Four months ago, Northern Nevada Medical Center welcomed a physician whose roots in medicine go back well into the 1600s; it also granted the Sparks community a specialist it needed.

The institute is designed to treat the full spectrum of male and female urology ailments through traditional surgery, laser surgery, prostatitis, interstitial cystitis and procedures for prostate disorders and endourology.

Eye surgery center now accepting patients

DECATUR - Macon County Eye Center has a new and improved neighbor.Advanced Eye Surgery and Laser Center LLC recently has opened directly behind Macon County Eye Center as a new facility that performs outpatient eye procedures, including advanced cataract surgery, eyelid surgery, glaucoma surgery and laser treatments, Lasik corrective vision surgery and more.The mission of building the surgery center was to provide patients with a more convenient and economical alternative for eye surgeries, said Dr. Sushant Sinha, physician and medical director of both centers."We realized one inconvenience for our elderly patients, which is the majority of our patients, was going to the hospital, getting very confused and walking across a big parking lot," Sinha said. "We want to provide the utmost care and create a friendly, convenient and reliable facility."Previously, patients had to go to Decatur Memorial Hospital or Central Illinois Surgery Center for cataract surgery, said Dawn Followell, clinic administrator of Macon County Eye Center.

New Technologies Tighten Skin From Head To Toe Without Surgery

If sagging skin is getting you down, recent advances in skin-tightening technologies can lift your spirits and your skin in a matter of a few office visits to your dermatologist. The beauty of these non-invasive procedures is their ability to treat loose skin virtually anywhere on the body without the risks and downtime associated with surgery.

Speaking today at the American Academy of Dermatology's Summer Academy Meeting 2007, dermatologist David J. Goldberg, MD, JD, FAAD, clinical professor of dermatology and director of laser research at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, N.Y., discussed the rapidly expanding area of skin-tightening techniques and how they can safely and effectively treat sagging skin on the jowls, neck, arms, and stomach, as well as cellulite.

LASIK eye surgery improving, doctor says

Barry Ohler, 48, Markleton, and Breiann Howsare, 26, Somerset, had something in common: Both have worn glasses or contacts for years.Now they have something else in common: They underwent LASIK eye surgery on Friday at Somerset Hospital. Dr. Daniel Vittone, who has offices in Somerset, Latrobe, Mount Pleasant and Johnstown, performed the procedures.

Vittone has been performing LASIK, which stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, surgery for 12 years. He is now using a second-generation surgical laser, the FEMTO LDV manufactured by Ziemer Ophthalmology in Switzerland. The femtosecond surgical laser is portable and is taken from hospital to hospital by technicians. (A femtosecond is one-millionth of a nanosecond, a measurement used by lasers.)Vittone has been using the laser for four months, he said, and was one of the first ophthalmologists in the nation to use it.

Majority of Aussies considering cosmetic intervention

MORE than half of Australians are thinking about going under the knife or having their face injected with chemicals to look better, an independent survey into cosmetic intervention has revealed. A survey of 2211 people by NEWS.com.au and research company CoreData found 60.8 per cent of respondents have thought about having plastic surgery while 58.5 per cent have considered non-surgical procedures such as wrinkle treatments and laser hair removal. Special treat Feelings of self-worth and confidence are the biggest drivers of cosmetic surgery and non-surgical treatments, with the majority of respondents doing it to feel better about themselves, followed by looking more attractive for their partner. Improving appearances in a bid to further careers was the least popular reason for both types of procedures.

Face or body makeover without surgery

TECHNOLOGY has come to the rescue of those who want to have a facelift or a tummy tuck, or whatever else but who are afraid of surgery: there are machines now that make this possible without going under the knife. And it can be done during lunch break, so says Dr. Cecilia R. Bernad.

At her CRB Multi-Specialty Clinic in Perpetual Succour Hospital, she has two machines called Harmony and Accent.

Accent is the machine that gives a non-surgical facelift and body reshaping or thermoshape through the use of heat (laser).

There is no downtime in these procedures, and no downside except for the fact that heat is being applied on ones body or face and therefore, there is some mild discomfort. One goes out of the clinic without a wound or anything that would show what one has been through, except that ones body or face has been tightened and somehow transformed, very subtly.

As Medical Patents Surge, So Do Lawsuits

A surge in patents that protect surgeries and other medical methods has triggered numerous lawsuits in recent years, with inventors fighting more vigorously than ever to protect their intellectual property rights.

"Many physicians are constantly coming up with new techniques and devices.