The Surgeon

The middle school years can be tough. It’s a time of change and sometimes a little awkwardness. So imagine going through those years with a condition that causes your hands or arm pits to sweat so badly that you avoid social situations. It’s called hyperhidrosis, and doctors at Mayo Clinic say a minimally invasive outpatient surgery can stop the sweating.

Every year, thousands of babies are born with spina bifida. It’s a birth defect where the spinal column does not close properly, exposing nerves to the environment. Most babies born with spina bifida in the United States have surgery soon after birth. But some children in other countries aren’t so lucky. A little boy from Algeria suffered terribly for more than two years until his community helped raise money to send him to Mayo Clinic.

A new study shows that an imaging technology developed by Mayo Clinic researchers can identify liver fibrosis with high accuracy and help eliminate the need for liver biopsies. Liver fibrosis is a common condition that can lead to incurable cirrhosis if not treated in time.

The technology, called magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), produces color-coded images known as elastograms that indicate how internal organs, muscles and tissues would feel to the touch. Red is the stiffest; purple, the softest. Other imaging techniques do not provide this information.
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