Weill Cornell Medical College, and its Department of Public Health, in collaboration with the Mailman School of Public Health, the International Center for Health Outcomes and Innovation Research, and the Department of Informatics of Columbia University, is the only one of the nine institutions in the New York metropolitan area chosen to form the Integrated Delivery System Research Network (IDSRN).

Pediatric urologists at Weill Cornell Medical Center of New York-Presbyterian Hospital have performed among the first minimally invasive kidney removals in children and infants in the metropolitan area. Such laparoscopic nephrectomies, as they are known, result in shorter hospital stays, less post-operative pain, and less scarring.

Dr. Timothy Ryan, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at Weill Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University, has received one of the five McKnight Technological Innovations in Neuroscience Awards for the year 2000. Dr. Ryan will receive $200,000 over two years to support the development of novel techniques to measure synaptic activity.

An 18-month-old girl was the first in the New York City area to receive a titanium rib prosthesis to correct a severe form of congenital curvature -- or scoliosis -- of her spine that constricts the lung cavity. The condition, known as thoracic insufficiency syndrome, prevents the lungs from fully growing, often leading to death in childhood or early adulthood. The successful procedure, recently performed at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, is part of an ongoing clinical trial of the new device.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that Medicare will begin paying for lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) for certain people 65 and over who have severe emphysema with specific traits that make them likely to benefit from the surgery.

A new surgical option for breast cancer patients combines removal of the cancerous tumor with breast reduction in one surgical procedure, called oncoplastic surgery, with benefits that include improved cosmetic outcome and reduced risk of complications. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center has pioneered this treatment option in the New York City area. The procedure is designed for large-breasted women who have breast cancer and experience back and neck pain associated with their large breasts.

Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian is now equipped with a new operating room, dedicated to pediatric minimal access surgery (MAS). The new OR-1™ integrated operating room, along with other minimal access technologies and expertise makes Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital one of the most comprehensive and child-friendly MAS programs in the nation.

New research from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center suggests that men who are considering their treatment options for low-risk prostate cancer may benefit from additional biopsy testing before making a decision. Based on this research, doctors at the medical center are modifying their practices to more accurately distinguish early and low-risk prostate cancers from more aggressive disease.