A new research showed that surgery is safer and more effective than balloon angioplasty for preventing strokes. The investigations showed worse outcomes in patients who have balloon angioplasty to clear clogged neck arteries that supply oxygen-rich blood to the brain. The findings can significantly affect clinical practice, especially in the US where balloon angioplasty is now performed far more often than surgery to open blocked or narrowed carotid arteries.

Surgeons are using custom-made, FDA-approved device, STARband, to begin the cranial shaping process of children below 18 months of age diagnosed with craniosynostosis. Craniosynostosis is a condition that leads to premature fusion of the cranial sutures, or fontanels, causing problems with normal brain and skull growth, which can result in developmental delays, visual impairment and misaligned ears, eyes, and jaws. Orthomerica Products Inc.’s STARband helmets, which are worn 23 hours daily for three to six months, channel head growth by applying constant and gentle pressure on raised areas of the head, while leaving room for growth in depressed areas.