Surgery

The long-term results of a massive international trial, spanning almost two decades, has shown a single session of a novel form of radiotherapy is as effective in treating most breast cancers as a conventional radiotherapy plan lasting several weeks.

Ripping Band-Aids off your skin is never fun – but imagine having one on your heart or lung. Researchers have now created surgical tape that can stick to wet surfaces like organs, and more importantly, be removed safely when it’s no longer needed.

Telerobotic systems already allow surgeons in one location to control robotic surgical tools in another, so they can perform operations at a distance. A new proximity-sensing system, however, could make such procedures safer and more precise.

A delicate procedure called supermicrosurgery requires a high-level of expertise by surgeons, but they may soon have a new robotic tool at their disposal called Musa, which has performed its first round of procedures with great success.

Some studies suggest anti-inflammatory drugs can slow wound healing and bone repair. New research reveals our natural circadian clocks play a major role in healing, and anti-inflammatory drugs may be more effective if taken in the morning.

In search of advanced medical devices that can be ingested by the human body and don’t need to be surgically removed after, scientists at MIT have developed a new technology that would instead break them down by exposure to certain kinds of light.

A slender robotic thread could snake its way through the brain’s blood vessels and tend to clots, guided by magnets the whole way.

A cold atmospheric plasma system designed to prevent cancer relapse has been approved for human clinical trials by the FDA.

​For some time now, we've seen surgical devices that can be remotely guided within the body. And while they do make surgery more precise, they still have to be continuously operated by a surgeon. Recently, however, a robotic catheter successfully navigated beating pig hearts on its own.

​Currently, in order to reshape cartilage such as that within the nose, incisions and sutures are typically required. Not only is the procedure invasive, but it can also result in scarring. Now, however, scientists have demonstrated a new method of cartilage-reshaping that requires no cutting.

​It was just last year that we heard about the Fundamental Surgery simulator, which utilizes dual haptic feedback arms to provide the "feel" of performing various surgical procedures. The system has now been taken a step further, with the demonstrated integration of whole-hand VR gloves.

​Like many other materials, human skin has a "grain" to it. What's more, cutting across that grain leads to more visible scars than cutting along it. A new device, currently in prototype form, could help surgeons ensure that they're doing the latter.