What is a radical neck dissection? when is it done?

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What is a radical neck dissection? The surgeon removes a block of tissue from the collarbone to the jaw and from the front to the back of the neck. The large muscle on the side of the neck that is used for rotating, flexing or extending the neck is also taken out, along with the major vein on the side of the neck. Sometimes, a less drastic operation, called a supraomohyoid neck dissection is done. This takes out only the lymph nodes, the tissue surrounding the nodes and a muscle at the front of the neck. Another technique, called a functional neck dissection, saves the muscles of the neck, taking out only the lymph nodes and tissues surrounding them.
What kind of incision is made with a radical neck dissection? The incision depends upon what the surgery is for. It can run from below the ear to the collarbone. Everything in the front of the neck on one side or on both sides may be removed. This may include the lymph nodes, blood vessels, nerves, and the salivary gland under the jawbone.

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Are there blood tests that can help my physician to determine how I am doing?

Yes. During a heart attack, some heart muscle cells that lack sufficient blood and oxygen become damaged, releasing various enzymes into the bloodstream. A blood sample may be drawn every few hours to look for these enzymes as one way to diagnose whether a heart attack has occurred and how much muscle has been damaged.

After a heart attack, your physician will always take blood samples to measure blood cholesterol and fractions of blood cholesterol. These tests can reveal your level of risk of developing a future heart attack. These fractions include measures of highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), often called the “good” cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), often called the “bad” cholesterol. Levels of triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood) are often measured at the same time.

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Where does Melanoma most often metastasize?

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What is malignant melanoma? Malignant melanoma is a less common form of skin cancer. When diagnosed early, it is easily cured. But if it is not found soon enough, it can be very difficult to treat. It is dangerous because, unlike the other skin cancers, it mestastasizes early and spreads quickly. It is one of the more uncontrollable cancers. The cell involved is the melanocyte, the cell which produces melanin, the dark protective pigment of the skin.
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Ejaculation and sexual life problems after prostate surgery

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How to know if your ankle is broken? How is a broken ankle treated?

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What shall I do, Doctor? I'm at a gas station phone and my wife just fell down and twisted her ankle. 

If it is painful and she can't walk, it may be a fracture. Don't manipulate it, don't pull it. Just wrap a towel or pillow around it and take her to a hospital for an X ray. It is best if she does not walk. You can carry her in a chair.
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How painful is a bone marrow transplant for the donor

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What is the symptoms of a head concussion? Is concussion a brain injury?

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Nature provides a thick scalp and skull to protect the brain and further encloses it in envelopes called the meninges. Some injuries to the head may be trivial, others may be fatal.

The surgeon who is called upon to evaluate the patient with a head injury tackles the problem from within out. Damage to the brain and its envelope is most important; injury to the skull is of concern in only some instances. Bleeding from the scalp is the most apparent manifestation of injury but is the least important. Survival and the late effects of a head injury depend on the extent of the injury to the brain and not to its coverings. The best possible supportive medical crre is provided to those who will recover spon…
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What are the most important side effects of taking female hormones?

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How is a broken or cracked rib treated?

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The diaphragm is the dome shaped muscle that seals off the lower end of the chest from the abdomen. Its upand down motion provides the bellows action for the expansion of the lungs that fills them with air. The function of the lungs is to provide ventilation. Air is moved in to provide oxygen, and carbon dioxide is moved out as a waste product.
The heart is in its own envelope in the center of the chest, behind the breastbone. The heart functions solely as a pump. It circulates the blood into the lung for oxygenation and delivers oxygenated blood to the entire body. The chest also harbors the large blood vessels and the breathing and s…
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What is the difference between a radical mastectomy and modified radical mastectomy?

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In the radical mastectomy (also known as the Halsted mastectomy) the doctor removes the breast tissue, the lymph nodes under the armpit, and the muscle under the breast. The modified radical, which most surgeons are now using, removes the breast tissue and the lymph nodes, but the muscle is left intact. The advantage of the modified radical is that it is cosmetically more attractive and does not handicap the motion of the arm. Studies indicate that the survival rate for the two operations is the same.
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Common Hand Injuries: Treatment for swollen hand due to injury

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