Duration of total contact casting for resolution of acute Charcot foot: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Charcot neuroarthropathy (Charcot foot) is a highly destructive joint disease of the foot and ankle. If there is delayed diagnosis and treatment, it can lead to gross deformity, instability, recurrent ulceration and/or amputation. Total contact casting (TCC) is a treatment commonly used to immobilise the foot and ankle to prevent trauma, further destruction and preserve the foot structure during the inflammatory phase.

Cosmetic Surgery: Regulatory Challenges in a Global Beauty Market.

The market for cosmetic surgery tourism is growing with an increase in people travelling abroad for cosmetic surgery. While the reasons for seeking cosmetic surgery abroad may vary the most common reason is financial, but does cheaper surgery abroad carry greater risks? We explore the risks of poorly regulated cosmetic surgery to society generally before discussing how harm might be magnified in the context of cosmetic tourism, where the demand for cheaper surgery drives the market and makes surgery accessible for increasing numbers of people. This contributes to the normalisation of surgical enhancement, creating unhealthy cultural pressure to undergo invasive and risky procedures in the name of beauty.

The (Re) Production of the Genetically Related Body in Law, Technology and Culture: Mitochondria Replacement Therapy.

Advances in medicine in the latter half of the twentieth century have dramatically altered human bodies, expanding choices around what we do with them and how they connect to other bodies. Nowhere is this more so than in the area of reproductive technologies (RTs). Reproductive medicine and the laws surrounding it in the UK have reconfigured traditional boundaries surrounding parenthood and the family.

Healthcare scandals in the NHS: crime and punishment.

The Francis Report into failures of care at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Hospital documented a series of 'shocking' systematic failings in healthcare that left patients routinely neglected, humiliated and in pain as the Trust focused on cutting costs and hitting government targets. At present, the criminal law in England plays a limited role in calling healthcare professionals to account for failures in care. Normally, only if a gross error leads to death will a doctor or nurse face the prospect of prosecution.

Having a permanent resident in intensive care: the rewards and challenges.

Background: Intensive care units are generally structured and staffed to care for short-term critically ill patients. This is in contrast to the increasing incidence of patients who require long-term (i.e.