how well this was done: the “to-do” items are clearly presented, with NO extraneous explanation, and top-class use of icons and images. It’s all essential information, clearly presented, and nothing else. It’s what you need to do to succeed as a patient. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at e-Patients.net*
May 6th, 2011 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Health Tips
Tags: Ablation, Advice, AF Ablation, Athletes, Atrial Fibrillation, Cardiac Electrophysiology, Cardiology, Decisions
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The number of emails that come from fellow cyclists (and endurance athletes) with heart rhythm issues amazes me. I am more convinced than ever that our “hobby” predisposes us to electrical issues like atrial fibrillation (AF)—that the science is right.
Obviously, my pedaling “habit” creates an exposure bias. I hear from many of you because we cyclists understand each other. Like you, I consider not competing a lousy treatment option.
As a bike racer, I know things: that prancing on an elliptical trainer at a health club doesn’t cut it, and, that spin classes may look hard, but do not come close to simulating real competition. I know the extent of the inflammation required to close that gap, to avoid getting dropped when one of the local Cancellara-types have you in the gutter in a cross-wind, or the worst one of all, to turn yourself inside out to stay with a group of climbers over the crest of a seemingly endless hill—”ten more pedal strokes and I’m out”…Then ten turns to 20, then 40, and maybe you hang, and maybe not. The common denominator of all this: suffering.
It’s little wonder that we get AF.
With that as a backdrop, my goal for this post is to provide a modest amount of insight to the most common question asked by athletes with AF.
“Should I have an ablation, or not.”
Though my two episodes of heart chaos amount to only a mild case of AF, I think it’s fair to say that personal experience with a problem helps a doctor better understand your choice. I’ve thought to myself, on more than one occasion, what would I do if the watt-sucking irregularity persisted? Would I have an ablation; would I live with it; would I stop drinking so much coffee? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
May 5th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Health Tips
Tags: Balloon Dilatation, Blocked Ears, Ear, Ear Popping, ENT, Eustachian Tube, Otolaryngology
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Eustachian tube dysfunction is a phenomenon whereby a person is unable to pop their ears to relieve symptoms of ear pressure, clogging, or fullness. It is much akin to the ear pressure a person experiences when flying, but at ground level. Traditionally, treatment of this condition involved medications like steroid nasal sprays and prednisone along with active valsalva. Once medical treatment has failed, ear tube placement has been the step of last resort.
However, a promising new treatment called eustachian tube balloon dilation has been described in March 2011 to address eustachian tube dysfunction at the source surgically rather than indirectly with tube placement across the eardrum. In essence, a balloon is inserted into the eustachian tube and than inflated thereby opening it up (the balloon is “popping” the ear for you). The balloon is than deflated and removed. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
May 4th, 2011 by Medgadget in Health Tips, News
Tags: Apps, Flu, FluPhone, Infectious Disease, Influenza, Mobile Devices, Mobile Phones, Super Spreaders, Trackers
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“Are you a super-spreader?” That’s the catchphrase for a new study out of the University of Cambridge. However, if you answered “yes”, you may want to stay home and cover your mouth, because the study was designed to track the spread of influenza using cellular phone technology.
The study (and accompanying app) is called FluPhone, and it uses cell phones to collect information on social encounters within the study sample of participants in Cambridge. A phone’s Bluetooth antenna detects encounters with other participants and also records the proximity to each other. The built-in GPS chip tracks each user’s location, but this feature was disabled due to recent ethical concerns. Finally, the phone’s 3G/GPRS antenna sends all the proximity data automatically back to researchers for analysis. Other features include the ability to program a specific disease model by introducing a virtual “pathogen” which can be transmitted via Bluetooth when at least two users are near each other.
In addition to revealing useful data about the spread of disease and how to minimize its effects, the study could also be helpful for creating more effective public health messages.
More from the University of Cambridge: FluPhone: disease tracking by app…
Research project page…
FluPhone participant website…
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
