Surgery without scalpels

To protect the heads of football players, it might be advisable to have them occasionally practice without head protection, according to a counterintuitive new study of a successful Division I football program.

Undergoing surgery is a stress-inducing prospect for anyone, but children are especially vulnerable to anxiety prior to operations. To avoid using risky anti-anxiety medications on young patients, two anesthesiologists at the Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford have developed creative techniques to distract children from their forthcoming surgeries. They use toys and a unique low-cost video projection system called BERT-Bedside Entertainment Theater.

Research has found that physical movement, such as dance, can be an affective treatment and rehabilitation for people with Parkinson’s Disease. The Dance Well Initiative brings people with Parkinson’s, as well as community members, together to stage dance performances in gallery spaces as treatment and a creative response to the surrounding art.

Hospitals can be stressful places for children and their families, but music therapy can help ease some of that stress. At Boston Children's Hospital, music therapists help children complete tasks such as using the restroom or having their blood drawn, and sometimes they even help families say goodbye to their children. Music therapy has been shown to help premature babies develop, normalize blood pressure and heart rate, and improve motor control.

In San Diego, Little Angels Service Dogs are being trained to not just assist people but also recognize symptoms leading up to seizures. This practice allows people to proactively handle their seizures before they happen.

In recent years, there has been a decrease in Canadian organ donors but a comprehensive effort by an Ontario hospital is changing that narrative. From increased specialized training for nurses to adding a donation coordinator to morning rounds, Sudbury’s Health Sciences North has become a model for increasing donor rates.

Many people addicted to opioids developed their addiction after being prescribed the drugs after surgery, so some states are changing protocols around the drug distribution. From increased counseling about drug safety to a cap on how many pills doctors prescribe, alternatives to the traditional protocol aims to decrease the likelihood of addiction.

Mozambique has a shortage of practicing surgeons, so medical technicians are being trained to fill their roles in various situations, especially in rural locations. Although there are challenges to using this tactic, the technicians-turned-surgeons have similar complication rates as those who are practicing surgeons.

The SimpleVas Vasectomy Clinic is a mobile clinic that travels around to provide easy access to vasectomies by simplifying the entire process. The mobile clinic travels nearly 600 miles around the state every month and has even traveled out to New York City to spread awareness. Through raising awareness of the procedure, the doctor in charge of the clinic now performs about 600 to 700 vasectomies a year.

The NoScar initiative unites volunteer doctors from all over the country to provide free cosmetic surgeries to those with scars due to the ongoing war. There are more than 40 plastic surgeons providing the procedures and together they’ve served 30 patients, as well as soldiers.