WU physician giving new lives to outcast mothers Nov 20, 2009
A professor of obstetrics and gynecology is building a hospital in Niger dedicated to repairing vesicovaginal fistulas in African women whose injuries in childbirth result in a lifetime of loneliness and poverty. Lewis Wall of the Washington University School of Medicine has led a multi-pronged campaign to repair obstetric vesicovaginal fistulasruptures in the wall between the bladder and the vagina that can result from obstructed childbirth ... Fistulas are not a concern Western mothers face... (Washington University Student Life, MO)
Travel May Be Hazardous To Dialysis Patients Nov 7, 2009
One patient died during travel and two damaged or lost their fistulas or grafts (surgically created sites that provide dialysis tubes access to the blood). Seven patients required blood transfusions soon after their return, and several acquired blood stream infections. (Science Daily)
Traveling While on Dialysis Could Be Risky Nov 3, 2009
One person died while traveling, two people damaged or lost their fistulas or grafts (surgically created sites used to connect dialysis tubes to the bloodstream), seven required blood transfusions soon after they came home and several people acquired bloodstream infections. The researchers concluded that dialysis patients who travel are at greatly increased risk for infection, loss of access to the vascular system and anemia. (MEDLINEplus)
Childbirth Is Not Burger King. You Cant Always Have It Your Way. Oct 20, 2009
Do you know what is "natural?" --Fistulas, developed by poor women in underdeveloped countries who have no access to medical care and who suffer through DAYS of obstructed labor caused by babies that are either breech or are too large to fit through the birth canal. The result. (Slate)
'Alternative Nobel' To Africa, New Zealand Oct 13, 2009
Hamlin and her late husband founded a hospital where women can seek free treatment for obstetric fistulas, which are holes that develop between the birth canal and the bladder or rectum that can develop during long and difficult births. They are common in Africa and other developing countries where prenatal care is limited. (CBS News -- World)
Africa: If Men Were Dying En Masse Oct 6, 2009
"Thousands and thousands of women each year suffer from injuries and disabilities related to labour and pregnancy complications. Obstetric Fistulas for instance," she explained. A fistula occurs during labour, when extended pressure of the baby's head damages the soft tissue in a woman's pelvis. (allAfrica.com)
Abbott and Eisai Submit Application for Approval of Humira(R) for the Treatment of Crohn's Disease in Japan Sep 30, 2009
Crohn's disease is characterized by intestinal stenosis, ileus, intestinal abscesses (collections of pus resulting from infection) and perianal fistulas (ulcers in the intestine that form tunnels to surrounding intestinal wall or skin). When signs and symptoms cannot be controlled with drug therapy, patients may require surgical treatment. (JCN Network, Japan)
Hello, possum - but in a hospital unit? Aug 24, 2009
Possums, which have a lifespan of 15 years, can carry deadly diseases easily transmitted to humans, including Lyme disease, leptospirosis, rickettsia and mycobacteriosis, which can cause abscesses, fistulas, headaches, vomiting and renal failure. Their faeces can carry the gut parasite cryptosporidium and their urine can cause breathing problems for asthmatics. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Yarrow: Natural Remedy for Almost E... Jul 16, 2009
Fistulas, ulcers and inflammations have all been treated with an ointment of yarrow leaves, and sufferers of toothache chewed the leaves for relief. The nicknames devil s nettle and bad man s plaything are thought to have come about because of the belief that witches used it when they cast spells. (Suite101.com)
Improved Care for Kidney Patients Reduces Medicare Costs and Saves Taxpayers Money Apr 14, 2009
"Fistulas make a real, proven difference in the health of the patient. By providing a method of dialysis that is safer, longer lasting, and less likely to cause infection, fistulas are seen as the gold standard for vascular access," said Bradley. Fistulas reduce serious infections and complications leading to hospitalizations and mortality often associated with other forms of vascular access for kidney patients ... In addition, fistulas cost less to maintain than other forms of access and are... (PR Newswire)
Cte d'Ivoire: Fistula - Two-Hour Operation Corrects Decades-Long Affliction Apr 8, 2009
In the UNFPA centres - in the cities of Korhogo, Man and most recently Bouak; - services are free; the programme will continue as long as funding is available through the agency's Thematic Fund for Maternal Health, UNFPA gynaecologist Abou Pauline told IRIN. UNFPA is urging the Ministry of Health to maintain free care for women with fistulas ... In the Korhogo recovery room were three young women ages 17 to 18, whose fistulas were caused by difficult deliveries ... "Obstetric fistula is a... (allAfrica.com)
Sierra Leone Calling: CSU professor, ex-pupil help with childbirth Mar 30, 2009
A specially trained surgeon is needed to repair the fistulas. The center has a full-time urologist and surgeons from other countries volunteer their time. (Modesto Bee, CA)
Dialysis Via Fistulas May Help Young or Old Mar 17, 2009
FRIDAY, March 13 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that people with chronic kidney disease, whether young or old, respond equally well to dialysis done through arteriovenous (AV) fistulas, surgically created passageways between veins and arteries to help in the circulation of filtered blood. In calling AV fistulas the "gold standard of access for kidney dialysis patients," one of the study's authors said the findings show that the pathways last longer, require less repair work, and are... (MEDLINEplus)
Faulkner nurses heading to Africa to help women in Niger Feb 26, 2009
Mary White and Kathleen Scott, operating room nurses at Faulkner Hospital, will join a medical contingent to heal women in Niger suffering from vaginal and rectal fistulas. This will be the first trip for White and the fifth for Scott. (Rsolindale Parkway Transcript, MA)
After a devastating birth injury, hope Feb 24, 2009
The foundation had brought in two surgeons who would operate and teach doctors and nurses from different parts of Tanzania how to repair fistulas and care for patients afterward ... Speaking to doctors and nurses in a classroom at the hospital, Dr. Jeffrey Wilkinson, an expert on fistula repair from Duke University, noted that women with fistulas frequently became outcasts because of the odor ... Fistulas are a scourge of the poor, affecting two million women and girls, mostly in sub-Saharan... (International Herald Tribune)
DaVita Releases Top Clinical Priorities for 2009 Feb 24, 2009
DaVita along with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) consider fistulas the optimal type of access for dialysis. Research studies show fistula patients have the fewest complications, such as infection or clotting, compared to all other access choices. (PR Newswire)
New Therapy With Stem Cells To Treat Crohn's Disease Feb 22, 2009
Firstly, doctors choose to use corticosteroids and immunosuppressant and biological drugs to control the inflammatory process and prevent complications of the disease such as stenosis (narrowing of the intestinal lumen) or fistulas (openings from the intestinal lumen to other organs, such as the intestine, bladder, vagina, or skin). However, over the course of the disease, as much as 70% of severe patients require surgery to remove segments affected by the disease, due to failure of the... (Science Daily)
DaVita 4th Quarter 2008 Results Feb 11, 2009
DaVita, Inc. company logo. (PRNewsFoto) TORRANCE, CA USA. (PR Newswire)
Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology Feb 8, 2009
This Review discusses the pharmacological and surgical approaches for the treatment of fistulas in patients with Crohn's disease, including novel therapeutic approaches. Discussion of the epidemiology and pathology of fistulizing Crohn's disease is also provided. (Nature News Service)
