Future trends in minimally invasive surgery.

Health care costs in the United States are climbing annually at a staggering rate. Technology often is blamed for rising health care costs; however, some medical advances, such as minimally invasive surgery (MIS), are critical to improving health care efficiency, enhancing the quality of care provided, and decreasing overall expenses. Savings or profits relating to technology may be difficult to measure quantitatively, but when surgeons and perioperative personnel have reached the peak of the learning curve for performing MIS procedures, complication rates drop significantly.

Cardiac arrest under anesthesia in a pediatric patient with Williams syndrome: a case report.

Serial cardiac arrests occurred during the induction of a 3-year-old boy for elective 1-sided orchiopexy surgery and evaluation under anesthesia of previously placed ear tympanoplasty tubes. The child's history included Williams syndrome along with hypercalcemia and mild supravalvular aortic stenosis. The initial arrests included significant ST wave changes along with profound brodycardia, hypotension, and pulseless electrical activity requiring full resuscitation twice.