New breast cancer treatments

Breast cancer patients may now be given cancer-killing drugs before surgery instead of afterward. Preoperative chemotherapy can shrink a tumor and allow surgeons to perform a lumpectomy instead of breast removal. In some cases, early chemo causes the cancer to disappear entirely.

Using preoperative chemo to shrink tumors reduced mastectomy rates by 20 percent, according to the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project.

Other shifts in thinking regarding treatment include giving Tamoxifen and Arimidex instead of chemo, which works better in postmenopausal women, or dose-dense chemo which shortens therapy and may lower risk of relapse.

Less invasive knee surgery

A new procedure for total knee replacement requires only a 3-inch incision and avoids cutting the quad muscle and tendon which are necessary for the knee to flex. Patients recover three times faster than with standard surgery, according to New Jersey's Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, pioneers of the new method.

Doctors at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago say the procedure takes practice and skill on the part of the surgeon, but the procedure should be common within a year or two. About 300,000 Americans have total knee replacements each year, but not all would be candidates for the new procedure.

Downside to bariatric surgery

Some patients who have weight-loss surgery regain much or all of their weight after a few years. Anatomical changes make it impossible to eat large quantities of food, but they eat small portions of high-calorie foods throughout the day, according to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.

One study shows that 80 percent of patients regularly felt a loss of control over eating six months after surgery.