PROCEDURES
Minimal Changes
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Robotized surgical assistant (ROSA) technology allows neurosurgeons at St. Louis Children’s Hospital to perform complicated procedures by way of minimally invasive burr holes.
Robotic Renaissance
Dr. Ronald Cossman, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Mercy, has performed the region’s first surgery using the daVinci Xi, the newest generation of the minimally invasive surgical system. The technology features smaller instrument arms and enhanced visualization options.
Restoring Blood Flow
At SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, Dr. Randall Edgell was one of the first cardiologists in the nation to treat an infant with a rare disorder called vein of Galen by using a microvascular plug, running a tiny catheter through an artery and into the brain to restore blood flow. (Similar procedures are being used to treat stroke patients at SSM Health DePaul Hospital and SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital.)
Breaking Barriers
Using laser surgery, doctors at Siteman Cancer Center and Wash. U. are able to bypass the blood-brain barrier and more effectively administer chemotherapy to patients with glioblastoma, a common type of aggressive brain tumor.
A Stronger Heart
In January, St. Luke’s Hospital announced a new affiliation with Cleveland Clinic, ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the nation’s No. 1 hospital for cardiology and heart surgery.
Minimal Intrusion
At St. Anthony’s Heart & Vascular Institute, two minimally invasive procedures are providing an alternative to open heart surgery: The MitraClip repairs leaky heart valves in high-risk patients; the AngioVac removes blood clots near the heart.
RESEARCH
A Tip to the Cap
The ViroCap, a test developed at Wash. U., uses high-throughput genetic sequencing to test for myriad viruses at the same time, ideal in diagnosing complex cases or researching disease outbreak causes.
A New Approach
SLU won a $5.8 million contract from the National Institutes of Health to research the body’s immune response to infectious diseases, as well as vaccines. Dr. Daniel Hoft says the approach “represents a new frontier of infectious diseases research,” building on what we now know about genomics.
Inherited Mutations
Wash. U. researchers are assessing the role that inherited mutations play in cancer. Studying 12 types of cancer, they’ve found rare germline mutations occurring most often in ovarian cancer (19 percent of cases studied), stomach cancer (11 percent), and breast cancer (9 percent).
Educating Teens
Though HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S., only 28.3 percent of girls and 11.33 percent of boys in Missouri have received the HPV vaccine series. SLU med student Betty Chen is studying how the state can improve.
Going Wireless
Wires could be a thing of the past in the monitoring of patients who’ve sustained traumatic brain injury. Wash. U. scientists helped develop wireless implants, capable of being absorbed by the body, that can aid monitoring information about the brain—without the need for surgery or a long-term implant.
Mirroring Mice
Lab mice that are older and obese should be included in studies of immunotherapy treatments for cancer, suggests SLU researcher Ryan Teague. Using different populations, rather than primarily young, healthy mice, might help scientists better predict immunotherapy’s effectiveness.
