Washington, Apr 21 : A surgeon has successfully removed a patient's lemon-size gallbladder through a single incision in the belly button.

Julie Kopec had her gallbladder removed via a minimally invasive procedure to operate inside the abdomen, and that too with no traces of a scar, less pain and a lower risk of infection.

Dr. P. Marco Fisichella, assistant professor of surgery, division of general surgery, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, performed Kopec's surgery.

Washington, Apr 21 : Individuals are often stunned when they undergo routine tests and find that they have had a heart attack. Now, a new research suggests that the so-called "silent" attacks occur much more frequently than suspected.

"Silent" heart attacks aren''t noted because they don''t cause any pain - or at least any pain that patients believe is related to their heart - and they don''t leave behind any telltale irregularities on electrocardiograms (ECGs).

Washington, Apr 21: People with high levels of anxiety due to chronic pain exhibit more emotional distress and disability, say researchers.

But, British researchers, writing in The Journal of Pain, say use of pain coping strategies can mediate this effect.

The purpose of the study was to examine the role of anxiety on everyday functioning of patients seeking treatment for chronic pain. It was assumed anxiety would be associated with higher levels of distress and impaired functioning.

London, Apr 20: Researchers have taken a step forward to bringing personalized cancer therapy within reach by using molecular profiling of the patients that can help identify specific treatments.

The study shows that molecular profiling of patients can identify specific treatments for individuals, helping keep their cancer in check for significantly longer periods, and in some cases even shrinking tumours.

During the research, the team recruited 66 patients at nine centres across the United States, including Scottsdale Heathcare.

London, Apr 20: Diet pills, which the manufacturers say, can help shed those extra pounds might be making you even fatter, experts have warned.

The anti-obesity drugs sold over the counter cannot be a substitute for healthy living, they suggest.

“Selling anti-obesity drugs over the counter will perpetuate the myth that obesity can be fixed simply by popping a pill,” the Mirror quoted Prof Gareth Williams, of Bristol University, as saying.

“Healthy living is the only long-term escape from obesity,” Williams added.

Melbourne, Apr 20: Just by thinking ‘out of box’, doctors successfully removed a leech, which was attached to an Australian woman''s eyeball.

The leech made its way to the 66-year-old woman’s eye while she was gardening in the backyard of her suburban Sydney home in March last year and accidentally flicked some moist soil and the blood-sucking organism into her left eye.