Doctor marks 50 years for heart valve

Fifty years ago, a young Oregon doctor performed the first successful artificial heart valve surgery.  And some of the early patients of Dr. Albert Starr are still living proof of the durability of the tiny mechanical device he developed with engineer Lowell Edwards.  The Oregonian reports that one of his patients, 70-year-old Philip Bryson of Portland, was just 25 when he underwent surgery for a defective heart valve and got the relatively new device.  That was 45 years ago, and the valve is still ticking away, just fine.  The 84-year-old Starr finally retired from surgical practice in 2006.

Surgeon ‘stabbed junior doctor in head with needle

A surgeon made a string of sarcastic remarks to a junior doctor before he accidentally stabbed her in the forehead with a needle, a disciplinary panel has heard.

James Johnson, a former head of The British Medical Association, grew frustrated with colleagues during a heart operation at Warrington hospital.

The panel heard how the consultant accidentally stabbed first-year doctor Natalie Mason, who was assisting him, as he ‘furiously’ stitched up the patient.

Giving evidence, Dr Mason said the senior doctor vented his frustration, repeatedly referred to her as ‘sweetheart’ and at one point asked: “Didn’t you learn to sew at school?”

But she added that the stabbing was accidental, saying: “It was probably my own fault. My head was probably too close. I was about one or two foot away.”

The panel in Manchester heard how the surgeon had been frustrated that no senior doctors were available to assist him, and that there were delays in beginning the July 3, 2007, operation.

Nurse Janette Pennington claimed the doctor also reacted ‘aggressively’ after being denied water during the seven-hour op because of a policy barring food and drink from the theatre.

She said: “It is quite common to go without food or drink while scrubbed up for cases.”

Mr Johnson, 64, is also accused of ignoring warnings that a bulldog clip was still inside the female patient’s leg. An X-ray later revealed the instrument, and it was removed.

He faces a range of other charges regarding 14 patients between 2006 and 2008.

He is also accused of conducting amputations where less drastic procedures may have worked. Many of the alleged failings took place while he was travelling to London to attend BMA meetings, while also working at Warrington and Runcorn hospitals.

The six-week hearing at the General Medical Council offices is scheduled to last into November.

Doctors say you can treat dengue at home now

Amrita Tripathi , CNN-IBN 
ibnlive.in.com

 Delhi is officially the dengue capital of India with more than 2,500 cases registered already.

It’s the worst outbreak in a decade, but some basic steps can make life easier for you.

The outbreak isn't dying down any time soon. Many hospitals have converted rooms into dengue wards and yet there's a shortage of beds in the city.

The last thing you want to have deal with when you've been diagnosed with dengue is to rush from hospital to hospital in the city, looking for space in often overcrowded dengue wards.

The good news is doctors say in most cases, you can provide adequate care -- even at home.

That's because we aren't seeing the more deadly strain of the dengue virus this time. Remember every case isn't dengue haemorrhagic fever and may not require hospitalisation.

So here's what the doctor ordered, for you to take care of yourself at home.

Dr Bagai said: “At home take lot of oral liquids, maintain hydration, pass lot of urine. Medicine should be paracetamol if fever is high.”

“The worst thing is to self-medicate or treat pharmacist as doctor.

Don’t tale a combination fever medicines -- ibuprofen, nismesulide – as this can hamper the platelet production and preciptitae bleeding.”

Dr Bagai said: “The most important thing is if you have a high-grade fever, rash, vomiting and eye pain, visit your local doctor the same day. If you have fever -- low or moderate and lasting 48 hours – you should see a doctor.”

In kids, if there is profuse vomitting or diarrhoea, the fever is very high, there are rashes or impending bleeding and the platelet count is low, see a doctor immediately.

Also be ready to arrange for someone who's got a compatible blood group to volunteer in the event that you need a platelet transfusion.

Doctors' habits affect patient counseling

upi.com

A doctor who eats fast-food and hardly ever exercises is less apt to counsel patients to eat healthy and exercise, U.S. researchers found.

However, when comparing whether attending physicians who had completed their physician training to doctors still in training, both types of doctors reported low levels of confidence in their ability to counsel patients regarding healthy habits.

Lead author Dr. Michael Howe, chief medical resident at University of Michigan Health System, says a majority of attending physicians talked to patients about a healthy diet, compared to 36 percent of doctors still in internship or residency programs.

The study, scheduled to be published in the Oct. 1 issue of Preventive Cardiology, found for doctors who completed training, factors that increased their confidence in counseling depended on the doctors' own exercise time, being overweight and whether the doctors had adequate training in counseling patients.

Attending physicians reported eating better and exercising more than doctor trainees, whose diets were heavier in fast-food, the study says.

Doctors find worm swimming in man's eye

abclocal.go.com

A man in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is thankful to have his sight after doctors found a worm in his left eye.

John Matthews is an avid hunter and travels all over the globe. After returning from a recent trip, Matthews noticed his vision was blurry so he went to a doctor.

The doctor ran a bunch of tests before discovering a microscopic worm swimming around in the retina.

"I saw something wiggling and I asked if the worm was wiggling. The doc said, 'Yes.' I said, 'I can see it,'" Matthews said.

"The thing was just thrashing around violently," said Dr. James Folk of the University of Iowa Hospital.

Folk used a laser to remove it. There are only about 15 known cases like this in the world.

Folk suspects that Matthews ingested the worm while overseas, and the worm ate its way through his tissue all the way to his eye.

No doctor at hand, Rajdhani lady dies

The Teleraph

Burdwan, Sept. 22: An ailing woman died on board the Sealdah-bound Rajdhani Express after she complained of uneasiness but no doctor could be found for over an hour. Rahima Bibi, 45, who lived with her elder son Liakat Hossain, 28, in Barasat, was returning to Calcutta from Delhi, where she had gone to visit her younger son, Altaf, 26, an embroiderer. Altaf’s wife Parveena Bibi, 22, who was accompanying Rahima, said her mother-in-law had fever when she boarded the train yesterday. “After the train left Asansol station at 9.30am today, my mother-in-law complained of uneasiness. I informed the ticket examiner immediately,” Parveena said. The ticket examiner and one of the guards asked passengers over the public-address system of the train if there were any doctors among them. However, they did not get any response. When the train reached Burdwan after an hour, it made an unscheduled stop. A railway doctor examined Rahima and declared her dead. A senior railway official said no train in the country had provision for doctors on board. The official said Rahima was “already ill when she had boarded the train”. A Government Railway Police officer said the body had been sent for post-mortem. Molest slur on officer An Australian tourist on her way to north Bengal today accused a railway official from Bengal of molesting her in a near-empty AC-two-tier compartment of the Danapur-Kamakhya Express in Bihar. Malda resident Anup Kumar Roy, 50, a deputy chief executive engineer, had entered the compartment after the train left Katihar, 320km from Patna. Roy sat near her and asked the woman why she was travelling alone. After some time, he allegedly started misbehaving with the 41-year-old woman, who was travelling to New Jalpaiguri. The officer stopped only when she shouted for help, the Australian told police later. When the train reached Barsoi station after 45 minutes, the woman filed a written complaint with the Government Railway Police. Roy has been arrested. She then continued with her onward journey. Satyadev Pandey, the deputy superintendent of police (headquarters), railways, said: “Most of the passengers had got down at Katihar. Roy took advantage of the situation and misbehaved with the woman.”

Doctor preparing for upcoming allergy season

Published September 23, 2010


SEGUIN — Boxes of tissues will be flying off the shelves as cedar pollen counts begin to rise.

Dr. Brooks Mullen, of the Seguin Ear Nose and Throat Clinic, said the symptoms of allergies can often be mistaken for those of the common cold.

“Allergies and the common cold are similar. People confuse an upper respiratory virus with allergies,” he said. “Most people I see think they have allergies when they actually have a cold.”

Common symptoms of an allergic attack can include itchy watery eyes, congestion and nose and face pressure.

The first step to fighting an allergic reaction is knowing what your body is fighting against, Mullen said.

“It is important to identify people with seasonal or perennial allergies because there are so many ways to treat them,” he said. “First we distinguish with a brief medical exam. If we could identify ahead of time we can decrease the amount of productivity that is lost.”

Once the antigen has been recognized, the doctor can create a plan of attack.

“There is preemptive therapy with steroid treatments also there are dozens of antihistamines that can be used to combat symptoms,” he said. “Our main approach is to educate about allergies and create a regiment of medication that works to reduce allergies.”

Mullen’s staff also offers an alternative treatment.

“We have allergy therapy. The goal of allergy therapy is to keep the patient comfortable,” he said. “They are low-dose shots of extracts of the allergens that you are allergic to and it helps to build the antibodies that fight the allergens.”

While it may help to fight the allergies, it is not a cure-all, Mullen said.

“Over a period of 1-3 years it is possible to build enough antibodies that are permanent but that is not everybody,” he said.

Allergens have no age limit, Mullen said.

“Youth and adults alike have allergies and we see them and everybody in between,” he said. “Symptoms typically will start during childhood.”

Location can play a part in whether a person develops a sensitivity to an antigen.

“Sometimes they will start in adulthood when a person moves to a different geographic location and they will start to manifest symptoms,” he said. “It is also possible to develop allergies in adulthood without changing geographic locations, but that is not very common.”

Mullen has been named for the last three years one of Consumer Research Council of America’s top physicians.

The Seguin Ear Nose and Throat Clinic has been serving the community for more than 20 years and is located at 908 E Court St No. 2.