What To Expect From A Thoracotomy When a surgeon needs to gain access to a patient’s lungs, heart, or other thoracic organs, he or she will perform a thoracotomy. For the purpose of this article, we’ll focus primarily on the procedure in the context of a surgeon performing the procedure due to lung cancer. Typically, [...]

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Carotid Occlusive Disease At CVTSA in northern Virginia, vascular surgeons with CVTSA routinely treat patients with carotid arterial disease. The carotid arteries are blood vessels in the neck that supply blood to the brain. Plaque or the buildup of fatty material can result in narrowing, called a “stenosis” of the artery. This is the same [...]

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An Introduction To The Damaging Nature Of Lupus Your immune system normally protects you from infections. Lupus is a condition in which your immune system attacks your own body. In effect, it becomes unable to discern between foreign entities and your cells. The disease causes inflammation which can spread throughout your body and affect your [...]

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Prostate Cancer: Symptoms And Diagnosis Prostate cancer is caused by the uncontrollable growth of cells within the prostate gland. Current data shows that the disease impacts one of every six men in the U.S. It is potentially life-threatening and can also lead to an assortment of side effects which may prove both debilitating and embarrassing. [...]

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An Introduction To Cardiomyopathy: When The Heart Becomes Weak When the heart muscle weakens, it becomes less capable of doing its job: pumping blood to your lungs as well as to the rest of your body. This condition is called cardiomyopathy. There are several types of the disease, and each can be caused by a [...]

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