C. Zaouter1, J. Calderon1 and T. M. Hemmerling2,3,4* 1 CHU de Bordeaux, Service d’Anesthésie-Réanimation II, F-33000 Bordeaux, France 2 Department of Anesthesia, McGill University, MUHC, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada 3 ITAG Laboratory, Canada 4 Arnold and Blema Steinberg Medical Simulation Centre, Montreal General Hospital, Room: C10–153, 1650 Ced...

Identifying the essential characteristics that distinguish a profession from other service occupations is a common exercise. Perhaps a better way to judge the degree of professionalism, however, is with reference to the ease or difficulty of precisely specifying a provider's performance obligations in advance of the provision of services. For most medical services, the range of possible exigenc...

OBJECTIVE The authors review their experience with laparoscopic adrenalectomy in patients with benign adrenal neoplasms. Efficacy, safety, and cost effectiveness of the procedure are examined. BACKGROUND Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is replacing open adrenalectomy in some medical centers as the standard surgical approach for uncomplicated tumors. However, laparoscopic adrenalectomy often is con...

UNLABELLED Chemical peeling is the application of a chemical agent to the skin, which causes controlled destruction of a part of or the entire epidermis, with or without the dermis, leading to exfoliation and removal of superficial lesions, followed by regeneration of new epidermal and dermal tissues. Indications for chemical peeling include pigmentary disorders, superficial acne scars, ageing ...

UNLABELLED Acne surgery is the use of various surgical procedures for the treatment of postacne scarring and also, as adjuvant treatment for active acne. Surgery is indicated both in active acne and post-acne scars. PHYSICIANS' QUALIFICATIONS: Any Dermatologist can perform most acne surgery techniques as these are usually taught during postgraduation. However, certain techniques such as dermabr...

© 2002 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors Although many have debated the ethics of patenting human genes over the past 2 decades, recent controversies surrounding the effect of gene patents on genetic tests for breast and ovarian cancer have brought that debate to a head. In the absence of changes in Canada’s patent laws, physicians will face a variety of legal and ethical dilemmas r...

W e commend Hick and O’Laughlin for systematically addressing a difficult issue in their article entitled ‘‘Concept of Operations for Triage of Mechanical Ventilation in an Epidemic’’ in this issue of Academic Emergency Medicine. Until Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, the United States had been fortunate in not having to face the issue of health care resource triage on a large scal...