Latest news with #surgeon
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Catalysts In Innovation: A Doctor's Dream Impacts Healthcare
The beautiful country of Malta, is surrounded by deep blue waters, and has a rich history of visitors and conquerors from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. A place to soak in fascinating stories, culture and architecture, it also has another unexpected dimension. Malta has been a hub of accelerated progress, in health, led by a doctor whose vision has been to build bridges while elevating healthcare to the next level. Dr Dylan Attard, a skilled surgeon, realized that he could make a more scalable difference to many patients through helping grow connections between innovation, industry and healthcare. Dr Dylan Attard, is an entrepreneur, leader and congregator of worldwide experts from 4 different continents, and the founder of a global med tech conference which he started it in his home country of Malta. I had the pleasure of speaking with him recently about the vision of these global meetings. Why did you decide to start MedTech World? As a surgeon, I often felt limited by the fact that I could only help one patient at a time within a hospital setting. While that work is deeply rewarding, I've always had the urge to make a broader, global impact. I was also fascinated by the intersection of healthcare and entrepreneurship—especially venture funding and the journey of MedTech startups going from concept to market. MedTech World was born out of that blend: a desire to scale impact and help companies bring transformative technologies to life faster, by connecting them with the right investors, partners, and clinicians. Is collaboration between industry, investors and doctors important and how do conferences help? When you have small group gatherings, as simple as a walking tour or beverages at a local restaurant, conversations happen. One example that comes to mind is how the founder of a company, Cognixion, had an organic conversation with an investor about his vision. The company is building AI augmented AR wearable devices that may affect millions of patients who are unable to speak, a difficult health challenge. They started chatting on an excursion around Malta. A relaxed ride seeing beautiful scenery on a small boat with just 10-12 people can create a nice chance for a great conversation between a founder, a doctor or investor with no pressure. I'd say the strength of a global health innovation conference lies in the consistent pipeline of opportunities it creates. We've seen investors meet their next high-potential startups, clinicians join advisory boards of emerging tech companies, and strategic partnerships formed over conversations that started in Malta. The environment is designed for serendipity—and over the years, it has delivered tangible results across funding, product development, and market entry. Why did you decide to initiate this in Malta? Malta offers a rare combination of strategic location, government agility, and business incentives. Positioned at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, it's perfectly placed for international collaboration. The Maltese government, through Malta Enterprise, has been instrumental in encouraging entrepreneurship—offering a range of benefits from tax incentives and startup grants to co-financing and support for AI-driven solutions. The country's compact size also fosters a unique kind of collaboration: policymakers, clinicians, and founders are accessible and open to innovation. It's becoming a testbed for emerging technologies in AI, offering both access and scale in a controlled, collaborative environment. What are the growth plans of this conference beyond its annual flagship in Malta? We've seen such great connections from our annual flagship that we have started to transform it into a truly global movement. Starting this year, we're launching four flagship events across four continents, one per quarter—Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. From Singapore and Asia and more recently the Middle East, with a growing presence in Dubai, we've now set foot in the U.S., having held a successful event in Houston and with our upcoming partnership event with MedTech Innovator in San Jose, California. This expansion is rooted in our belief that innovation happens everywhere, and by meeting our community where they are, we can better support startups, investors, and healthcare leaders in driving impact locally and globally. Each event will retain our core DNA—curated networking, high-value content, and startup-driven energy—while tapping into the unique opportunities and challenges of each region. Dr Attard's dream is to build bridges amongst people around the world; he has succeeded in connecting startups with investors, clinicians, service providers, and strategic partners, ultimately creating opportunities that have helped accelerate innovation and healthcare globally. Through the visionary leadership of one doctor, it turns out that Malta has a lot more to share than just tourism. It has become ground zero, in many instances, for expanding innovation and is making a difference in healthcare around the world. Grandmaster's Palace, Home To The House Of Representatives And The Office Of The President Of Malta, ... More Valletta, Malta (Photo by: Insights/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
CTV News
5 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Quebec woman's botched breast lift in Colombia highlights dangers of cosmetic surgery tourism
Warning: this article contains graphic images. A Quebec woman is warning against cosmetic surgery tourism after she went to Colombia for a breast lift because it was cheaper. She now calls it the worst decision of her life. Five years ago, Alexandra Denis-Bérubé found out she had a benign tumour in one of her breasts, and she was put on a wait list for surgery that would have taken four to five years. She decided to try the private system and found out the cost for removing the tumour, plus a lift, was $16,000. A friend then recommended she consider getting the procedure done in Colombia. 'When you're at the grocery store and you have to have two different apples that look the same, you will choose automatically the cheaper one, so this is why I took this decision,' she said. The surgery in Colombia costs just $3,000, but she quickly found out she wasn't comparing apples to apples. botched boob job Denis-Bérubé said her body rejected non-dissolving stitches. (Submitted by Alexandra Denis-Bérubé) 'When I arrived in Quebec, all the complications arrived at the same time,' said Denis-Bérubé. The surgeon, it turns out, used non-dissolving stitches, which her body began rejecting. One by one, the stitches started to come out through her now-reopened wounds. 'All of my scars are open, so it took five months to close them,' said Denis-Bérubé. At the same time, she was dealing with complications from a second procedure called a Brazilian butt lift, or BBL. An infection caused serious bruising on her hips and stomach. 'I would say 90 per cent — nine-zero — of our patients that we see complications of plastic surgery come from abroad,' said plastic surgeon Dr. Hani Sinno. BBL bruising Alexandra Denis-Bérubé said her Brazilian butt lift also came with complications. (Submitted by Alexandra Denis-Bérubé) Sinno is not involved in Denis-Bérubé's case, but said the cosmetic tourism trend has taken off on social media and he's seen an increase in the number of hospitalizations due to complications. 'This doesn't mean that complications don't occur here in Canada, in Montreal,' said Sinno. 'What it does mean is that their patients don't have adequate follow-up, and the type of complications that they're getting is not the things that we do see here in Canada.' Denis-Bérubé said her decision to try to save money ended up costing her more, both in physical and psychological suffering. 'I deal with it,' she said. 'I just really want to tell my story to avoid some woman to have the same pain.' Since her trip to Colombia, she has had to undergo two more surgeries and still has at least one more to come. She estimates that the total cost has risen to more than $40,000. 'It's probably the big the biggest mistake I've done in my life really,' she said.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Woman reveals what life is really like after having the rarest amputation in the world
After experiencing pain in her leg, Courtney Echerd never would have guessed she'd lose her entire limb after undergoing one of the rarest amputations in the world in order to save her life. Courtney had been dealing with 18 months of intense pain when she finally received a diagnosis for pelvic osteosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. in September last year at age 29. As per the National Library of Medicine, treatment usually includes chemotherapy and wide surgical resection of the tumor. But for Courtney, a hemipelvectomy amputation, which is when part of the pelvis and the entire leg is removed, was her best option. She said: 'When the possibility [of an amputation] was first introduced by a surgeon in Dallas, she made it seem like my life was over.' The patient admitted that she was worried she would be bedridden for the rest of her life, and was initially resistant to the idea. Courtney continued: 'I saw it as black and white, I either go back to the life I was living with both legs or... I wouldn't even let my imagination go there. 'I threw up, asked two of my best friends to come over with their kids and dogs, and just kind of went in and out of sleep.' Courtney eventually underwent the surgery and has since shared parts of her recovery journey on TikTok, which have gone viral on the platform. She said: '[Hemipelvectomys] account for less than 0.05 percent of all lower limb amputations. 'I will one day be independent. 'I know [three to four] women who have had the same or similar surgery that live totally independently. They have children, they are superstars and I will one day be there - it just all depends on my pain.' Courtney, who works in media and has been Los Angeles based for the past seven years, can thankfully still work, and says that getting back to LA is a big motivator for recovering. She added she is no longer receiving treatment for bone cancer, but still experiences some of the chemotherapy side effects - despite not having received treatment for six months. In a video posted in October last year, Courtney detailed why she hasn't received a prosthetic leg yet - explaining that she has no hip joint for the fake limb to attach to. She said: 'The more joints you have the easier it is for you to use a prosthetic. 'Most people that have this amputation don't even use a prosthetic.' The freelance journalist said that with more common amputations, the fake limbs which are inserted at a joint allow the user to move around in a similar way to how they did before. However, she would have to learn to maneuver herself differently, explaining 'it will take using my hip force to swing that leg around, take a step, and swing again to walk.' Courtney said this was due to a number of reasons, including that 'they're very expensive,' 'very complicated,' and they 'use a ton of energy.' Courtney added: 'They're also really hot and heavy.' Unlike other fake limbs, the type that Courtney will need to use is a leg which is joined by her wearing a form of plastic shorts, with a prosthetic attached to one side. She said: 'It will wrap around my waist and then connect from the very, very, very small amount of leg that I have left.' According to Medical Center Orthotics and Prosthetics, a hemipelvectomy is one of the rarest types of lower-extremity, above-knee amputations. The sire reads: 'Hemipelvectomy surgery procedures involve a removal or re-sectioning of some part of the patient's pelvis (sometimes as much as half of it). 'This procedure is typically carried out for the treatment or elimination of the most dangerous conditions and diseases, the most prominent being localized tumors or cancers that have spread to the pelvis and have not been responsive to other forms of treatment such as radiation therapy or chemotherapy.' Courtney now lives with her parents as she continues to recover from her surgery and adjust to her new way of life. She said since having her leg removed, she has connected with other people who have dealt with the same amputation which has made her more optimistic about the future. Courtney added: 'They have been a great source of hope, especially in the early days when I didn't know how I would ever cook dinner or travel or feel like myself again. 'There's a Facebook group of about 200 of us worldwide and it's so nice to pop in to ask questions like "What does everyone do in terms of luggage at the airport?" or "Who is the best prosthetist in America?"' She added these questions can't just be searched online because information is so limited. Courtney continued: 'We really only have each other. 'They are the people who have made me believe that I can be a parent and world traveler and live a happy life.'
BBC News
6 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Surgeon dropped from private practice works at NHS hospital
A surgeon banned from working for a private healthcare company, following an investigation into patient safety, continues to work in the NHS, the BBC Health has stopped Marc Lamah from working in their hospitals, but he is still operating on patients for the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation NHS patient left with a twisted bowel following an operation he carried out said he should never work Lamah did not respond to the BBC's request for comment sent via his employer. In January the BBC revealed concerns had been raised about Mr Lamah's complication rate and that he was no longer practising at Nuffield Health's hospital in Brighton pending an investigation. A former employee at the hospital told the BBC that internal data showed one third of Mr Lamah's patients had experienced a "moderate harm event", where, for instance, a patient had to be transferred to another hospital or re-admitted, over a 12-month period. The figure should be 5%, the BBC was told. In a statement to the BBC, Nuffield Health said following an independent investigation, "we can confirm Mr Lamah's practicing privileges with Nuffield Health have been withdrawn."His conduct did not meet the standards of medical practice and governance we expect. Patient safety is our top priority, and we hold all consultants to the highest standards." Mr Lamah continues to operate as a colorectal surgeon at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton. The University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, told the BBC it had audited Mr Lamah's NHS data, which showed his outcomes were within the expected national range. The trust added that Nuffield's investigation had found "no concerns with regard to technical abilities, surgical practice or patient safety".The trust is at the centre of a large police investigation, Operation Bramber, looking into at least 200 cases of alleged medical Police is examining concerns about avoidable harm and cover-ups in the trust's neurosurgery and general surgery departments between 2015 and 2021. The trust runs seven hospitals across East and West Sussex and is one of the largest organisations within the NHS, providing care to a population of almost two million people. Sheryl Hunter says she has suffered "five years of hell" after an NHS operation carried out by Mr Lamah. She has to manually excavate her bowels and has needed several emergency suffering from endometriosis for a number of years, in 2019 doctors decided that Ms Hunter, a mother of one, needed an operation to ease her Lamah decided the best approach was to remove a part of her large intestine, the colon, and connect it to her small intestine.A few days after she was discharged, said Ms Hunter, "I felt something pop, and this very awful fluid was coming out of me".She was rushed back to the Royal Sussex where they discovered the joint between the two intestines had torn, and "for 10 days it had been filling up my abdomen with bowel matter." This is a known complication of this type of surgery, the BBC understands. Cases double in NHS trust death and injury investigationFamilies back hospital trust manslaughter probe Despite that problem being resolved, Ms Hunter continued to suffer extreme pain for several years, necessitating repeated visits to both her GP and the Royal Sussex said: "I have very little good days. By that, I mean I am curled up in a ball crying. "When I try to go to the toilet, I scream on the toilet in tears because it is so painful to go, to open up my bowels. I have to manually do that, which means I have to wear gloves."The pain is very severe – it's in my stomach, it gets into my spine, down my legs, my arms."Letters shared with the BBC by Ms Hunter show her GP wrote to Mr Lamah repeatedly requesting he see her January, 2023 the GP wrote that "we have written to you on multiple occasions to review her and discuss her options".A few days later Mr Lamah replied to say he had not received any previous letters. But almost 12 months later, in December 2023, the GP wrote another letter urging Mr Lamah to see Hunter told the BBC he was "begged" by colleagues to see her but "he refused". Finally, in April 2024, she was seen by another consultant at a different hospital run by the same trust - the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath - when she found out what was causing her pain."The main problem is a 180 degree twist on the small bowel causing an internal hernia and twisting the anastomosis [the surgical joint]," said the discharge sheet given to Ms Hunter by the hospital after the procedure."When they did the reconnection [of the intestines], they put it on backwards," Sheryl said she was told. "That [creates] a risk of rupture. If you rupture, it's a two-hour window before death."Had I not been manually opening my bowels for five years, they said that would have happened."The trust said surgical error was only presented as one of a range of possibilities. The BBC passed the details to an independent medical expert who said the twist "certainly is a consequence of the 2019 operation". The trust said only a further operation would confirm if Mr Lamah had made an error or whether the twist had occurred the damage is now more extensive than it would have been had Ms Hunter been treated has been told she will need pelvic reconstruction surgery before she can have another operation to try to fix her intestines. She is on a waiting list for the first procedure and has spoken to Sussex Police about her NHS colleagues have also raised concerns to the BBC about Mr Lamah, but he continues to practise at the Royal Sussex County Hospital."I think it's disgusting. That man shouldn't be allowed to touch any other patients," said Ms Hunter."I was told Marc Lamah has a terrible bedside manner, but he's a fantastic surgeon. "Marc Lamar has a terrible bedside manner, and he's a terrible surgeon. He shouldn't be allowed to operate, as far as I'm concerned." 'Robust systems' In a statement, Prof Katie Urch, chief medical officer for the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, told the BBC: "We can't publicly discuss an individual's care, but we absolutely understand the distress and difficulty anyone living with ongoing complex health issues can face."Our clinical teams are dedicated to understanding their patients' needs and providing the highest standard of care."Whilst no medical procedure can guarantee a successful outcome, our teams strive for the best possible results every day – and if we ever have cause to think we could have done more for a patient we have robust systems, including the routine use of independent experts, to help us learn and improve."
Daily Telegraph
10-07-2025
- Daily Telegraph
Junior doctor at Melbourne's Austin Hospital arrested after camera allegedly found in staff bathroom
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News. A trainee surgeon at Melbourne's Austin Hospital has been arrested for allegedly filming colleagues inside a staff toilet. The 27-year-old's Heidelberg West home was raided this morning, after a phone was allegedly found in a staff toilet at the hospital in Melbourne's north on July 3. 'Mernda Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigation Team (SOCIT) investigators have arrested a man following an incident at a medical facility in Heidelberg,' Victoria Police said in a statement. 'It is alleged a recording device in the form of a mobile phone was located in a restricted staff toilet of a medical facility in Heidelberg on July 3. 'The device is believed to have been in place for some time before staff became aware and reported the matter to police. The 27-year-old was arrested on Thursday. Picture: Victoria Police 'As a result, police executed a warrant at an address in Heidelberg West this morning, 10 July.' The man is currently being interviewed by police. 'We take the safety and wellbeing of our staff extremely seriously and recently made a formal report to Victoria Police,' a spokeswoman for Austin Health told 'As this matter is now with the police, we are not able to share more information about the nature of the report.' More to come Originally published as Junior doctor at Melbourne's Austin Hospital arrested after camera allegedly found in staff bathroom
