March 11th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Research
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In the January issue of the Archives of Dermatology, there is a short article (full reference below) in which the authors have attempted to use in vitro lab techniques to improve in vivo techniques for tattoo removal.
Fragmentation of the tattoo particles by the laser leads to small pigment particles, unknown decomposition products, and newly generated chemical compounds that may then be removed from the skin by means of the lymphatic system, leading to a noticeable lightening of a colored tattoo. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
March 5th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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I’d like to recommend this article (full reference below) to anyone involved in the care of palliative care patients, as well as anyone who does wound care. It is a thoughtful and well written consensus paper from the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel.
The article begins by pointing out the difference in goals between palliative care patients and the usual patients with pressure ulcers (PrU).
Usual care of a PrU is designed to promote healing; however, healing or closing the ulcer in patients receiving palliative care is often improbable. Therefore, the focus of care is better directed to reduce or eliminate pain, odor, and infection and allow for an environment that can promote ulcer closure, as well as improve self-image to help prevent social isolation.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
February 18th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Book Reviews
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I received a free copy of the book, Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted by Gerald Imber, MD, a week ago. I have enjoyed reading it. The book is the biography of Dr Halsted, but also gives you a glimpse into the life of many other great medical figures: William Osler, William Henry Welch, Harvey Cushing, etc. (photo credit)
In many ways it is a history of medicine/surgery in America. Halsted was very influential in bringing aseptic techniques to surgery and introduced the residency training system. He used his knowledge of anatomy to improve surgical technique. He performed the first successful hernia repair and radical mastectomy for breast cancer.
Early in his career Halsted became addicted to cocaine while experimenting with the drug for use as a local anesthetic. Treatment at the time, involved substituting morphine for cocaine. Halsted spent 40 years of his life struggling with his addiction to both cocaine and morphine. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
February 11th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, True Stories
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“Mrs. C**, how are you doing?”
She left the wheel chair in the waiting room, smiling “I’ll show you.”
She dances nimbly down the hallway to the exam room, having lost her forty pound apron a week ago. Her laughter is infectious.
“Let’s get rid of these drains.”
**Not her real name.
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
February 4th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research
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The umbilicus is perhaps the only scar that all of us want. The umbilicus forms after birth as a result of the placental cord being transected as the infant is “detached” from his/her mother. As the stump of the cord necroses, the scab falls away as the base heals leaving a scar: the umbilicus.
The umbilicus has been described as a depressed scar surrounded by a natural skin fold that measures 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter and lies anatomically within the midline at the level of superior iliac crest.
Neoumbilicoplasty in simple terms is the creation or reconstruction of a new umbilicus to replace the missing or deformed umbilicus. (absence of defined umbilicus, photo credit) Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
