Welcome to the Open House at the Postgraduate trainig in Orthodontics in Gothenburg, Sweden, Monday 22nd November to Friday 26th November 2010.

We want to give the opportunity to you, who are applying to the Postgraduate program in orthodontics in Gothenburg, to have an insight in the training program in advance.

You may stay the whole week or part of it and follow the activities of the postgraduate students that are already enrolled in the program. (See the details in the week schedule).

If you are interested to come to the Open House, please contact us at: annica.e.jakobsson@vgregion.se. The number of visitors during that week will be limited.

©2010 Sahlgrenska I.C.. All Rights Reserved.

- The work has gone well and it seems that international aid is growing. There is great demand in other countries for the medical materials exchanged in Region Västra Götaland, says Marika Qvist.
Every year, lots of so-called discarded materials are sent to various recipients. Among the materials transported abroad since its inception two years ago, the following was included:
• 300 beds
• 200 wheelchairs.
• 100 tables.
• Thousands of kilograms clothing and textiles.
Added to that are also chairs, microscopes, respirators, crutches, medical equipment and examination lamps.

- We have good cooperation with Human Bridge, which both verify that what is sent is in good condition and that the material reaches the destination, says Marika Qvist.
She adds:
- We know that aid work brings many good things.

Marika Qvist says, that the medical material, among other things, increase the quality of care and save lives in the recipient countries. The work raises the quality of life for many people, while the anti-corruption and provide better conditions, which is a security for the recipient.

- In addition, we know that this goes against the brain drain in the recipient and gives a saving of environment and resources, “says Marika Qvist.

The recipient countries include Ethiopia, Ukraine, Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia, Moldova, Tanzania and Congo. – Human Bridge is responsible for transportation costs, unless the recipient has not possibility when material is passed out from Sweden. Logistics takes care of me and besides all other advantages of course also gives the goodwill to the Region Västra Götaland, “says Marika Qvist.

Are there other countries that can receive care materials no longer used in health care in Region Västra Götaland?
- Yes, certainly. As I see it is the need for this material decommissioned inexhaustible, says Marika Qvist.

©2010 Sahlgrenska I.C.. All Rights Reserved.

For the full story in English please visit: http://www.sahlgrenska.gu.se/english/news_and_events/news/News_Detail//epilepsy-surgery-has-good-effect-.cid937313

©2010 Sahlgrenska I.C.. All Rights Reserved.

Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital will receive larger premises. The new building will contain facilities for wards, surgical and intensive care. In 2009 there were two more local investigations, “Extension Building BK” and “A common operations building at Östra sjukhuset”. The longer time went on, the more intertwined projects. It is therefore envisaged that the building will be coupled with a new operations building at the Östra sjukhuset.

A program of action “BK Extension Building” will be developed and is planned to be reported to the Board during the spring/ summer 2011. The proposal is that the new building will be built west of the children’s hospital and it will solve the local problems experienced by the children’s hospital today.

- The Children’s Hospital has a high proportion of specialized medical care and it is therefore important to have the premises to carry out modern child care, explains Lennart Ring.

The building has many benefits. Among other things, the new building prepares the connection to the future operation building which will also be connected to the central complex in the Östra sjukhuset. The expansion is therefore an important part of a larger context.

For the full story in Swedish: http://www.sahlgrenska.se/sv/SU/Aktuellt/Nyheter/suNytt/Barnsjukhuset-vantar-tillokning/

©2010 Sahlgrenska I.C.. All Rights Reserved.

Each year more than 7,000 Swedes undergo open heart surgery, often a so called bypass operation or replacing a heart valve. It is a major procedure and during the surgery the heart and lungs are stopped by using a heart-lung machine that keeps the circulation going.

- But the use of heart-lung machine might imply negative effects on blood clotting and persist during the first hours after surgery. There is therefore a risk of patients bleeding. We do not know for sure why some patients suffer worse than others, and several factors may play a role, said Martin Karlsson doctor at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital and a doctoral student and author of the thesis presented at the Sahlgrenska Academy.

Fibrinogen is one of the main blood coagulationsprotein. The thesis shows that the amount of fibrinogen in the blood is more important for the ability of blood to clot after a heart operation than previously thought.

- We found that the amount of fibrinogen in the blood of patients who are about to undergo a bypass surgery are directly related to how much the patient’s bleeding afterwards and also the need for blood transfusions after surgery. Patients with lower levels of fibrinogen in the blood before surgery are generally more bleeding, even if the levels have previously been perceived as normal and adequate, said Martin Karlsson.

In a substudy patients receiving a bypass operation who had low levels of fibrinogen in the blood were pre-treated with fibrinogenkoncentrat before surgery. In these patients, decreased bleeding and transfusion requirements during and after surgery compared with controls, without evidence of side effects.

- Similar treatment has not previously been tested in patients and the study is called a pilot study, with a small number of patients. Therefore, it is too early to draw firm conclusions but the results are promising and larger studies are already under way, “said Martin Karlsson.

His hope is that the outcome of the pilot study can be confirmed as fibrinogenkoncentrat would be used as a preventative medicine for those patients who will undergo a surgical procedure and there is a high risk of bleeding. It could be a new treatment option for the large number of cardiac patients who undergo surgery each year, and it is also an opportunity for other surgical procedures.

For the full story in Swedish: http://nyheter.vgregion.se/sv/Nyheter/Sahlgrenska-Universitetssjukhuset/Skapa-pressmeddelanden/Ny-behandlingsmetod-i-sikte-inom-hjartkirurgi/

©2010 Sahlgrenska I.C.. All Rights Reserved.

- The results of the study may encourage more family members and friends to take the initiative to donate, says researcher Ingela Fehrman-Ekholm.

The study is a long-term follow-up of living kidney donors who had surgery at Sahlgrenska University Hospital from 1965 to 2005. The study includes a total of 668 kidney donors and 35 persons that donated a part of their liver during the period 1996 to 2007 to a loved one who suffered from severe liver failure.

The study also shows that the function of the remaining kidney will continue to improve for several years after the donation and does not age as kidneys do otherwise. Those who have donated part of their liver, no matter how high the volume is, restore their liver function to one hundred percent. A number of the kidney donors included in the survey, who did surgery 40 years ago, has now become old.

- People who donated a kidney get a better function in their remaining kidney and the effect persists for several years, said Ingela Fehrman-Ekholm, who donated a kidney to her husband almost 16 years ago.

The first transplantation in Sweden took place in 1964 where a 14-year-old renal disease received a new kidney donated by her father. Since then, more than 12 000 kidney transplantations were performed in Sweden, with one third donated by a living donor. Usually the donor is someone in the family, but over the last twenty years, also a spouse or close friends had the opportunity to donate. For many patients, a donor organ from a deceased was the only way to transplant. But in the current situation, there is a severe shortage of organs from deceased and the waiting time has increased in recent years. Kidney patients survive due to dialysis treatment, but for patients with heart and liver disease a transplant is necessary for their survival. Each year, severely ill patients die because of organ shortage.

For the full story in Swedish: http://www.sahlgrenska.se/sv/SU/Aktuellt/Nyheter/suNytt/Battre-njurfunktion-hos-organdonator/

©2010 Sahlgrenska I.C.. All Rights Reserved.

Speakers from Sahlgrenska University Hospital: ProgramISPO

This the first time that the two foremost events of this area in the world are being put on at the same time. The 13th World Congress of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) will be taking place from May 10-15, 2010 and two days later on May 12 the largest international trade show, ORTHOPÄDIE + REHA-TECHNIK, will be opening up in Leipzig. No other event features a comparable overview for orthopaedic technicians, orthopaedic shoe technicians, rehabilitative technicians, specialist suppliers, therapists and physicians. More than 550 exhibitors from 40 countries and 19,000 visitors from 85 countries are expected to join the congress and the expo.

Numerous forums, lectures and workshops will serve the further training of German trade visitors. The forums will focus on specific topics such as lymphology, rehabilitation for children, podiatry, and also business issues such as marketing and distribution. New developments, types of therapy and practical tips will be addressed at workshops. Information on the economic and political situations of the markets in Europe and North America will be available at the marketplaces while forums and the exhibition itself will showcase new products and the latest research findings.

Reference: http://www.ot-leipzig.de/LeMMon/ort_web_eng.nsf

©2010 Sahlgrenska I.C.. All Rights Reserved.

Thoracic transplantation, i.e. transplantation of heart and lung, increased by 17 percent compared to the last year.

- Professor and Director Michael Olausson says that the increase in transplantations is fantastic and stimulating as it creates a will and a pioneering spirit, while we are aware that there is much left to do.

The good transplantation results have been achieved despite the fact that the number of organ donors decreased over the last year, both nationally and at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital catchment area.

For the full story in Swedish: http://nyheter.vgregion.se/sv/Nyheter/Sahlgrenska-Universitetssjukhuset/Skapa-pressmeddelanden/Rekordar-for-transplantationer-pa-Sahlgrenska-Universitetssjukhuset-1/

©2010 Sahlgrenska I.C.. All Rights Reserved.

The second hospital that will be allowed to perform heart transplantations is the Skåne University Hospital. Although the Karolinska University Hospital had applied for permission, the National Board of Health and Welfare decided that cardiac transplantation should be centralized in two other hospitals; Gothenburg and Lund.

- Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Skåne University Hospital have the best prerequisite of the three candidates to perform heart transplantations, says Lars-Erik Holm, Director and Chairman of the National Board of Health and Welfare.

In the last year, 32 out of the 55 heart transplantations carried out in Sweden were conducted at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital. Michael Olausson, Professor and Director of the Transplant Center at the hospital, is noticeably pleased:

- This is great, especially for the patients. By that, we have greater patient volumes and the results will be even better, he says. In addition, the increasing number of patients will give us the possibility to maintain and improve the skills of the hospital and to reach major research progress.

Please find more information on the National Board of Health and Welfare website:

www.socialstyrelsen.se/riks

For the full story in Swedish:

http://www.sahlgrenska.se/sv/SU/Aktuellt/Nyheter/suNytt/Hjarttransplantation-utsett-till-rikssjukvard/

©2010 Sahlgrenska I.C.. All Rights Reserved.

Sahlgrenska International Care AB (Sahlgrenska I.C.) and Sjúkratryggingar Íslands (The Icelandic Health Insurance Administration) have signed a Letter of Intent as a step towards treating Icelandic patients with organ failure at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

The intention is that the co-operation will begin January 1, 2010 and continue until at least December 31, 2013.

The Transplant Institute at SU is well-reputed internationally. During 2008 over 300 transplantations were carried out and the Institute is expanding.

• We take this as an acknowledgement of SU’s Transplant Institute and it is very gratifying to be able to offer this possibility to the citizens of Iceland, say Marika Qvist, CEO of Sahlgrenska I.C.

There are few kidney transplants with living donors currently performed in Iceland. With this limited capacity, Iceland is dependent on co-operating with a larger centre for other organ transplants.

• The agreement is a big success for us and proof that we are very strong in the field of transplantation medicine, not only in Sweden but also in Scandinavia as a whole, says Professor Michael Olausson, Head of the Transplant Institute at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

• We have recently moved to new and more suitable premises. This move shows that Region Västra Götaland and SU are both willing to invest and develop Transplantation Medicine at the Institute and it could have positively affected the decision of the Icelandic authorities to co-operate with SU, he adds.

For further information:

Marika Qvist, CEO of Sahlgrenska I.C., tel. +46 703 705 131

Michael Olausson, Head of the Transplant Institute at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, tel. +46 703343 131

Sahlgrenska I.C. is a company owned by Region Västra Götaland. Its mission is to actively profile the quality medical care services available in Region Västra Götaland on the international market.

Sahlgrenska University Hospital, SU, is one of the largest hospitals in Europe. With a highly qualified and dedicated staff as well as state-of-the-art medical technology, SU is able to offer some of the most advanced treatments available.

Sjúkratryggingar Íslands is the public authority that administrates important parts of the Icelandic health insurance system.

©2010 Sahlgrenska I.C.. All Rights Reserved.