UPHS - Penn Today Online, Physician Forum Newsletter

Clinical Briefing: Robotic Surgery for Gynecologic Conditions and Cancer

Thursday, 6 November 2008 EDT

Physicians in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn are now using the latest robotic surgical systems to treat gynecologic disorders and cancers, as well as to repair and reconstruct pelvic organs and support tissue. These procedures complement the growing presence of robotic surgery at Penn in a variety of areas.

Clinical Briefing: Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration For Diagnosis of Thoracic Adenopathy and Lung Cancer Staging

Thursday, 6 November 2008 EDT

Interventional pulmonologists at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania are using a new minimally invasive technology, endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA), to diagnose thoracic adenopathy and to stage lung cancer less invasively. EBUS-TBNA integrates ultrasonography, video-enhanced visualization and real-time echogenic needle aspiration into a single, flexible, bronchoscopy unit.

Clinical Briefing: Distraction Osteogenesis

Thursday, 6 November 2008 EDT

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons at Penn were among the first to apply distraction osteogenesis to the treatment of surgical, genetic, age-related and traumatic defects of the jaws.1 Originally developed to treat patients with orthopaedic trauma or disease, distraction osteogenesis involves the use of a distraction device to gradually (1 mm per day) separate existing bone segments, creating gaps where new bone forms.

Clinical Briefing: Calypso(R) System Tracking and Target Localization during Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer

Thursday, 6 November 2008 EDT

The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania is just the third institution in the country to install the Calypso(R) 4D Localization System(TM) to guide radiation therapy for prostate cancer. Calypso employs radiofrequency technology comparable to the global positioning system to continuously and precisely monitor biologically inert transponders implanted in the prostate.