Leaky malady Oct 14, 2008
Vaginal fistulas, or abnormal holes in the female reproductive system, though not life-threatening, can result in profound psychological trauma ... Fistulas are usually the result of injury or surgery and may occur in many parts of the body: craniosinus (between the space inside the skull and a nasal sinus); faecal or anal (faeces is discharged through an opening other than the anus); umbilical (connection between the navel and gut); pulmonary arteriovenous (in a lung, the pulmonary artery and... (The Star Online, Malaysia)
Urologists report success using robot-assisted surgery for urinary abnormality Aug 19, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Ashok Hemal, M.D., a urologic surgeon from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and colleagues have reported success using robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery to repair abnormal openings between the bladder and vagina known as fistulas ... "The results were outstanding and suggest the robot-assisted surgery is an attractive option for fistulas that would normally require abdominal surgery." ... The women in the report had fistulas located in the supratrigonal... (EurekAlert!)
Angiotech receives CE Mark approval of HemoStream(TM) Chronic Dialysis Catheter Aug 12, 2008
HemoStream may also be used as a temporary access while more permanent options mature or become ready for use, such as surgically created AV fistulas. About Rex Medical, LP Rex Medical, LP, based in Conshohocken, PA, is a privately held medical device company specializing in developing, manufacturing and marketing of minimally invasive medical devices targeted towards the cardiovascular, venous access, endosurgery and oncology markets. (Canada Newswire)
Burkina Faso: Fistula in Sahel Region Highlighted Jul 29, 2008
Last year, government health facilities repaired just 14 fistulas. Relevant Links. (allAfrica.com)
ASGE issues guidelines on the role of endoscopy in the bariatric surgery patient Jul 26, 2008
Endoscopy in the postoperative patient may be used to evaluate and treat a variety of conditions including: symptoms of nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain; marginal ulcers; gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD); gastric leaks and gastrogastric fistulas; stenosis (abnormal narrowing of the stomach or intestine); dumping syndrome (rapid emptying from the stomach into the small bowel); bezoars (food that forms into a hard mass); band erosion or slippage; bleeding and anemia; diarrhea and... (EurekAlert!)
Ultrasonic Instruments Associated With Improved Outcomes For Some Surgical Procedures Jun 20, 2008
Other complications that occurred less frequently in patients undergoing surgery with ultrasonic instruments included blood clots, bowel leaks, fistulas (unintentional connections between adjacent tissues or structures), blocked blood vessels and injuries to nerves, organs and tissues. "Overall, ultrasonic surgical instrumentation use seems to be associated with fewer complications across all studies that report these outcomes; however, data are sparse," the authors write. (Science Daily)
Liberia: Living With Fistula May 16, 2008
Of 600 rape victims recently interviewed by a Liberian non-governmental organisation, 90 percent of the women were found to be suffering from fistulas - a vaginal tear which results in loss of bladder control and social stigmatisation ... The unit was created in February 2007 after the UN sponsored a survey which identified 351 women suffering from fistulas in rural Liberia. (allAfrica.com)
Blood-Thinner No Help for Dialysis Treatment May 15, 2008
But adding the clot-preventing drug did not increase the number of fistulas, as they are called, that could be used for artificial kidney treatment over the long run, the study authors reported ... But many fistulas never mature enough to allow dialysis ... "There has been an increased emphasis on trying to create fistulas in as many patients as possible," she said. (MEDLINEplus)
Organ donation gives the gift of life May 12, 2008
"They started getting me ready, they put in fistulas so I could get ready for dialysis because they didn't know exactly when I'd ever get another kidney.". A fistula is a small tube that is implanted between an artery and a vein to create an access point for kidney dialysis. (Bismarck Tribune, ND)
New drug approved to treat Crohn's disease Apr 23, 2008
It also can lead to abnormal connections (fistulas) leading from the intestine to the skin or internal organs. Cimzia works to reduce the signs and symptoms of Crohn's, but it also carries risks that will require patients on it to be closely monitored by their physicians or other health care professionals, FDA warned. (Xinhuanet, China)
Australia's Mother Teresa Mar 29, 2008
The injuries, called fistulas, are caused when a baby's head becomes stuck in the birth canal, sometimes for up to five days ... Women with fistulas are shunned by their husbands and families because of their smell, and are often forced to live in small huts away from others ... " The West's last dedicated fistula hospital closed its doors due to lack of need in New York in 1895. In Sweden, the government put a midwife in every town in 1876 and halved the maternal death rate within six months.... (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Nfocus Neuromedical Announces Acquisition of StarFire Medical Mar 7, 2008
The DSB is a silicone balloon which is used to treat neurovascular fistulas and aneurysms through endovascular (less-invasive catheter) techniques. The DSB can be navigated to the site of pathology, inflated and detached to produce a permanent embolization for symptomatic carotid-cavernous fistulas and for aneurysm treatment through parent vessel occlusion ... Current and future product programs are aimed at rapid treatment of aneurysms and fistulas in the brain. (PR Newswire)
Asian Women At Risk For Arterial Defect, Study Suggests Feb 12, 2008
A group of researchers in the Netherlands discovered that many people with congenital aneurismal fistulas share traits that may help doctors prevent attacks by identifying and treating patients at risk ... Published cases revealed that the left coronary artery is the most common origin of coronary artery fistulas ... The authors also learned from the literature that 19 percent to 26 percent of these fistulas have aneurysms, or weakening in the blood vessel wall. (Science Daily)
Practitioners of FGM to be jailed Jan 18, 2008
Other effects are deaths as a result of shock and bleeding, infections, fistulas, and damage to the baby's brain due to prolonged and difficult labour. Mrs Florence Ali, President of the Ghanaian Association for Women Welfare (GAWW), organizers of the workshop, said the practice took place in secluded areas in the Upper East, Upper West, Northern and Brong Ahafo and Volta Regions and that migrants from countries like Benin, Nigeria, Togo, Cote d'Ivoire and Niger practice FGM in Ghana. (Ghana Web, Ghana)
Putting Teeth Into Pet Health Care Jan 9, 2008
Oro-Nasal Fistulas: These are non-healing "tracks" that open up between the mouth and nose. Often, the dog will have sneezing fits that lead to a bleeding nose. (CBS News)
Rape a 'Weapon of War' Dec 26, 2007
SFVS - which arranges counseling, morning after pills and operations on injuries like fistulas, rips in the vaginal wall caused by rape - has helped thousands of rape victims including a ten-month old baby. Most are rural dwellers, attacked while they are working in the fields or fetching water but young boys have also fallen victim to the violence, with Masika's group documenting nearly 40 boys raped this year in North Kivu. (allAfrica.com)
Niger: Botched Birth Survivors Battle Fistula Dec 22, 2007
Ninety percent of the 380 women Dimol has treated for fistulas never finished school, and cannot read or write. Many of the other cases were caused by an obstructed labour which could have been prevented had the woman been given adequate and timely medical attention. (allAfrica.com)
Clinical studies show REMICADE reduces incidence of bowel surgeries in ulcerative colitis patients Oct 16, 2007
REMICADE is also indicated for reducing the number of draining enterocutaneous and rectovaginal fistulas and maintaining fistula closure in adult patients with fistulizing CD. In December 2004, REMICADE was approved for reducing signs and symptoms in patients with active AS. In May 2005, REMICADE was approved for reducing signs and symptoms of active arthritis in patients with PsA. Additionally, in September 2005, REMICADE was approved for reducing signs and symptoms, achieving clinical... (EurekAlert!)
Burkina Faso: Innovation And Education Needed to Head Off Water War Sep 15, 2007
In one village close to the border with Nigeria, women with fistulas were stopped from using water points because it was thought they would spread infection. In another village in the far north of the country, deep inside the desert, access to water points is being limited according to peoples' religion. (allAfrica.com)
US Data Highlight Encouraging Trends, 'Staggering' Costs Of End-stage Renal Disease Aug 14, 2007
"For example, improvements in survival expectations and increased use of fistulas for hemodialysis represent progress. In contrast, ever-increasing numbers of new patients with ESRD tend to suggest that preventive care and health policy practices have been less than optimal." ... The increased use of fistulas for dialysis access reduces problems associated with the use of grafts or catheters. (Science Daily)
Incontinence African scourge (Andy Zieminski) Jun 17, 2007
Carolyn B. Maloney, New York Democrat, said in a statement Friday, delivered in conjunction with a press conference presenting the new film "A Walk to Beautiful." The film, released by Engel Entertainment, chronicles the struggle of five Ethiopian girls and women with obstetric fistulas and each one's journey to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, where they receive successful corrective surgery that costs as little as $300. One of the girls, a 17-year-old named Yenenesh, was pregnant at 13 and in... (Washington Times)
Remicade data in ankylosing spondylitis show improvement in spinal mobility and spinal inflammation Jun 15, 2007
REMICADE is also indicated for reducing the number of draining enterocutaneous and rectovaginal fistulas and maintaining fistula closure in patients with fistulizing CD. In December 2004, REMICADE was approved for reducing signs and symptoms in patients with active AS. In May 2005, REMICADE was approved for reducing signs and symptoms of active arthritis in patients with PsA. Additionally, in September 2005, REMICADE was approved for reducing signs and symptoms, achieving clinical remission and... (EurekAlert!)
New Prevention, Treatment Methods For Patients With Painful Bowel Inflammation May 24, 2007
Complex anal fistulas, abnormal connections between the anal canal and the skin, is a chronic and highly debilitating condition affecting primarily young people and seriously compromising their quality of life. Management of complex fistulas is a challenge due to the limitations of current treatments, such as surgery and biological therapies, which are not satisfactory ... This study found that the proportion of patients whose fistulas were healed was significantly higher with Cx401 (71%) than... (Science Daily)
SOS Hospital treating casualties of Mogadishu fighting Apr 25, 2007
Babies have been born there, sick children have been made well, many little ones have been vaccinated against common diseases and mothers and children have benefited from an emergency feeding programme run in cooperation with the EU. The surgical facilities have been used not only to deliver babies but also to rectify fistulas in young mothers, whose lives have been positively changed as a result of the surgery. It was truly a life saving place for many women and children (at no cost to them)... (AlertNet)
Full Frame shows a world of realities Apr 13, 2007
Lumo is taken to a hospital run by HEAL Africa in the town of Goma, near the border with Rwanda, where she and other patients are operated on and allowed to heal from their fistulas, which make the women incontinent. The filmmakers tell this story almost entirely through the daily dialogue of the patients, and a counselor's interview with Lumo, who has to undergo several unsuccessful surgeries before finally being healed. (Herald Sun)
Nfocus Neuromedical Inc. Raises Over $20 Million in Series B Financing Apr 4, 2007
Current and future product programs are aimed at rapid treatment of aneurysms and fistulas in the brain. Nfocus evolved from the recent merger between CardioVasc Inc. and Acta Vascular Systems Inc., two Silicon Valley start-ups in the field of interventional neuroradiology. (PR Newswire)
CardioVasc Acquires Acta Vascular Systems, Becomes Nfocus Neuromedical, Inc. Apr 4, 2007
For more information about brain aneurysms or hemorrhagic stroke see: and About Acta Vascular Systems, Inc. Acta Vascular is a privately held Silicon Valley start-up company founded by Thomas Ross in 2004 to bring established neurovascular technology from Europe to the US. The company's Goldvalve Detachable Balloon was one of the first endovascular treatment devices developed for fistulas, aneurysms and related conditions. Additional information about Acta Vascular is available at About... (PR Newswire)
Degrees in homeopathy slated as unscientific Mar 29, 2007
Alternative therapies are now a degree subject at some British universities. But do they deserve these credentials. (Nature News Service)
Bowel Disorders: IBS and IBD Mar 17, 2007
Lesions in Crohn s disease involve the presence of strictures, abscesses, and fistulas. Signs and symptoms in Irritable Bowel Syndrome. (Suite101.com)
Humira Approved for Crohn's Disease Mar 1, 2007
It may also cause unusual connections between the intestines and skin called fistulas. Most people with the disease are diagnosed between ages 15 and 35. (MEDLINEplus)
FDA approves new treatment for crohn's disease Feb 28, 2007
Crohn's disease is a chronic, incurable, inflammatory bowel disease that causes diarrhea, cramping and abdominal pain, and in some cases, abnormal connections (fistulas) leading from the intestine to the skin. "Humira has been shown to reduce signs and symptoms, and to induce and maintain clinical remission of Crohn's disease in patients who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy, and in those patients who did not benefit from treatment, or who were intolerant to previous... (SpiritIndia)
