Surgical treatments and procedures Archive

Falls are the leading cause of injuries and accidental deaths among Americans 65 and older. Women fall more often than men and are far more likely to show up at an emergency room because of a fall. Women are especially vulnerable to falling due to weaker bones, lower muscle mass, higher rates of incontinence and antidepressant use, and a tendency to multitask. People can reduce their fall risk by doing strength and balance exercises, getting regular vision and hearing exams, reviewing their medications, and keeping floors clutter-free.

Night blindness makes it hard to see in dim or dark settings, which can affect safety at home and make driving dangerous after dark. While the cause varies, there are steps people can take to address these problems.

The cost of a prescription drug can be very high, and several factors contribute to this. What can consumers do to reduce their drug costs, and what changes need to be made to make medications more affordable?

Men with advanced prostate cancer are typically treated with hormonal treatments followed by chemotherapy, but a recent study evaluated the potential of a treatment that uses radioactive particles injected into the body.

They're the most effective drugs for weight loss to date. But they're expensive, scarce, and not right for everyone. Learn more about the latest batch of anti-obesity drugs.

Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Eugene Braunwald, known as "the father of modern cardiology," identified five promising future trends in cardiology. They include (1) using polygenic risk scores in newborns for early prevention of heart disease; (2) the emergence of a battery of drugs to treat inflammation; (3) improvements in cardiac cell therapy for repairing damaged hearts; (4) the development of smaller, more powerful, and less expensive left ventricular assist devices; and (5) transplanting genetically modified pig hearts into humans.

A nonsurgical approach for replacing a damaged aortic valve, known as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), has become very popular in recent years. But it may not make sense for people in their 60s, who are likely to need a second valve replacement later in life. The valves used in TAVR only last about 10 years, on average. In addition, diagnosing and treating coronary artery disease may be more challenging in people who've had TAVR. Also, the surgery to replace a failed TAVR valve is more complicated than regular valve replacement surgery. So people who are likely to need least one traditional valve surgery are better off having the surgery in their 60s rather than in their 70s. A TAVR can be done the second time around.

Blood thinners don't "thin" blood; rather, they discourage blood from clotting. Candidates for anti-clotting drugs are people at high risk for dangerous blood clots, such as those with atrial fibrillation or those who have received a stent. Others who can benefit from an anti-clotting drug are people who are immobile after surgery and individuals who have had deep-vein thrombosis (clots in the veins of the legs or arms) or pulmonary embolism (clots in the lungs). A higher risk of bleeding is the main side effect, but most people can tolerate the medication.

When prostate cancer recurs after initial treatment, doctors typically treat it with hormonal therapies. But results from a large clinical trial show that a different medication (or combination of two medications) is a better approach.

Many people end up taking a long list of medications when they might be able to safely reduce the number of daily pills. Reviewing medications with their specialists and primary care doctor can help determine which drugs may be reduced or perhaps discontinued.