Majority of Miscarriages Are Beyond a Mother's Control

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I recently had a miscarriage at 14 weeks of pregnancy. I'm a healthy 30-year-old and I don't have any chronic medical problems. I didn't smoke or drink while I was pregnant. I'd like to get pregnant again, but I'm afraid of another miscarriage. Is there any way to tell what caused the first one, and if I'm high-risk for it happening again?

ANSWER: Miscarriages are very difficult, and the emotional impact of having a miscarriage can be significant. Although determining the cause of a miscarriage can be hard, it's very unlikely that it resulted from anything you did. Fortunately, because you are young and healthy, there's no increased risk that you'll have another miscarriage. But give yourself some time to recover. I generally suggest that women wait several months after a miscarriage before attempting to become pregnant again…

 Hartford Courant, Medical Edge, 10/29/09

'Gummy Bear' Implants Would Offer More Natural Breast Shape Than Current Options

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I recently heard something in the news about "gummy bear" implants. How are they different from other breast implants? Have they been approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), and if not, do you think they eventually will be?

ANSWER: The medical term for the breast implants you heard about is "cohesive silicone gel implants." They're often called "gummy bear implants" because their consistency and texture is similar to those of the candy bears. The biggest difference between these new implants and others is that the gummy bear implants can be formed into and maintain a natural breast shape. Gummy bear implants are still under investigation, but preliminary study results look promising. It appears these new breast implants will be available to the general public in the United States soon.

The Morning Call, Medical Edge, 10/29/09

Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Effective for an Assortment of Medical Conditions

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy? What is it used for?

ANSWER: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized room to increase the blood-oxygen level.

Historically, hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been used for deep-sea divers who experience decompression sickness -- also known as "the bends" -- which occurs when dissolved nitrogen gas bubbles form in the body's tissues when a diver returns to the water surface too quickly. But HBOT can be used to treat an assortment of other medical conditions, too, including serious infections, bubbles of air in the blood vessels (arterial gas embolism), wounds that won't heal due to diabetes or radiation injury, carbon monoxide poisoning, crush injuries, gangrene, brain abscesses, burns, skin grafts or skin flaps at risk of tissue death, and severe anemia.

 KFSM, Medical Edge, 10/28/09

Medical Edge: Home Heart Device

25 billion dollars; that's how much money is spent every year on patients with heart failure in the United States.

Most of that money is for on hospital visits.

But now, clinicians and researchers at the Mayo Clinic are hoping to change that.

This could mean a big break for heart patients.

Mayo researchers are testing a new device that can monitor patients at home in hopes of keeping them healthier and out of the hospital longer.

KAAL, Medical Edge by Axel Gumbel, 10/27/09

Tags: breast implants, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, Medical Edge, Medical Edge, miscarriages, ObGyn, Women's Health