Tag
Surgery recovery
Treating depression before surgery helped older patients, almost entirely in the cancer group
Depression and anxiety are common before major surgery in later life and rarely addressed. Randomizing 306 patients over 60 found a benefit that was not spread evenly across operations.
Sep 16, 2026
Pacemakers outperformed catheter ablation for irregular heart rhythm in patients over 75
Catheter ablation is the standard offer for persistent atrial fibrillation, and it works less well the older the patient. Randomizing 196 people with a median age of 82 tested the blunter alternative.
Sep 8, 2026
Fusing an arthritic big toe cut walking pain from 5.7 to 1.3 in the first trial to test it
Hallux rigidus is common and its main operation had never been compared against simply waiting. A Finnish randomized trial of 90 adults found fusion beat watchful waiting by 5 points on a 10-point walking pain scale at 12 months.
Aug 28, 2026
Exercise before bowel surgery barely moved fatigue scores in 518 patients
518 people having colorectal cancer surgery were randomized to extra moderate exercise around the operation. Fatigue scores came out slightly better. Quality of life, pain and mental recovery did not move at all.
Aug 18, 2026