Today an interesting and somewhat bizarre news story has been spreading and at first it seems almost unbelievable. A man in China accidentally cut off his hand in an industrial machine accident and while for most there would be no way to save the hand, the doctors in China successfully managed to save his hand. The radical procedure used to save the man’s hand hadn’t been used before and doctors weren’t sure if it was even possible, but after multiple surgeries the man’s hand was successfully grafted onto his calf for temporary survival.

Due to the severity of the damage to the man’s arm it was not possible to immediately reattach it. In order to make things work doctors surgically attached the hand to the man’s calf so it would get a constant supply of oxygen and blood to stay alive. Then once his arm and wrist area had successfully recovered enough doctors removed the hand and placed it back where it should be. The entire story seems farfetched and impossible but it is in fact true, it is an absolutely heartwarming story of just how innovative medicine can be. Now after some recovery time has passed the man has complete movement and feeling in his hand, which is something many doctors believed would never be possible.

Breast cancer is one of the leading killers in much of the world, it is also the cancer that generally received the most research funding and as such doctors are hopeful there will be a treatment available soon. Well an FDA announcement this week definitely shows that some very positive progress has been made in that regard. According to the FDA, multiple patients that have been given a new drug in a trial run have shown very promising results.

This is absolutely amazing news because it is really the only step towards a successful treatment in the recent future. The drug was designed to be used as a treatment prior to surgery, making it the least invasive option and the results according to doctors were phenomenal. In the multiple trial patients across the United States the new drug was used prior to any type of surgery and it was found that the drug reduced tumor size by a noticeable amount. This is a big accomplishment according to doctors because it greatly reduces to damage when surgery is needed, plus it helps the body recover faster.

At this point the drug is obviously still experimental but doctors are hopeful that this FDA study will lead to more treatments soon. Many doctors are hopeful that a larger study will be conducted sometime this year.

Not long ago a 10 year old girl in Pennsylvania made headlines when she received a lung transplant from an adult donor, despite being a child. This was one of the first transplants of its kind and many doctors were concerned about what could potentially happen, fortunately now the story has come to a happy ending that is once again making headlines. The girl, Sarah, will be leaving the hospital now that her initial recovery is complete.

This is absolutely great news because it has shown definitively that the girl’s body was in fact able to receive an adult transplant despite her age. This will likely lead to the use of more adult donors for young patients which should help thousands of children that desperately need a donor organ. At this point the doctors have not completely determined when Sarah will be leaving the hospital but the family says that she will likely be released within a week. This is an absolutely heartwarming story and it is great news that things worked out, doctors are planning to use this as a case study for future transplants and it could eventually save thousands more lives. Of course Sarah’s family and friends are incredibly happy with the results of the transplant as well.

This week an interesting and somewhat surprising study came out showing the connection between where a person lives and their chances of dying due to injury. Surprisingly to many people the report actually shows conclusively that living in a city is statistically safer than living out in the country. This is great news for Americans and much of the world because cities and urbanization have really taken hold. The results are based entirely on death related to personal injury, and while that is only a small portion of the possible causes of death it shows a significant difference according to researchers.

Not surprisingly the study linked survival from many injuries to the quick availability of emergency response. Pretty much anyone in a city or urban area will receive immediate or relatively quick response from medical and emergency personnel which significantly increases the odds of living. Living out in the country however can make this response take as much as 30 minutes more than in the city and following a potentially fatal injury those minutes count.

All in all this is good news for the urban dwellers all around the world. Obviously there are still lots of factors involved here but the bottom line is that by living in a city you are essentially guaranteed better injury response from medical responders.

Ten year old Sarah Murnaghan received a very publicized lung transplant this week thanks to the fact that it was the first of its kind. Sarah was nearing a critical stage in needing her transplant and while there we no children’s lungs available, there was an adult lung available that would be a perfect match. Under previous rules this transplant would not have been allowed but a judge in Pennsylvania made an exception to allow Sarah to undergo the surgery for an adult lung transplant.

This was the first major adult transplant into a child and doctors were not entirely sure how it would work out. Now, a few days after the surgery, they’re happy to report that things went fantastically well and Sarah is on the road to recovery. Sarah is still unable to speak and is still breathing with help from a machine but doctors say that she’s conscious enough to reply to their questions with a head nod. This is fantastic news for Sarah and her family, as well as any children that may be in a similar situation in the future. Sarah is expected to undergo a full recovery and live an essentially normal life thanks to the transplant and doctors are very happy about that.

This week a miraculous medical story has been sweeping the world. Three year old Grayson Clamp has been unable to hear since he was born due to the fact that he was born without a cochlear nerve which is crucial for the transmission of sound to the brain. Fortunately thanks to some advanced medicine he is now able to hear like a normal child.

Grayson underwent an extensive surgery to add an auditory brain stem implant that doctors hoped would help him be able to hear. Grayson is the first child in the United States to ever have received such an implant, although many adults have received it in the past. Doctors were incredibly hopeful that the device would work just as well for Grayson and now, a month after the surgery, they’re happy to report that it appears to be working perfectly.

At this point doctors say that the can not exactly confirm what Grayson does or does not hear, but there is plenty of proof that he is in fact hearing. The boy reportedly looked amazed shortly after waking up from the surgery as he was hearing noise for the first time. Doctors are incredibly happy with the results and are hopeful that this type of surgery will become more common for children in the future.

Today 3 week old Ashlyn Julian received an incredibly uncommon surgery that doctors felt was the only possible means of survival. The infant had been suffering from numerous medical problems since birth and doctors finally found that they were all tied to a single aneurism in the infant’s brain. This is such an uncommon condition that the doctors had almost no prior experience or even the necessary tools to do the surgery.

Fortunately after hours of surgery and multiple in depth investigations doctors concluded that the aneurism had been taken care of and the infant’s brain was no longer in danger. Unfortunately while removing the aneurism the surgical team also inflicted some damage to the affected blood vessel, which is common in adult patients. Due to the size of the infant there was not any special medical devices available to fix the damage, fortunately the doctors had a solution. Medical grade super glue, commonly used for exterior wounds, was very carefully applied to the incredibly small hole in the blood vessel. In a matter of seconds doctors managed to seal up the blood vessel with only a few tiny drops of super glue.

In the end the infant surgery went extremely well. Doctors are incredibly happy with the results and say she should be recovering nicely in the coming weeks.

Health Council To Review Medical Marijuana

This week two different states announced that they will be sending medical marijuana to a state health council to help draft some more regulations for the drug and while it is just the first step many view it as a big step in the right direction. The two states that are leading the charge are California and Massachusetts and assuming things go well for the councils each state will likely come out of it with significant improvements.

This is especially a big step for Massachusetts because medical marijuana still is not even recognized or permitted yet, the goal is that this health council will likely lead to a public vote that could finally legalize it. If this works as planned it could bring medical marijuana to the first east coast state which will likely help spread it to other states and areas of the United States.

Obviously this is still just the first step but many proponents of medical marijuana are very hopeful that these two meetings will lead to significant increases in the number of states allowing the powerful drug. No word yet on when any other states will likely hold meetings but this is the first step on the long road towards legalization according to many activists around the country.

Running and other high intensity exercise has generally been considered to be the best way to stay in shape and keep yourself healthy. While it is true that running is more effective at losing weight and keeping in top shape, a number of doctors and medical researchers released a report this week that indicates that frequent walking might be all that is actually needed to promote heart health. This is absolutely great news because walking is significantly easier to do, much easier to get started in, and will still offer the healthy benefits of more strenuous workouts.

Doctors are quick to point out that simply walking slowly won’t do a lot of good, but a quick pace will do wonders to promote a healthy heart and healthy lifestyle. Doctors are continuing to recommend that patients get as much exercise as the can by this study is definitely helping motivate people to at least get out there and walk. Walking is still great exercise that can improve quality of life and lead to a longer more fulfilling life so go out side and take a walk; it might keep you strong and healthy for years to come.

Polio is one of the many diseases that affect people all around the world and today a group of top medical professionals announced a major plan to completely eradicate polio from the human population in as little as 5 years. The prediction is that the mission should be successful and polio will be a thing of the past by 2018 but it all depends on what sort of budget is provided for the eradication efforts.

Polio used to affect hundreds of thousands of people per year around the world but as medical research advanced it became easier and easier to treat or prevent polio outbreaks. A vaccine for polio has been available and common in much of the world for many years now as well but unfortunately there are still developing countries where polio vaccines are not common. Despite all of this the number of polio outbreaks hit a record low with only 223 last year. This is great news considering that just over 20 years ago the disease was incredibly widespread around most of the world.

Given enough funding experts say that the 2018 goal of eradication is very feasible. The plan is being proposed to the World Health Organization sometime soon and should be a big step forward for medicine all around the world.