You may not be better off after knee surgery

Today's post is shared from cnn.com 

(CNN) -- Patients who underwent simulated knee surgery fared just as well as those who got the real deal, according to a new study that's raising eyebrows about the most common orthopedic procedure performed in the United States.

The findings, published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, add to a string of papers suggesting that arthroscopic partial meniscectomy fails to help many patients. The operation typically is performed to relieve knee pain, whether from wear or from an injury.

But other doctors say it's still too soon to draw sweeping conclusions.

The study, which was conducted in Finland, followed 146 patients between the ages of 35 and 65 with symptoms of degenerative wear and tear of the meniscus, a disk-shaped piece of cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between the shinbone and thighbone. They had no detectable arthritis, suggesting that any pain was due to a problem with the meniscus.

About half the patients underwent an arthroscopic meniscectomy, in which a surgeon inserts a blade through a tiny incision in the knee, and essentially shaves down the rough, frayed edges of the meniscus.

The other half underwent an elaborately staged "sham" surgery, in which the doctor made an incision and poked around without any actual manipulation, shaving or cutting.

A year later, there was no significant difference in the knee pain reported by patients in each group. Nearly two-thirds on each side said they were happy with the results, and most said...


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NTSB kicks train union out of crash investigation

Railroad safety continues to be examined following the train crash in New York last week. This post is shared from cnn.com.
Repair efforts are under way Tuesday, December 3, at the site of a recent train derailment in the Bronx. At least four people were killed and more than 60 people were injured after a Metro-North...

The NTSB said it has booted the rail union from its investigation into the weekend's deadly train derailment for violating confidentiality rules.

The agency made the announcement late Tuesday night, hours after a union representative told CNN that the train engineer apparently "was nodding off and caught himself too late" before the accident.

The train derailment Sunday killed four people and injured 67 others in New York.

In its announcement, the NTSB specifically cited those comments as the violation.

Anthony Bottalico, the union representative, told CNN that engineer William Rockefeller Jr. recognizes his responsibility in the incident.

"I think most people are leaning towards human error," Bottalico said.

Rockefeller's lawyer, Jeffrey Chartier, characterized what happened as "highway hypnosis." He said his client had had a full night's sleep before the crash, and had no disciplinary record.

In a brief conversation with investigators, Rockefeller said that moments before the derailment of the Hudson Line train in the Bronx he was "going along and I'm in a daze. I don't know what happened," according to a law enforcement official familiar with that conversation.

Rockefeller spoke to Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York Police detectives at the crash site before he was taken to the hospital Sunday.

According to NTSB representatives,...

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Orca whale trainer saw best of Keiko, worst of Tilikum

The fatal accident of a whale trainer continues to be of concern. after a "whale ate" a Sea World trainer. Todays' blog was shaved by CNN.

Watch an encore of "Blackfish" on CNN, Saturday, October 26 at 7 p.m. ET and Sunday, October 27 at 9 p.m. ET.

Colin Baird still remembers the day he got the call from work more than 23 years ago, when he learned of his co-worker's fate.

"We need you to come in," said his colleague from the Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria.

His fellow trainer, 20-year old Keltie Byrne, had slipped and fallen into the orca tank. Byrne was an exceptionally strong swimmer but she was no match for the aquarium's killer whales.

"She tried to get back out and the other girl tried to pull her up, but the whale grabbed her back foot and pulled her under," eyewitness Nadine Kallen told CNN affiliate CTV in 1991. "And then the whales -- they bounced her around the pool a whole bunch of times, and she was screaming for help.

"They tried to grab her with sticks, but they couldn't get her," Kallen said. "And she finally didn't come up any more."

There were three orcas at Sealand at the time -- two females, Haida and Nootka, and Tilikum, the sole male. Tilikum would later become infamous for the 2010 killing of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau.

Tilikum -- or "Tili," as he was known -- was popular and "very easy to work with," Baird recalled.

"He was very easygoing, he learned quickly, he learned well, very responsive," he said. "You know, he was probably my favorite of the three."
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More than 1,100 have cancer after 9/11

Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from www.cnn.com

Reggie Hilaire was a rookie cop on September 11, 2001.

He worked at ground zero for 11 days beside his colleagues -- many of them, including Hilaire, not wearing a mask. He was later assigned to a landfill in Staten Island, where debris from the World Trade Center was dumped.

For about 60 days between 2001 and 2002, the New York police officer was surrounded by dust.

In 2005, Hilaire was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He underwent surgery and radiation. Just months later his doctor told him he also had multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that multiplies the body's plasma cells to dangerous levels.

It's a cancer that usually strikes much later in life. Hilaire was 34.

More than 1,100 people who worked or lived near the World Trade Center on 9/11 have been diagnosed with cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A few months ago Hilaire received a letter from the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, officially offering him medical insurance under the World Trade Center Health Program. About 1,140 people have been certified to receive cancer treatment under the WTC Health Program, a representative told CNN.

These are the first numbers released since the program was expanded a year ago.

In September 2012, federal health authorities added 58 types of cancer to the list of covered illnesses for people who were exposed to toxins at the site of the World Trade Center in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Dr. John Howard,...

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