The surgeon at work
Dr. Marc Philippon's first patient is wheeled into the operating room by 7 a.m. on this July day to receive general anesthesia. Philippon is pioneering a form of arthroscopic surgery that can keep patients from having to have hips replaced later. He has refined the procedure since 1998, and now is doing hundreds per year. One of Philippon's goals is to cut down on the 300,000 Americans who opt for hip-replacement surgery each year.
( BY BOB CONDOR, Chicago Tribune, 11/01/2002 10:43 AM PST)

Study: Few men tested for osteoporosis
Few older men with hip fractures indicative of osteoporosis are tested or treated for the bone-thinning disease, which puts them at risk for debilitating illness and death, a study suggests.
( LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer, 10/28/2002 06:34 AM PST)

Appetite trigger leptin may be key
Researchers have spotted a likely new reason for bone loss that afflicts women and teenage girls who exercise so much or eat so little that they wind up starving themselves.
( IRA DREYFUSS, Associated Press Writer, 10/22/2002 05:47 AM PST)

A RED LIGHT
It looks like the flashlight you might have in your car's glove compartment. It beeps, "to let the patient know it's working," jokes Frank McMaster, who is a patient. Beyond that, you'd never appreciate the power of the Microlight.
( BY KAREN SHIDELER, The Wichita Eagle, 10/22/2002 06:13 AM PST)

Avoid osteoporosis: Add more weight, not reps
Oh! That is too heavy. Are you crazy, I can't lift that? I hear these comments in the gym every day. What is the right weight and how many repetitions are recommended? The sad truth is that if people exercised properly, not only would they lift the ''too heavy'' weights, but soaring healthcare costs would be a fraction of what they are.
( BY MICHAEL KLEPPER, Knight Ridder Newspapers, 10/04/2002 10:20 AM PST)

Surgery best for carpal tunnel
Surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome produces better long-term results in most patients than the more common treatment of putting a splint on the wrist, Dutch research suggests.
( By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer, 09/11/2002 05:03 AM PST)

Surgery allowed woman to walk
An experimental nerve-graft surgery allowed a paraplegic woman whose spinal cord was severed in an automobile accident to reacquire limited use of her legs, an Italian doctor reported this week at a conference in California.
( ANDREW BRIDGES, AP Science Writer, 08/30/2002 05:39 AM PST)

Fighting osteoporosis without hormone replacement therapy
An estimated 20 million women have been taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to treat menopause-related symptoms, or to prevent diseases like heart disease or osteoporosis. With the recent news of health risks associated with these drugs, many postmenopausal women are reevaluating their choices.
( Michele Meltzer, MD, Pennsylvania Hospital Monica Luchi, MD, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 08/19/2002 12:24 PM PST)

Study: Stem cells may save limbs
Injecting patients' own stem cells into their leg muscles could create new blood vessels, eliminating pain from bad circulation and helping to prevent gangrene or amputations, new research indicates.
( EMMA ROSS, AP Medical Writer, 08/09/2002 06:19 AM PST)