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A robotic approach to artificial urinary sphincter placement
Author: Jessica Cerretani
Blended diets offer benefits for children with feeding tubes
For years, the standard practice for children with feeding tubes has been to provide them with commercially available formula as a source of complete nutrition. While some children have no difficulty tolerating these formulas, others may experience problems such as significant vomiting, diarrhea, retching or growth issues. For these patients, a blended diet may offer a number of benefits. …Read More
Evaluating tracheomalacia: Preventing misdiagnosis
The patient is back in your office with another bout of recurrent pneumonia — the third time this year. At 7 years old, he can’t wait to join his school’s soccer team, but his parents report that he gets winded easily. Does he have asthma? Or could his symptoms indicate another problem with his airway?
Symptoms such as noisy breathing, a barking cough, and frequent respiratory infections can signal tracheomalacia (also known as tracheobronchomalacia), says Russell Jennings, MD, surgical director for the Esophageal and Airway Treatment Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. In this condition, the airway narrows or collapses when a child breathes, leading to symptoms such as noisy breathing, a barking cough, recurrent pneumonia and cyanosis. …Read More
Should transgender patients halt hormones before surgery?
Clinicians generally recommend that patients discontinue use of exogenous hormones such as estrogen and testosterone before undergoing surgical procedures, due to the potential increased risk of blood clots and other complications. Yet there’s little evidence to support this practice in transgender people, according to a new systematic review by Elizabeth Boskey, PhD, and her colleagues in the Center for Gender Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital. In fact, there may be possible psychological harm in requiring trans patients to halt hormone therapy, she says. …Read More