WHI data suggest O/Cs prevent heart disease and cancer
November 1st 2004While the Women's Health Initiative questioned the value of long-term HRT in preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD), a new analysis of the raw data presented at the annual ASRM meeting in Philadelphia strongly suggests that long-term use of OCs does protect a woman's heart, and reduces the threat of cancer.
Oocyte freezing: Is it ready for prime time?
November 1st 2004In a recent issue of Lancet, researchers reported on one of the first successful cases in which ovarian tissue that had been removed and frozen before a patient underwent cancer chemotherapy was later re-implanted and led to a successful pregnancy.
Does needle biopsy encourage breast Ca spread?
November 1st 2004Women who receive fine-needle aspiration (FNA) or large-gauge needle core biopsy of breast cancer tissue are about 50% more likely to have sentinel node metastases than women who undergo tumor removal, according to a recent prospective database study from California.
Patient ed tool improves decision making for breast Ca
November 1st 2004Specially designed visual aids and written materials-intended to help surgeons present treatment options to women newly diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer and to help them participate in the treatment decision process-left women better educated about their disease and treatment options.
Radiation after lumpectomy: not always necessary
November 1st 2004While women younger than 70 years of age with invasive breast cancer should probably still receive radiotherapy plus tamoxifen following lumpectomy, those over age 70 who receive lumpectomy early, estrogen-receptor-positive breast tumors can probably get by with just tamoxifen.
Making sense of the CF screening guidelines
October 1st 2004The latest official guidelines on cystic fibrosis screening have some clinicians bewildered--and others looking for an easy way to put them to good use. A top expert in the field provides practical advice on how to individualize the recommendations.
Offering breastfeeding mothers advice on contraception
Ob/gyns should ensure that women have the information they need to make an informed decision about breastfeeding. This article addresses the two key concerns that new mothers most express about contraception and breastfeeding.
Editorial: Why the CD rate is on the rise (Part 1)
October 1st 2004Ob/gyns with even a little gray hair have witnessed an extraordinary evolution in our collective thinking about cesarean delivery (CD) over the past three decades. I believe that a variety of factors are behind high CD rates in the United States, and that continued increases are inevitable.
U/S Clinics: Diagnosing and managing mild fetal cerebral ventriculomegaly
September 1st 2004Thanks to advances in U/S technology, clinicians can now detect ventricular enlargement in its earliest stages. Unfortunately, a few fetuses with borderline ventriculomegaly still have chromosomal or structural malformations.
Our Generation: Residency versus the real world of ob/gyn
September 1st 2004No one prepares you for the stresses of day-to-day practice--like keeping increasingly Internet-savvy and demanding patients satisfied--that take multitasking to a whole new level. Let's mentor residents and newcomers so they don't repeat our mistakes. It could help preserve our specialty.
Preventing perineal lacerations during labor
September 1st 2004Using a technique called super crowning, avoiding episiotomy, and reaching for a vacuum device rather than forceps during operative vaginal deliveries are among the strategies that can help reduce the number of third- and fourth-degree lacerations.
Editorial: Expert medical courts: An idea whose time has come
September 1st 2004We may have seen the first glimmer of light in the otherwise dark tunnel of the professional liability insurance crisis. On July 12, during a speech at the National Press Club, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist proposed "an expert medical court system with transparent decisions, limits on punitive damages, and scheduled compensatory damages to provide rapid relief to truly injured patients (instead of trial lawyers)" while holding negligent doctors accountable.