Tests That Use DNA From Mother’s Blood to Determine Sex of Fetus Often Effective

As a noninvasive method of determining the sex of a fetus, tests using cell-free fetal DNA obtained from the mother’s blood after 7 weeks gestation performed well, while urine-based tests appear to be unreliable, according to a review and analysis of previous studies, reported in the August 10 issue of JAMA.

Noninvasive prenatal determination of fetal sex could provide an important alternative to invasive cytogenetic determination, which is currently the gold standard for determining sex and single-gene disorders. Amniocentesis has small but measurable rates of procedure-related pregnancy loss; and sonography can be performed as early as 11 weeks’ gestation to determine fetal sex, although not reliably, according to background information in the article. “The availability of a reliable noninvasive alternative to determine fetal sex would reduce unintended fetal losses and would presumably be welcomed by pregnant women carrying fetuses at risk for disorders,” the authors write.

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New Study Finds That Gastric Banding Pays for Itself In Approximately Two Years for Patients With Diabetes and Four Years for Patients Without Diabetes

- Analysis Demonstrates Gastric Banding is a Safe and Cost-Effective Weight-Loss Surgery Procedure

- Note: Sublimis Argentina offers affordable bariatric surgery abroad. Feel free to contact us for more information

Irvine, CA – Allergan, Inc. announced a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases that found the cost of a gastric banding weight-loss surgery procedure, such as Allergan’s LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding System, was offset by reductions in obesity-related medical costs within 2.25 years for surgery eligible patients with diabetes, and within four years of the procedure for all surgery eligible patients.

The study evaluated healthcare claims data from 7,310 patients who had undergone gastric banding compared to claims from a matched control group of 7,306 surgery eligible obese individuals who did not have weight-loss surgery, for the purpose of quantifying the potential savings of gastric banding. The study found that while post-surgery medical costs for the gastric banding group declined slightly, medical costs for the control group continued to rise, thus resulting in significant savings for the banding sample. These findings underscore the critical effect gastric banding has on containing healthcare costs among the target population.

“Although the gastric banding procedure is associated with upfront costs, our analysis shows that those costs are recovered in a relatively short period of time, particularly for obese patients with diabetes,” said study lead author Eric A. Finkelstein, Ph.D., of Duke University and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore. “Although the potential for cost-savings should not drive coverage decisions, some insurance providers are hesitant to cover the costs of bariatric procedures for fear they will break the bank. These results may allay some of those concerns,” Finkelstein said.

Currently, one in three American adults is obese. Due to increased medical expenditures, absenteeism, and presenteeism (reduced on the job productivity due to health reasons), obesity now costs U.S. businesses roughly $70 billion per year. The total medical bill for the nation as a result of obesity is now projected at $147 billion per year, or nearly 10 percent of all medical expenses in the United States. This figure is projected to reach 16-18 percent of all U.S. healthcare costs in the next 20 years. Given its known correlation to life-threatening co-morbid conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and even premature death, obesity is a disease that requires medical treatment. Furthermore, medical research has found that if left untreated those individuals who are currently obese will likely remain obese, highlighting the unmet clinical need among obese patients for the availability of and reimbursement for effective treatment options.

“This study is consistent with the vast findings from the published literature that support gastric banding is an effective and safe weight-loss surgery procedure that can produce sustained weight loss, ultimately resulting in reduction of obesity-related comorbid conditions and medical costs,” said Frederick Beddingfield, M.D., Allergan’s Vice President of Clinical Research and Development. “Research of this kind is integral in our efforts as a company to ensure appropriate access to and affordability for the LAP-BAND® System procedure for patients across the country.”
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- VASER Lipo® uses ultrasonic energy — high-frequency sound waves — to produce superior results

- Sublimis Argentina offers affordable prices on LipoSelection abroad

VASER Lipo uses a minimally invasive technique called LipoSelection® to selectively break apart and gently remove unwanted fat.

To begin the procedure, the targeted area is injected with a special saline solution known as “tumescent fluid.”

Tumescent fluid numbs the target area and shrinks local blood vessels. It also temporarily expands the volume of the targeted area, making fat cells easier to remove.

Small-diameter probes are then inserted into the body through small incisions. By resonating at a high ultrasonic frequency, the probes literally shake loose fat cells — while leaving blood vessels, nerves and connective tissues unharmed.

The loose fat cells mix with the tumescent fluid, which is then removed from the body using gentle suction.
After the surgery, patients are prescribed a recovery regimen to promote maximum skin retraction and smooth results. Your physician may recommend massage therapy to enhance results and speed recovery.

Teeth Bleaching in Argentina: New Method Developed

Note: Sublimis offers cosmetic dentistry and dental treatments in Argentina. Contact us for a free quotation.

Researchers at the University of Granada have developed a new method for predicting the precise shade that a teeth bleaching will bring about for a patient’s teeth. What is innovative about this method is that it allows researchers to successfully predict the outcome of a bleaching treatment, which will have a significant impact on such treatments, which are becoming more frequent.

At present, dental offices routinely employ carbomide peroxide bleaching agents for tooth discoloration. As bleaching treatments have soft side effects –all of them temporary and mild– and are relatively cost-effective, they have become very popular.

While bleaching treatments have been long applied, one of its main problems has been the inability to predict the outcome of the process. This means that, so far, dentists have been unable to predict the results for patients’ teeth. This means that dental physicians could not inform their patients on the shade improvement that the treatment would bring about, which was a limitation to the therapy.

Teeth Bleaching

The study was conducted by Janiley Santana Díaz, at the Department of Stomatology of the University of Granada and was coordinated by professors Rosa Mª Pulgar Encinas, Mª Del Mar Pérez Gómez and Luis Javier Herrera Maldonado. Using a fuzzy rule system, scientists had a first approach to the shade improvement that teeth can get after undergoing a 20% carbamide peroxide treatment (Opalescence® PF 20%, Ultradent) two hours a day for two weeks.

Participants

For the purpose of this study, authors took a sample of 53 subjects that subsequently underwent a teeth bleaching treatment. Before the bleaching treatment, participants answered a questionnaire on their eating habits so that scientists analyzed whether such habits had any impact on the prediction models. The researchers found that eating habits are not relevant to such models, so these factors where not considered in the study.

To illustrate the shade change expected after the teeth bleaching treatment, the University of Granada researchers designed a fuzzy system that allows to associate these instrumental measures to the commercial shade guides typically used at dental offices to identify the before-and-after tooth color.

Such association allows to establish a series of objective guidelines that, once the before-tooth color is identified with the closest shade of the guide, will allow both dentist and patient to predict the color that the teeth will get after the treatment.

All in all, researchers warn that, in the long term and given the limitation of any clinical trial, a wider range of patients and initial tooth colors would be required to obtain a more precise fuzzy system.

Prompt Gallbladder Removal in Elderly Associated with Increased Survival, Lower Costs

New Research Findings in Journal of the American College of Surgeons Show Patients Not Treated during Initial Hospitalization Required Re-admission within Two Years

Chicago – New research findings published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons indicate that delaying cholecystectomy, the surgical removal of the gallbladder, in elderly patients with sudden inflammation of the organ often results in increased costs, morbidity and mortality.

Gallstone disease is the most costly digestive disease in the United States, with approximately 20 million people having the disorder.  Annually, gallstone disease leads to more than one million hospitalizations, 700,000 operative procedures, and a cost of $5 billion. Furthermore, the prevalence of gallstones increases with age: 15 percent of men and 24 percent of women will have gallstones by age 70. As well, complications related to gallstones are more common in elderly patients, with the most common being acute cholecystitis, a sudden inflammation of the gallbladder, which can cause abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and fever.

Between 1996 and 2005, 29,818 Medicare beneficiaries were admitted to acute care facilities for a first episode of acute cholecystitis. Of these patients, 75 percent (n=22,367) underwent cholecystectomy. The inpatient mortality rate was 2.7 percent in patients who did not undergo cholecystectomy, and 2.1 percent in patients who did (p = 0.001).

For the 25 percent of patients (n=7,451) who did not undergo cholecystectomy upon first hospitalization, 38 percent required gallstone related re-admission over the subsequent two years, compared to only four percent in patients who did undergo the surgery (P<0.0001). Twenty-seven percent of patients who did not undergo definitive therapy (gallbladder removal) required subsequent cholecystectomy, often not performed electively, but associated with acute care re-admission. The gallstone-related readmissions were expensive for Medicare, leading to approximately $14,000 in total charges and greater than $7,000 in Medicare payments per readmission.

Additionally, patients who did not undergo cholecystectomy during initial hospitalization were 56 percent more likely to die two years after hospitalization discharge versus those who received immediate treatment (HR 1.56, 95 percent CI 1.47 to 1.65), even after controlling for patient demographics and comorbidities.

Source: American College of Surgeons

If you are interested in having a cholecystectomy abroad please don’t hesitate to contact Sublimis.

Plastic Surgery Prices: USA vs South America

If you live in USA and you are considering having a plastic surgery, you might want to compare the cost and services in other countries. Plastic surgery procedures in USA are not cheap; usually prices in South America countries, like Argentina, are about 50% to 70% lower.  You may wonder how it is possible that the prices are so low. This is due to two main factors:

1. The cost of living in Argentina is very low compared to United State. Medicine is no exception, lower surgeons’ charges and lower operating room maintenance fees make plastic surgery procedures in Argentina cheaper than in USA.
2. This, together with a favorable exchange rate used in Argentina (US$ 1 = ARS 3,8) offers you the opportunity to obtain top quality treatments and affordable prices.

Less expensive treatments, doesn’t mean a lower standard of care, Argentinean surgeons are considered amongst the best in the world.

Prices listed below are average for cosmetic procedures  as reported by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) on April 27, 2010. Prices in US dollars.

New Study May Explain How Weight-loss Surgery Reverses Type 2 Diabetes

California – A team of researchers, led by a UC Davis veterinary endocrinologist, has shown for the first time that a surgical procedure in rats that is similar to bariatric surgery in humans can delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. The researchers also have identified biochemical changes caused by the surgeries that may be responsible for that delay.

Findings from the study, published online in the journal Gastroenterology, should help researchers identify strategies for preventing and treating type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition in which the body is unable to properly metabolize sugar and fat, leading to serious complications including heart disease, blindness and kidney failure.

Type 2 diabetes affects more than 21 million people in the United States, where it results in more than $150 billion in direct and indirect annual costs, according to the National Institutes of Health.

“Bariatric surgery currently is considered to be the most effective long-term treatment for human obesity and often leads to marked improvements in diabetes,” said the study’s lead author Peter Havel, a professor with joint appointments in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Department of Nutrition.

“It has been thought that reduction of blood sugar, which indicates a reversal of type 2 diabetes, in patients following bariatric surgery was due to post-surgery weight loss,” Havel said. “This study, however, supports the observations from a number of earlier clinical studies reporting that diabetes is often improved prior to substantial weight loss. It also suggests that endocrine changes in hormones produced by the gastrointestinal tract may contribute to the early effects of bariatric surgery, in addition to the later effects of weight loss.”

“This study confirms our clinical observations that metabolic regulation — specifically homeostasis of glucose — occurs quickly after gastric bypass surgery,” said Mohamed Ali, an associate professor of gastrointestinal surgery and a specialist in bariatric surgery at UC Davis Health System. “It’s clear from the outcome that something physiologic is at work with controlling diabetes that is not related to weight loss.

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Surgeons Use Neck Muscle, Surrounding Tissue as Lip Implant

Chicago — Augmenting the lips with grafts of muscle and connective tissue from the neck appears to result in improved appearance for at least two years, according to a report in the March/April issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

“Since ancient times, women have used plant dyes and colored clays to enhance their lips,” the authors write as background information in the article. As an individual ages, the groove on the upper lip flattens, the white lip lengthens and the amount of vermilion (pink tissue) that shows decreases. “These progressive age-related changes lead many patients to seek lip augmentation procedures, often as their main concern in the midst of an aging face and neck.”

“The quest for the ideal permanent lip augmentation procedure has been fraught with challenges,” they continue, including resorption, asymmetry, reactions, extrusion, an unnatural feel or appearance and the formation of cysts. Anurag Agarwal, M.D., of The Aesthetic Surgery Center, Naples, Fla., and colleagues report on the results of 25 consecutive patients who underwent lip augmentation with segments of their own sternocleidomastoid, a muscle running along the side of the neck, and the connective tissue that overlies it (fascia).

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