Surgery

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Unless you've yet to come out of your winter hibernation, you've likely heard about the subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) suffered-just days after an emergency appendectomy-by Poison front man and "The Celebrity Apprentice" contestant Bret Michaels. But few media sources have gone past reporting the incident to explain how it could affect Michaels long-term (should he survive) and how it might have been prevented; Matt Mealiffe, MD, over at DNA and You, is an exception.

I thought I lost a patient a few weeks ago. No, he didn't die, but after his office visit, I had the distinct impression that he might not come back. My job is to take care of my patients' health. But sometimes I'm just the messenger.

Splenic artery aneurysm is the most common form of visceral artery aneurysm. Most present asymptomatically with incidental findings on CT or ultrasound which are diagnostic, although about 20% present with vague left upper quadrant abdominal pain. Treatment should be aimed at preserving splenic function whenever possible and endovascular treatments offer a less invasive option to patients than open surgical ligation or resection.

A Different Kind of Surgery

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For a patient diagnosed with several kinds of brain tumors, going "under the knife" has come to mean a completely different type of procedure than previously thought.

We assessed preoperative cardiac physiology using echocardiography in patients undergoing cardiac surgery to identify predictors of postoperative atrial fibrillation. Subjects with enlarged left atrial volume had a 5-fold greater risk of postoperative atrial fibrillation, independent of age and other risk factors, than those without enlarged left atrial volume. Left atrial volume appears to be a powerful tool to stratify patients according to risk before surgery and to effectively target preventive therapy.

Depression is a well-documented adverse effect of many surgical procedures, yet many surgeons fail to warn patients about their risks. What should surgeons do to monitor patients for depression after surgery?