A 17-year-old girl walked into a hospital for a routine check-up, only to find out she had a rare liver tumor. The discovery shocked her family at first, but doctors quickly got to work. They found a single, well-defined growth in the right side of her liver. Inside this growth were some dead cells
A blade hitting the face of a baby might sound like something from an ancient legend. Yet doctors once faced this exact odd case where a newborn suffered brain damage after a sharp object wound during birth. The injury led to a blood clot forming inside the skull. At first glance, the cause sounds
In the world of heart repairs, doctors have a few tricks up their sleeves. One of these is using a tiny balloon to open up blocked paths in the heart. Sometimes, though, this balloon trick does not work well. So, they try placing a small metal tube, called a stent, to keep the path open. But, as wit
Alström syndrome (AS) is a rare genetic condition. It affects about 1 in 10, 000 to 1 in 1, 000, 000 live births. It is caused by changes in the ALMS1 gene. A young girl was diagnosed with AS at age 5. She had a unique change in her ALMS1 gene. This change had not been seen before. It was a homozygo
Sometimes, the body sends mixed signals. An elderly person comes in with muscle pain and fatigue. Blood tests show inflammation. Doctors often think of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), a common condition. They start treatment with steroids. The patient feels better. But what if it's not PMR? In this c
A man without a home, battling alcohol addiction, ended up in the emergency room with shakes, restlessness, and pain all over. Doctors quickly realized he had a serious brain injury and needed emergency surgery. But that was just the start of his problems. After the operation, they found something s
A man in Michigan passed away due to rabies. This happened after he received a kidney from a donor who had the virus. This is a very rare event. It has only happened three times before in the last 50 years. The donor, a man from Idaho, was scratched by a skunk. This happened while he was on his rur
Papillary thyroid cancer, or PTC, is a common type of thyroid cancer. Most people with PTC live for at least 10 years after treatment. But sometimes, the cancer can come back. This is called recurrence. It happens in about 4. 3% to 35% of cases. When PTC comes back, it often spreads to nearby lymph
Doctors have a tough job when it comes to fixing certain brain aneurysms. These are like weak spots in the brain's blood vessels that can swell up and cause big problems. Some of these aneurysms are especially tricky because they're located in a busy part of the brain called the middle cerebral arte
Meckel's Diverticulum is a condition that affects a small percentage of people, roughly between 0. 3% and 2. 9%. It's a congenital defect that can sometimes lead to painless lower gastrointestinal bleeding. While this is a common issue in children, it's quite rare in adults. The reason? Adults have
