Surgical/Operations News

Balloon used to fix broken back

A minimally-invasive procedure reduces disability and back pain for people with acute vertebral fractures, according to researchers.

Leeches save surfer's hand

Surgeons who used leeches to reattach the severed hand of an Australian surfer mauled by a great white shark have hailed the operation as a "minor miracle".

Tumour like a football

An Indian woman has had a tumour as big as a football removed from the side of her face, 25 years after it first developed.

Kidney removed through vagina

In what is believed to be a world-first, a kidney from a female donor was removed through her vagina by surgeons.

Surgical checklist can save lives

Potentially life-threatening complications from surgery can be cut by about a third if hospitals introduce simple surgical checklists during each operation, the WHO said.

Doc performs amputation via sms

A British doctor performed a life-saving operation on a teenage boy in the DRC by following instructions for the complicated surgery via text message from a colleague in London.

Robodoc: surgeon of the future

A mechanical snake that can enter the body through natural orifices to perform operations is one futuristic device researchers believe will transform surgical techniques.

Docs leave spatula in patient

A gynaecologist and two trainee doctors in Greece were handed suspended prison sentences after forgetting a 22-centimetre medical spatula in a patient's abdomen.

Full arm transplant is a success

The world's only recipient of two full arms in a transplant described the success of the procedure and the feeling of being whole again as "indescribable".

Sponge count off after surgery

The routine count of sponges and instruments used and retrieved during surgery comes up with a discrepancy in one in eight operations, investigators report.