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University of Pittsburgh researchers have developed a new procedure to treat a painful foot condition called plantar fasciitis. A patient’s own fat is injected into the foot via dozens of small injections in a grid pattern. VIDEO at link................ Credit: Beth Gusenoff and Jeffrey Gusenoff A novel technique that transplants a patient’s own fat into the sole of their foot could offer relief to those suffering from a common and painful condition called plantar fasciitis, according to University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers. In a pilot study, published today in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and led by a wife-and-husband...

Ms. Smith’s tragic demise was more dramatic than many cases of hospital-acquired infection (HAI). Necrotizing fasciitis is a frightening, but rare, complication. Still, about 8,000 Canadians a year die from bugs they contract in facilities meant to make them better, while many more see their hospital stay prolonged by such illness. Yet after years of well-intentioned work and millions of dollars spent on combatting the scourge, the details and extent of the problem remain murky. No national statistics, for instance, document the number of surgical-wound infections like Ms. Smith’s, one of the most common types of hospital-acquired pathogens. A federal...

Peter Andersen (left) began to recover from flesh-eating disease after Rev. John Horgan put a relic of Blessed Marmion on his head, heart and diseased leg. VANCOUVER - Rev. John Horgan knew a dying man when he saw one. Years of working as a chaplain in Vancouver General and St. Paul’s hospitals had seen to that.So when he saw Peter Andersen in Vancouver General’s intensive care unit on the afternoon of July 3, 2008, he didn’t need anyone to tell him that Andersen’s situation was grave. His blood stream was teeming with the bacteria from two flesh-eating diseases: myositis, which...