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Daily Rounds: Simplifying Circumcision; Soldiers Fighting Brain Trauma; Playing Doctor; Bella Santorum's Fatal Illness

Aids Prevention Inspires Ways To Make Circumcision Easier (The New York Times) "From the initial safety studies done so far, PrePex is clearly faster, less painful and more bloodless than any of its current rivals. And it relies on the simplest and least-threatening technology — a rubber band. The band compresses the foreskin against a plastic ring slipped inside it; the foreskin dies within hours for lack of blood and, after a week, falls off or can be clipped off “like a fingernail,” said Tzameret Fuerst, the company’s chief executive officer, who compared the process to the stump of an umbilical cord’s shriveling up and dropping off a few days after it is clamped.It is done with topical anesthetic cream, and there is usually no bleeding. And PrePex can be put in place and removed by nurses with about three days’ training."

One Soldier's Progress Against Traumatic Brain Injury - ProPublica (ProPublica) "But not every soldier with a brain injury has been as fortunate as Medina. The National Intrepid Center of Excellence at Bethesda National Naval Medical Center, Md. (Department of Defense) Delgado told ProPublica and NPR that she frequently receives calls from military wives who've had a hard time getting their husbands enrolled at NICOE, which has treated only about 200 soldiers since it opened in October 2011, center spokesman Joshua Stueve told ProPublica and NPR.By comparison, recent estimates show that nearly 230,000 soldiers have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries, Stueve said. "We aren't going to make a huge dent in that population," said Stueve. Most of the center's $35 million budget is spent on research, not clinical care, he noted."

Coming Out Of The Chute (illandreason.com) "She was wearing a loose white cotton sleeveless blouse, and blue jeans. Her toes, with red-polished, carefully manicured nails were visible at the end of her brown strappy sandals, her legs dangling off the end of the exam table. She had a shapely, athletic figure. We had been told that we shouldn’t notice whether someone was attractive, or repulsive for that matter. I wondered how many of these exams I would have to do before I didn’t notice. How do you not notice? We exchanged pleasantries, and I informed them that I was a “student doctor”. I didn’t tell them that this was my first physical examination, or that I wasn’t actually a “doctor” at all yet. I was anxious about what was about to happen, but I was more concerned that they might turn me away. Thankfully, the fact that I was a student didn’t seem to faze them in the least. The young woman continued to look down. I noticed that the man’s hand, holding hers, was shaking."

Santorum Daughter's Illness A Test For Candidate (The New York Times) Isabella Santorum, the fragile 3-year-old daughter of Rick Santorum, has pulled through again. She came down with pneumonia over the weekend, a frightening turn of events given that Bella, as she is known, received a diagnosis of a fatal chromosomal disorder called Trisomy 18 shortly after her birth and has lived longer than most babies born with the illness. About two weeks after her birth, doctors sent her home from the hospital on hospice care, which is usually reserved for the end of life, not the beginning, saying her condition was “incompatible with life.” Bella’s condition is a constant challenge for the entire family, especially for Mr. Santorum’s wife, Karen, and their six other children.

Mayor Menino has minor surgery to remove skin cancer from nose - Metro Desk - Local news updates from The Boston Globe (boston.com) Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino had minor surgery last week to remove a cancerous growth from his nose, his spokeswoman said today. A doctor Friday removed basal cell carcinoma, which is the most common type of skin cancer, from Menino’s nose, said the spokeswoman, Dot Joyce.

This program aired on January 31, 2012. The audio for this program is not available.

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