Saturday, December 3, 2011

BREAST REDUCTION

■Study: Age can be factor in reduction complications


Women age 50 or older have a higher risk of complications following breast reduction surgery, possibly due to age-related changes in hormone levels, according to a Johns Hopkins study. The infection rate for the 50 years and older group was 2.7 times that of the under-40 group, researchers found in a study to be published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. United Press International (11/21

RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

■Researchers use pig bladder to regenerate human tissue


Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are testing methods to regrow tissue and muscle from pig bladder cells. The procedure involves implanting an extracellular matrix that includes growth proteins into damaged areas to encourage the body to restore basic muscle tissue, tendons and nerves. "We want to resurrect fetal wound healing," said Stephen Badylak, director of the Center for Pre-Clinical Tissue Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Humans Invent (U.K.) (11/24)

■Plastic surgeons, engineers collaborate on nerve growth
A team of plastic surgery researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has worked with engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop techniques to treat damaged nerves using functional electric stimulation while lowering the chances of painful side effects. "This new device works by manipulating the concentration of charged ions surrounding the nerve. This could potentially mean reduced risk to surrounding nerves," said ASDS member and senior study author Dr. Samuel Lin. ScienceDaily (11/21)

RATING SITES ON THE WEB

■Objective ratings websites are tough to find, study says


More than 80% of rating websites that come up when people search under terms such as "doctor reports" or "hospital ratings" are based on anecdotal reports, according to a study in the American Journal of Medical Quality. Dr. Brian Sick of the University of Minnesota Primary Care Center said highly findable sites, such as RateMDs.com, Vitals.com and Yelp.com, are private and provide information based on patient experience, while sites that have quality information and comparable data are more difficult for consumers to find. American Medical News