as the incidence of obesity increases, less invasive weight loss methods rather than bariatric surgery will be needed. this article reviews the advances in endoscopy, results, benefits and side effects of these techniques for treating obesity. the endoscopic options for weight loss could be broadly grouped under the following categories: restriction procedures, malabsorption procedures, and neu...

INTRODUCTION This study aimed to demonstrate the clinical utility of non-invasive multigene Cxbladder urine tests in reducing the overall number of diagnostic tests and invasive procedures used in the clinical evaluation of patients presenting with microhematuria, a key symptom of urothelial carcinoma (UC). There is a belief that using non-invasive molecular diagnostic tests in patients with he...

BACKGROUND No studies have assessed whether clinicians obtain informed consent for invasive medical procedures, and there are no explicit national standards to guide the process. HYPOTHESIS Informed consent practices are inconsistent for commonly performed invasive medical procedures. METHODS A simple questionnaire was electronically mailed and/or faxed to training program directors of crit...

Many new, minimally invasive interventional radiology procedures are now viable alternatives to traditional invasive therapy. These interventional radiological procedures can be performed in the outpatient setting and the overall cost to the patient may be less in the long run. Radiofrequency and Laser ablation techniques are now widely used and rapidly expanding technologies in the interventio...

Since the approval of botulinum toxin, dermal fillers, and lasers for cosmetic use, minimally invasive aesthetic procedures have rapidly become the treatments of choice for age-related facial changes. In the past 10 years, aesthetic procedures have increased nearly five-fold. Of the 10.2 million aesthetic treatments performed in 2008, 83 percent were minimally invasive procedures. Botulinum tox...

INTRODUCTION Basic invasive procedural skills are traditionally taught during clerkships. Using simulation to teach invasive skills provides students the opportunity to practice in a structured environment without risking patient safety. We surveyed incoming interns at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to assess the prevalence of simulation training for invasive and semi-invasive procedural ...

Growing data suggest that lymphadenectomy is a critical component of the surgical management of urologic malignancies with both diagnostic and therapeutic benefit. The increased use of minimally invasive approaches for the management of urologic malignancies may be in conflict with the need for more extensive lymphadenectomy with these procedures. The purpose of this review is to summarize the ...

Because of their unique mechanical properties and biocompatibility, shape memory alloys (SMAs) have found many applications in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Many novel surgical devices have been developed based on SMAs, which have become essential tools for MIS. In this paper, the historical development of SMAs for MIS is reviewed, including devices for cardiovascular surgery, laparoscopic ...