Are syntetic slings safe? Opinion: Yes

Opinion: Yes

Nowadays, synthetic meshes are widely used in reconstructive surgeries of the pelvic floor. However, since the publication of the FDA warning about associated complications in 2011 (1), several discussions and contrary opinions have been published about its usefulness. The fear of court lawsuits related to side effects, common in some settings, has contributed to the widening of global discussi...

BPH treatment: laser for everyone | Opinion: YES.

During the past decades, transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) has been the gold-standard procedure for surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and became the second most common surgery in men in the Western world (1). A number of other techniques were developed through the years, trying to replace TURP, including vaporization, microwave thermotherapy, transurethral ne...

Electrical cardioversion in healthy pregnant women: safe yes, but needed?

Sustained maternal arrhythmias during pregnancy that would require an electrical intervention are rare. The incidence and mechanisms, as well as the need for intervention, depend strongly on the background disease of the mother (to be). Electrical intervention may be indicated only with severe symptoms and drug refractory arrhythmias. The two cases of attempted electrical cardio-versions (and a...

Are Platelets Cells? And if Yes, are They Immune Cells?

Small fragments circulating in the blood were formally identified by the end of the nineteenth century, and it was suggested that they assisted coagulation via interactions with vessel endothelia. Wright, at the beginning of the twentieth century, identified their bone-marrow origin. For long, platelets have been considered sticky assistants of hemostasis and pollutants of blood or tissue sampl...

Are we really in safe hands? How safe is safe?