February 2014

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times discusses industry pushback against proposed federal legislation that would allow the manufacturers of generic pharmaceutical drugs the ability to “inform people about all known health risks” associated with various drugs produced.  The Generic Pharmaceutical Association was quoted saying that the new regulations “would create ‘dangerous confusion’ and…

Part I: Destroying Valentine’s Day

Two weeks ago was Valentine’s Day— a holiday that is supposed to be full of romance and heartfelt encounters with those you love. For many lucky people, Valentine’s Day was exactly that this year. Countless couples across the country could be seen on dates, filling restaurants, theaters, and dance-halls to…

Over the course of the past several days, Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson company, has crowed over the fact that it “prevailed” in a lawsuit regarding the pelvic mesh devices it manufactured and promoted. At first glance, the media headlines regarding Ethicon’s recent “triumph” are confusing, and might even make it seem like Ethicon has…

The alpha-male. It’s a term traditionally used to describe an individual male mammal that is considered to hold the highest social standing in his community. Typically, an animal rises to alpha-male status by exhibiting signs of masculinity, confidence, and aggression to his peers. In acknowledgement of the alpha’s strength and leadership role, other members of…

An article published in the January-February, 2014 edition of Female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery titled “Pneumomediastinum after robotic sacrocolpopexy.” reviews a case of pneumomediastinum in a woman who underwent robot-assisted surgery for the repair of posthysterectomy prolapse.  The team writes “Pneumomediastinum is a rare but potential complication of laparoscopy that is related…

A recent article published in the January 2014 edition of Obstetrics and Gynecology titled “Robotic compared with laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy: a randomized controlled trial.” lives up to its title and compares the safety and efficacy of robot-assisted to traditional sacrocolpoplexy.

The team, led by JT Anger, writes “Laparoscopic and robotic sacrocolpopexy are widely used…

In 2014, an article by AM Coker et al. titled “Outcomes of robotic-assisted transhiatal esophagectomy for esophageal cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiation.” in Journal of Laparoendoscopic & Advanced Surgical Techniques aimed to “determine if [robotic-assisted transhiatal esophagectomy (RATE)] could be performed safely with good outcomes for esophageal cancer in a more recent series of…