The Korea Herald

102-year-old woman undergoes colectomy

Dec 29, 2011

Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital announced on Monday that professor Kim Jun-ki successfully conducted a colectomy on a 102-year-old woman, possibly the oldest patient here to undergo the surgery.The woman, identified by her family name Moon, was diagnosed with two kinds of intestine cancer earlier this year. She received laparascopic surgery to remove tumors on the rectum and colon. Four days after the surgery, her recovery was significant, her doctors said. This is the first time a simultaneous tumor
Medical fees fixed for seven treatments

Dec 29, 2011

As early as this summer, medical fees for treatment of seven diseases will be fixed and covered by the national health insurance scheme, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday.The seven treatments are cataract surgery, hemorrhoids treatment, tonsil removal, caesarian section, hysterectomy, appendectomy and herniotomy. The program will be applied to local clinics and small hospitals from as early as July next year and extended to general hospitals or top-tier teaching hospitals by July 20
Baby boomers and older lovers not immune to STDs

Dec 29, 2011

People who came of age in the 1960s and ‘70s did so in an era of free love. Even the music blasting from the speakers inside those sweet street machines told them it was OK to have sex anytime, anywhere and with anyone.Stephen Stills’ first solo hit in 1970 may have put it best: “If you can’t be with the one you love, honey, love the one you’re with.”Now, it appears some of those “kids” weren’t taught much about such things as sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs. And if the health teacher did
Chickenpox

Dec 29, 2011

Chickenpox is an illness caused by a primary infection of the varicella zoster virus. After initial infection with the virus, it takes from 10 to 21 days for chickenpox to develop. At the onset of chickenpox, the patient shows symptoms such as fever, malaise, and loss of appetite for one or two days. This is followed by a skin rash that lasts for two to four days. The rash first appears on the scalp and face, and then spreads to the entire body. Red, extremely itchy spots develop in earlier stag
Barre workouts creating a buzz

Dec 29, 2011

MINNEAPOLIS ― A ballet-inspired “barre” workout has been sweeping the nation. Its popularity is driven by women wanting to achieve a dancer’s physique and strength ― with or without tutus and ballet slippers.At Align Pilates in Minneapolis, noses drip with sweat, muscles quiver with exhaustion, and Beyonce blares from the speakers as class instructor Adrienne Fitzmaurice affirms what everyone is thinking:“Yes, this is hard!” she hollers, encouraging the women to pulse ― or make tiny movements ―
Tips on skin protection in winter

Dec 29, 2011

Moisturizing the best solution; use of body lotion recommendedNow that we are entering into the severely cold winter, our skin needs to be taken extra care of. The freezing temperature, coupled with the wind, dries up the skin and even causes some cracks on the face and other areas, deepening concerns. Dr. Ahn Gun-young, director of the Goowoonsesang Dermatology, gives The Korea Herald readers several tips on how to keep their skin healthy and glowing throughout the winter. 1. Afraid of “snake s
Oklahoma baby is 3rd sickened by rare bacteria

Dec 29, 2011

ATLANTA (AP) — An Oklahoma baby is the third infant this month sickened by a rare type of bacteria sometimes associated with tainted powdered infant formula.The child, from Tulsa County, was infected with Cronobacter sakazakii but fully recovered, health officials said Wednesday. An Illinois c
Study points to origin of syphilis

Dec 28, 2011

ATLANTA, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- A study has confirmed syphilis did not exist in Europe before Columbus made his 1492 voyage, and it came back with his crew, researchers say.Anthropologists at Emory University say they re-analyzed European skeletons that some previous researchers said proved syphilis exist
French breast implant maker faced US lawsuits

Dec 27, 2011

NEW YORK, Dec 26, 2011 (AFP) - Breast implants made by troubled French firm PIP have been at the heart of multiple lawsuits in the United States, where they were sold up until 2000, documents filed with the US government show.Tens of thousands of women worldwide have been fitted with the implants, w
France to pay for removal of risky breast implants

Dec 25, 2011

PARIS (AP) -- France took a costly and unprecedented leap Friday in offering to pay for 30,000 women to have their breast implants removed because of mounting fears the products could rupture and leak cheap, industrial-grade silicone into the body.Tens of thousands of other women elsewhere in Europe
Dutch no-smoking drive on the wane

Dec 22, 2011

AMSTERDAM (AP) ― It’s getting surprisingly easy to light up in the Netherlands these days ― cigarettes, that is.Even as the Dutch government hardens its famous tolerance policy on marijuana, it is taking an increasingly relaxed stance toward tobacco, bucking the trend in nearly every other developed country.Last year it exempted some bars from a smoking ban and now it has unveiled plans to reduce spending on anti-smoking advertising campaigns and end funding for health care programs to help peop
Vaccine attacks breast cancer in mice: study

Dec 22, 2011

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Scientists in the United States said Monday they have developed a vaccine that attacks tumors in mice, a breakthrough they hope will help fight breast, colon, ovarian and pancreatic cancer in humans.Although studies on mice often do not translate directly into remedies that work for human subjects, researchers are hopeful because of the strength of the vaccine and the particular approach it takes.“This vaccine elicits a very strong immune response,” said study co-senior author
Opting to track, not treat, early prostate cancer

Dec 22, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) ― John Shoemaker visited six doctors in his quest to find the best treatment for his early stage prostate cancer ― and only the last one offered what made the most sense to the California man: Keep a close watch on the tumor and treat only if it starts to grow.Very few men choose this active surveillance option. Yet Shoemaker is one of more than 100,000 men a year deemed candidates for it by a government panel. That’s because their prostate cancer carries such a low risk of morph
Ewha med center buys new PET device

Dec 22, 2011

Ewha Womans University Medical Center said it has been equipped with a positron emission tomography scanner, a first for Korea.The device produces medical imaging while halving patients’ exposure to CT radioactivity, the hospital said.“It will lessen people’s anxiety regarding radioactivity, which is essential in medical imaging devices,” said Dr. Kim Bong-san, in charge of the device operation.(baejisook@heraldm.com)
The facts about heart attacks

Dec 22, 2011

Cardiac disease Koreans’ third-biggest cause of death; best prevention includes not smokingThe news of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death of myocardial infarction has brought the disease into the public view again. According to Statistics Korea and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, cardiac disease is the third-biggest cause of death for Koreans behind cancer and cerebrovascular diseases. In 2010, 23,407 people, or 9.2 percent of all fatalities, died of heart disorders. The U.S. National I