surgery

Trained medical staff can perform safe, effective hernia surgery

Many low and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, don’t have enough surgeons to perform vital surgeries, such as groin hernia repairs. Training non-doctor associate clinicians in this procedure provides a safe and effective solution, a new study shows.

C-sections by trained health officers a safe alternative

Sierra Leone has few doctors and even fewer surgeons to serve its seven million people. Since 2011, a non-profit group called CapaCare has been training community health officers to perform basic lifesaving surgeries. A new study shows the programme is working well when it comes to the most common surgery in the country — Caesarean sections.

New technique yields healthier blood vessels after heart surgery

Surgeons often take a blood vessel from your leg to graft onto your heart during a coronary bypass surgery. The practice can lead to scarring in many patients, which in turn can cause another heart attack. A new technique under development may help prevent this problem.

The cancer that kills men

Severely ill prostate cancer patients are helping researchers test a diagnostic tool that involves injecting a radioactive substance into their bodies. Norway has the fifth highest mortality rate for prostate cancer in Europe.