Endovascular grafting is a minimally invasive method for treating aortic aneurysms, which are weak bulging spots on the aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body. If an aortic aneurysm enlarges and ruptures, it usually causes fatal internal bleeding.
Wound debridement is a procedure to remove necrotic (dead) tissue and other debris from a wound to promote healing. Debridement is a naturally occurring process, but in some cases, it may need to be facilitated by a healthcare provider.
A colposcopy is a diagnostic procedure in which a physician, nurse practitioner (NP), nurse-midwife, or physician assistant (PA) uses a special microscope, called a colposcope, to look at the surface of a woman’s cervix. Colposcopy may be performed when the results of a cervical cancer screening...
Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a noninvasive therapy that uses pulses of high-energy shock waves to treat several conditions that cause severe heel pain, including chronic plantar fasciitis. The therapy is designed for adult patients who have had symptoms for a minimum of six months...
Blood banking/transfusion medicine can be found in virtually all acute care settings. According to the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, published by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), some hospitals have board-certified physician specialists in transfusion medicine who...
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical procedure involving implantation of electrodes into deep nuclei of the brain. A surgically implanted, battery-operated device delivers electrical stimulation to targeted areas in the brain that control movement, blocking abnormal nerve signals that...
A sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) serves as a viable alternative to axillary dissection to help prevent the regional recurrence of breast cancer when cancer cells migrate to nearby lymph nodes. During an SLNB procedure, a surgeon injects a radioactive substance or dye (or both) near the tumor...
Patients who have degenerative disc disease that causes pain and makes it difficult to do everyday activities may find relief through nonsurgical treatment. Those who require alternative treatment methods have two options for back surgery: spinal fusion and artificial disc replacement (ADR).
Biofeedback is the process through which an individual learns how to change his or her physiological activity for the purposes of improving health and performance. In biofeedback, precise instruments measure physiological activity and report or “feed back” information to the individual. These...
