Cleveland, Ohio clinic performs US’s first face transplant

Thursday, December 18, 2008

A team of eight transplant surgeons in Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, USA, led by reconstructive surgeon Dr. Maria Siemionow, age 58, have successfully performed the first almost total face transplant in the US, and the fourth globally, on a woman so horribly disfigured due to trauma, that cost her an eye. Two weeks ago Dr. Siemionow, in a 23-hour marathon surgery, replaced 80 percent of her face, by transplanting or grafting bone, nerve, blood vessels, muscles and skin harvested from a female donor’s cadaver.

The Clinic surgeons, in Wednesday’s news conference, described the details of the transplant but upon request, the team did not publish her name, age and cause of injury nor the donor’s identity. The patient’s family desired the reason for her transplant to remain confidential. The Los Angeles Times reported that the patient “had no upper jaw, nose, cheeks or lower eyelids and was unable to eat, talk, smile, smell or breathe on her own.” The clinic’s dermatology and plastic surgery chair, Francis Papay, described the nine hours phase of the procedure: “We transferred the skin, all the facial muscles in the upper face and mid-face, the upper lip, all of the nose, most of the sinuses around the nose, the upper jaw including the teeth, the facial nerve.” Thereafter, another team spent three hours sewing the woman’s blood vessels to that of the donor’s face to restore blood circulation, making the graft a success.

The New York Times reported that “three partial face transplants have been performed since 2005, two in France and one in China, all using facial tissue from a dead donor with permission from their families.” “Only the forehead, upper eyelids, lower lip, lower teeth and jaw are hers, the rest of her face comes from a cadaver; she could not eat on her own or breathe without a hole in her windpipe. About 77 square inches of tissue were transplanted from the donor,” it further described the details of the medical marvel. The patient, however, must take lifetime immunosuppressive drugs, also called antirejection drugs, which do not guarantee success. The transplant team said that in case of failure, it would replace the part with a skin graft taken from her own body.

Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, a Brigham and Women’s Hospital surgeon praised the recent medical development. “There are patients who can benefit tremendously from this. It’s great that it happened,” he said.

Leading bioethicist Arthur Caplan of the University of Pennsylvania withheld judgment on the Cleveland transplant amid grave concerns on the post-operation results. “The biggest ethical problem is dealing with failure — if your face rejects. It would be a living hell. If your face is falling off and you can’t eat and you can’t breathe and you’re suffering in a terrible manner that can’t be reversed, you need to put on the table assistance in dying. There are patients who can benefit tremendously from this. It’s great that it happened,” he said.

Dr Alex Clarke, of the Royal Free Hospital had praised the Clinic for its contribution to medicine. “It is a real step forward for people who have severe disfigurement and this operation has been done by a team who have really prepared and worked towards this for a number of years. These transplants have proven that the technical difficulties can be overcome and psychologically the patients are doing well. They have all have reacted positively and have begun to do things they were not able to before. All the things people thought were barriers to this kind of operations have been overcome,” she said.

The first partial face transplant surgery on a living human was performed on Isabelle Dinoire on November 27 2005, when she was 38, by Professor Bernard Devauchelle, assisted by Professor Jean-Michel Dubernard in Amiens, France. Her Labrador dog mauled her in May 2005. A triangle of face tissue including the nose and mouth was taken from a brain-dead female donor and grafted onto the patient. Scientists elsewhere have performed scalp and ear transplants. However, the claim is the first for a mouth and nose transplant. Experts say the mouth and nose are the most difficult parts of the face to transplant.

In 2004, the same Cleveland Clinic, became the first institution to approve this surgery and test it on cadavers. In October 2006, surgeon Peter Butler at London‘s Royal Free Hospital in the UK was given permission by the NHS ethics board to carry out a full face transplant. His team will select four adult patients (children cannot be selected due to concerns over consent), with operations being carried out at six month intervals. In March 2008, the treatment of 30-year-old neurofibromatosis victim Pascal Coler of France ended after having received what his doctors call the worlds first successful full face transplant.

Ethical concerns, psychological impact, problems relating to immunosuppression and consequences of technical failure have prevented teams from performing face transplant operations in the past, even though it has been technically possible to carry out such procedures for years.

Mr Iain Hutchison, of Barts and the London Hospital, warned of several problems with face transplants, such as blood vessels in the donated tissue clotting and immunosuppressants failing or increasing the patient’s risk of cancer. He also pointed out ethical issues with the fact that the procedure requires a “beating heart donor”. The transplant is carried out while the donor is brain dead, but still alive by use of a ventilator.

According to Stephen Wigmore, chair of British Transplantation Society’s ethics committee, it is unknown to what extent facial expressions will function in the long term. He said that it is not certain whether a patient could be left worse off in the case of a face transplant failing.

Mr Michael Earley, a member of the Royal College of Surgeon‘s facial transplantation working party, commented that if successful, the transplant would be “a major breakthrough in facial reconstruction” and “a major step forward for the facially disfigured.”

In Wednesday’s conference, Siemionow said “we know that there are so many patients there in their homes where they are hiding from society because they are afraid to walk to the grocery stores, they are afraid to go the the street.” “Our patient was called names and was humiliated. We very much hope that for this very special group of patients there is a hope that someday they will be able to go comfortably from their houses and enjoy the things we take for granted,” she added.

In response to the medical breakthrough, a British medical group led by Royal Free Hospital’s lead surgeon Dr Peter Butler, said they will finish the world’s first full face transplant within a year. “We hope to make an announcement about a full-face operation in the next 12 months. This latest operation shows how facial transplantation can help a particular group of the most severely facially injured people. These are people who would otherwise live a terrible twilight life, shut away from public gaze,” he said.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Cleveland,_Ohio_clinic_performs_US%27s_first_face_transplant&oldid=4627150”
Categories Uncategorized

Market Insights Of Kiribati Real Estate

Market Insights Of Kiribati Real Estate

by

Taylor White

Kiribati real estate is really small as it consists of 33 islands out of which 20 are inhabitated. It was earlier known as the Gilbert Islands. Compared to the rest of the international real estate scene, these are some of the most isolated properties.

Kiribati real estate is one of the most spectacular, but almost all of it is owned by the native inhabitants. Foreign investors are not allowed to own any Kiribati real estate for sale. The leasing of the Kiribati real estate by the foreigners is also quite tough as there are many ownership disputes. In almost all cases, the Kiribati real estate has a number of co owners and this makes it hard to lease the land.

The real estate in Kiribati is also at a high danger from the rising sea levels. Typhoons are common and can cause havoc on property and investments. The International Date Line used to pass through Kiribati, but the government moved the line to the east in 1995 to ensure that the whole country follows the same time. At the start of this millennium, it became the first country to welcome the New Year.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIe0F-Sn0DI[/youtube]

The country has shown a growth rate of approximately 3.8% in 2008 and the GDP per capita is U$3200 (as per 2008 statistics). The terrain is mostly low lying and is surrounded by sea. The total land area is only 811 square kilometer. The Kiribati real estate listings are few and far between and are seldom represented in the international real estate market.

Kiribati is threatened by the rising sea levels as the coral islands are located juts a few meters above the sea level. In 1999, two small islets of Tebua Tarawa and Abanuea went underwater. It ahs been predicted that by year 2100, when the levels of sea rise further, several more islands would have gone underwater and the arable land wouldn t be available. This is largely due to the increased levels of soil salination.

Kiribati remains one of the most impoverished countries of the world. The most exported products are copra and fish. Tourism is the one of the most important industries and contributes almost 20% of the GDP for the country. Aid donations come from primarily 3 countries that include Australia, New Zealand and Japan and can even comprise 50% of the GDP. Its main trading partners are Australia, USA, France, Germany and Hong Kong.

Kiribati was granted it s independence in 1979 from the UK and is now part of the Commonwealth nations. It has also become a member of the UN in 1999.

Taylor White is an international real estate investor and leads the charge at International Real Estate Listings the worldwide leader in

Kiribati real estate

for sale, Kiribati real estate exchanges, and

Kiribati rentals

.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

Wikinews interviews Sandra Jephcott, Sustainable Australia candidate for 2020 Groom by-election

Friday, November 27, 2020

Voters in the Australian electoral district of Groom are scheduled to go to the polls in a by-election this week following the resignation of Liberal National MP John McVeigh for family reasons.

Groom is located in the state of Queensland, and is centred around the city of Toowoomba. At the last federal election, the Liberal National Party, Queensland’s dominant conservative party, won this seat by over 70% of the two-party-preferred vote, and since the seat’s creation in 1984, it has been held by conservative political parties.

Some political analysts considered this a foregone conclusion, with analyst Kevin Bonham having declared it on his blog as “Australia’s most boring by-election”, however Bonham noted the size of the swing may have been indicative of the dominant centre left Labor Party’s general performance in Queensland. There was a 4.2% swing against the Labor Party in the state of Queensland at the previous federal election.

Wikinews spoke to one of the four candidates running in the by-election, Sandra Jephcott, who is running for the Sustainable Australia party. Sustainable Australia describes itself as a “independent community movement from the political centre”. According to the party’s website, Jephcott is a veterinarian and farmer, who has completed a veterinary degree from the University of Queensland, as well as a Master of Business Affairs at Bond University and a Master of Science at James Cook University. With Wikinews, Jephcott discussed climate change, COVID-19, water security, and foreign ownership.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Wikinews_interviews_Sandra_Jephcott,_Sustainable_Australia_candidate_for_2020_Groom_by-election&oldid=4626421”
Categories Uncategorized

‘Each makes the other more difficult to recover from’: University of Sussex professor L. Alan Winters speaks to Wikinews on trade, COVID-19, Brexit

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Earlier this month, Wikinews spoke with University of Sussex professor of economics L. Alan Winters regarding the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union (EU) in the 2016 Brexit referendum and the subsequent negotiations leading up to and following the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement of December, which he has researched extensively. In a call, a Wikinews correspondent spoke with Professor Winters about recent developments in UK trade policy to learn more about his observations.

Winters is professor of economics at the University of Sussex, as well as founding director and fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO). His career spans over 15 years, including as chief economist at the Department for International Development, director of the Development Research Group of the World Bank, CEO of the Migrating Out of Poverty Research Programme Consortium and advisor for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Trade Organization and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Three reports where Winters is listed as an author were used as reference during the interview: “COVID-19 will reinforce the Brexit shock”, “The Costs of Brexit” and “Taking stock of the new UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: governance, state subsidies and the level playing field”.

Winters was awarded the title “Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath”, styled C.B., on June 16, 2012 as part of the 2012 Birthday Honours.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=%27Each_makes_the_other_more_difficult_to_recover_from%27:_University_of_Sussex_professor_L._Alan_Winters_speaks_to_Wikinews_on_trade,_COVID-19,_Brexit&oldid=4628228”
Categories Uncategorized

The Incredible Edible Wheat Berry

By Ryan Thomas

Twenty years ago if someone were to talk to me about wheat berries I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea as to what they were talking about. My lack of knowledge about health kept me in the dark about the difference between white wheat products and whole wheat products in the early years of my life and I paid the consequences with a toxic system later on down the road. Thank goodness I started doing my own research about the importance of whole grains for optimal health. Besides that I discovered that the wheat berry is not the cousin of the blueberry bush.

Fast-forward twenty years. Knowledge is good. Wheat berries are little kernels of grain that are ground down into making whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour can be used for making the same flour products that come from white enriched all-purpose flour. The difference? Your health. Whole wheat is naturally grown and enriched with important vitamins and minerals that our body needs to stay healthy. These important nutrients have all been taken away from all-purpose white flours and can be found in bags labeled wheat germ and bran in your health food stores.

The incredible, edible wheat berry is where all flour originates. Whole wheat flours contain three important parts of the wheat kernel, which are bran, endosperm, and germ. The bran is the hard, brownish outer protective skin of the grain berry and consists of 7 layers; these layers are a concentrated source of dietary fiber, which is absolutely necessary for a healthy system. The endosperm is the inner part of the grain and consists of the protein part of the kernel. The germ contains the plant embryo where most of the vitamin E content is stored. Whole wheat flour is a complete food.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E-rLC8AuuE[/youtube]

White enriched all-purpose flour does not have any nutrients left in it – it is an incomplete food. This is why they label it ‘enriched’. They add a few trace vitamins back into the flour so they can call it enriched but it cannot compare to the benefits of whole wheat flours. Take away the bran, the germ, and the endosperm and what do you have left? A powdery white substance that has no nutritional value whatsoever. White wheat products have no flavor, they are light but fattening, fluffy but not very filling, and they almost always stick to the roof of your mouth. The really awful part about white wheat products to the diet is they back up the intestinal tract causing numerous health problems in the long run.

The wheat berry is an incredible kernel filled with life-giving nutrients, and the neat thing about it you can eat it just the way it is without grinding it into flour. You can soak the wheat berries in hot water and a little sea salt and give yourself a fibrous, nutritious meal anytime throughout the day. You can add some honey or molasses, and you’ll be good to go for several hours.

Wheat berries are energizing, and don’t make you feel tired, bloated and sluggish like many breakfast cereals do. I’m going to share this recipe with you with much thanks to author Marlene Anne Bumgarner from her book The Book Of Whole Grains.

About the Author: Dr. Grandma’s sells nutritious whole wheat mixes and

wheat berries

(aka:

wheat kernels

). To learn more about whole wheat foods and to find some great

wheat berry recipes

visit http://www.doctorgrandmas.com

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=321813&ca=Food+and+Drinks

Canada’s Etobicoke Centre (Ward 3) city council candidates speak

This exclusive interview features first-hand journalism by a Wikinews reporter. See the collaboration page for more details.

Monday, October 30, 2006

On November 13, Torontoians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Etobicoke Centre (Ward 3). One candidate responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Doug Holyday (incumbent), Peter Kudryk, Lillian Lança, and Ross Vaughan.

For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Canada%27s_Etobicoke_Centre_(Ward_3)_city_council_candidates_speak&oldid=2584581”
Categories Uncategorized

Australia/2009

Australia

2009

[edit]

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Australia/2009&oldid=816986”
Categories Uncategorized

Sun donates Solaris operating system, 1,600 patents to community

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Santa Clara, CALIFORNIA — Computer vendor Sun Microsystems released on Tuesday the first offerings of its OpenSolaris operating system code for free, under a license which allows anyone to use or work on the code and distribute the changes they make..

The full operating system is expected to be released for download sometime in the second quarter of 2005. Following along with the system source code are 1,670 patents Sun will make available for use by open-source developers. Sun hopes to leverage greater innovation in software from the open source community, in return for allowing the code to be used without charge.

“This is not an EOL (end of life) release. It’s a supercharged, turbocharged rocket launching,” Sun CEO Scott McNealy said. “No one else has done what we have just done.”

The move follows a recent move by IBM to grant use of 500 patents freely to open source software developers. Open source developers had been becoming concerned that bureaucracy and legal issues associated with software patents could be damaging to their livelihoods and to innovation. The moves by Sun and IBM seem intended to placate this growing fear.

Dynamic Trace, or DTrace is the first OpenSolaris component to be released. DTrace is a performance-analysis tool that tells developers how to optimize their applications for maximum performance.

The code is to be released under Sun’s own licensing scheme, the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL) Version 1.0. This license has been approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI).

Sun’s license is based on the Mozilla Public License. The Free Software Foundation has stated on its website that Sun’s license, while free, is not compatible with the GNU Public License (GPL) used for the popular open source Linux operating system. This does not mean that Linux software and OpenSolaris software cannot be used together, but limits the extent of integration which may be achieved.

Sun had previously allowed free use of the operating system Solaris by some users, for example students. This move greatly extends the range of free uses permitted, and allows users to read and modify the source code without charge or non-disclosure agreement.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Sun_donates_Solaris_operating_system,_1,600_patents_to_community&oldid=4598102”
Categories Uncategorized

5 Must Have Kitchen Appliances

5 Must-Have Kitchen Appliances

by

Stephen Ayer

1. Mini hand blender/smoothie maker. If you make smoothies, protein shakes, or mixed drinks, these kitchen gizmos are must-haves because of the convenience they offer. They are even great for mixing gravies and sauces right in the pan. They are not pricey, they are small and lightweight, and clean up easily.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO8EiScBEjA[/youtube]

2. Full-sized blender. Now and then you need a little more muscle than a mini-blender will offer you. A full-sized blender will save the day when it is time to crush ice or mix bigger batches of drinks. They work well for pureeing foods for soups and sauces, and even chopping nuts and seeds for granola and desserts. 3. Food processor/chopper. If you have an extremely sharp knife and are a whiz at using it, you might not need a food processor. If not, processors make chopping large batches of veggies for salads and casseroles much faster and less difficult. When picking one of these gadgets, make sure you get a sturdy one that is easy to assemble and disassemble. That will make it easier to clean after using. One that is dishwasher-safe is a plus. 4. Slow cooker. Next to the microwave, this may be the most worthy piece of equipment in the kitchen. They are so versatile that their usage is virtually infinite. They are good for busy people who want to come home to a warm meal. Foods will not burn in a slow cooker, so everything will be just right when dinnertime comes. Roasts, ribs, chickens, soups, chili and stew are all good candidates for a slow cooker. 5. Microwave oven. Microwaves are so ordinary now that it is hard to picture any cooking area without one. Even if it is a small, low-cost unit, it still has worth in the kitchen. Frozen meals, refreshments and treats, sandwiches and side dishes are all ready speedily in a microwave. If you prefer a higher-end unit, you can get one big enough to cook a turkey in. They come with probes, delay timers and many additional features that add to their convenience and performance. These appliances are not pricey, and yet they can add a lot to the kitchen in the way of speed and convenience.

Written by Stephen Ayer. Visit his website at

PLR Daddy

and

PLR Appliance Articles

Article Source:

5 Must-Have Kitchen Appliances

Category:Health

This is the category for Health.

Refresh this list to see the latest articles.

  • 10 July 2021: Australia: Andrea Wildin, Greens candidate in Stretton state by-election, discusses political issues with Wikinews
  • 10 July 2021: National Health Service England waiting list at highest on record for second consecutive month
  • 6 July 2021: Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel hospitalised with COVID-19
  • 24 June 2021: South Korean health authorities confirm first vaccination death
  • 17 June 2021: South Korean president expresses willingness to supply COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea
  • 30 April 2021: Arizona bans abortion for genetic abnormalities
  • 18 April 2021: India records 14 millionth case of COVID-19 amid new surge in infections
  • 13 April 2021: French Prime Minister announces suspension of all flights to, from Brazil over coronavirus variant concerns
  • 9 April 2021: North Korea withdraws from Tokyo Olympics, citing COVID-19 concerns
  • 9 April 2021: North Korean Research Institute for Nutrition Care of Children director slams UN’s report on child malnutrition due to COVID-19
?Category:Health

You can also browse through all articles in this category alphabetically.

From Wikinews, the free news source you can write.



Sister projects
  • Wikibooks
  • Commons
  • Wikipedia
  • Wikiquote
  • Wikisource
  • Wiktionary
  • Wikiversity

Subcategories

Pages in category “Health”

(previous page) ()(previous page) ()

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Health&oldid=4598068”
Categories Uncategorized