Surgery -- as a last resort -- may help some patients with COPD. Coverage for such procedures varies among insurance carriers. A major drawback is that patients must be in good enough health to undergo major surgery. By the time COPD is advanced, however, this is usually not the case. As a result, surgery cannot help most COPD patients.
The three available surgical options that are appropriate for some patients with COPD are lung transplantation, lung-volume reduction surgery,...
Read moreYou have just been handed a diagnosis of heart disease. For some it may mean an immediate heart procedure and the fears provoked by any... Read more »
Last month we talked about the surgical intervention in the treatment of UC. This time we will discuss how surgery can play a role in the... Read more »
None of us wants to consider surgery. Certainly it is better to try to treat our reflux conservatively but when conservative... Read more »
February is National Heart Awareness Month, so we'd like to tell you about the connection between heart disease and bone loss. If you... Read more »
It should be no secret that heart disease is inextricably linked to thyroid disease, especially hypothyroidism caused by such maladies as... Read more »
Source: ADAM Encyclopedia
SurgeryAngioplasty and StentsAngioplasty, also called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), involves procedures such as percutaneous transluminal... Read more »
Treating atrial fibrillation--a common type of irregular heartbeat--doctors may be able to prevent some cases of Alzheimer's disease. Recent studies... Read more »
Source: ADAM Encyclopedia
Radiation TreatmentsIn addition to surgery, radiation is the other primary treatment for early-stage lung cancer. Doctors are also studying the... Read more »
Steven Kang, MD, is a general cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist residing in Oakland, CA. He is a member of Cardiovascular Consultants... Read more »
How It HappensThe heart pumps blood enriched with oxygen and vital nutrients throughout the entire body by way of a network of arteries. The heart... Read more »
Surgical procedures for heart disease. Learn about endarterectomy for heart disease.... Read more »