A 91-year-old woman with aortic stenosis — narrowing of the aortic valve — could not have surgery to deal with the condition due to the high degree of risk in having open heart surgery. Last year she got appendicitis, but was prevented from having surgery for this because of her heart condition. Her only option was to control it with antibiotics, with the result that it kept recurring. Her heart condition had by this time got to the stage where something had to be done about it, and following an evaluation by her doctors it was decided to insert a catheter rather than perform open heart surgery. After the procedure the woman made a good recovery, and this year she can have the surgery for her appendicitis.
According to the heart surgeon responsible for her case, the aortic valve is the opening through which the heart sends blood throughout the entire body, and it can narrow due to factors such as aging or disease, resulting in a reduction in the flow of blood and necessitating the insertion of a replacement aortic valve if the condition is to improve. Otherwise, if the condition is treated with medication alone, the death rate within one year is as high as 50 percent, but every year 3 percent of sufferers cannot have surgery because they are too advanced in age or their problem is compounded with other conditions.
(Liberty Times, translated by Paul Cooper)
九十一歲的老太太患有心臟主動脈瓣膜狹窄,考量開胸手術風險高,遲遲未處理,去年她罹患盲腸炎,礙於主動脈瓣膜狹窄無法動刀,只能用抗生素控制,結果反覆復發,心臟問題已到不處理不行的地步,經醫師評估以經導管手術取代大刀開胸,術後復原良好,今年可以動盲腸手術了。
收治個案的心臟內科醫師表示,主動脈瓣膜是心臟輸送血液至全身經過的大門,可能出於老化或疾病因素而窄化,導致流動血液量減少,必須接受瓣膜置入術改善情況,否則單以藥物處置,一年死亡率高達百分之五十,但每年仍有百分之三患者因年長的或合併其他疾病而無法動刀。
(自由時報記者林惠琴)
A: Wow, three Taiwanese restaurants just won the 2024 “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants” awards. B: Awesome! Which three restaurants? A: Taipei’s Logy at No. 22 and MUME at No. 34, and Taichung’s JL Studio at No. 33. B: Actually, there are many more great establishments in Taipei. How about other Asian cities? A: Singapore claimed nine spots this year, making it Asia’s new “food capital.” A: 2024「亞洲50最佳餐廳」名單揭曉了,台灣有3家餐廳上榜。 B: 好厲害,哪3家? A: 台北的Logy和MUME分獲第22和34名,台中的JL Studio獲第33名! B: 其實台北還有很多好餐廳,那其他的亞洲城市呢? A: 新加坡今年入選9家,可說是亞洲美食之都。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Let’s explore another delicacy primarily known to Tainan locals: floating milkfish in thick soup. Despite its peculiar name, this dish is another Tainan specialty that showcases the popularity of milkfish, which is made into fish paste and served in thick soup. Unlike the version with tutuo fish, which also adds other ingredients to its thick soup, the floating milkfish version primarily features the “floating fish” itself in its thick soup, ensuring that the fish paste remains the star of the dish. 讓我們來探索另一道台南人熟悉的美食:浮水魚羹。這道菜名奇特的美食,再再展現了台南虱目魚料理的多樣。浮水魚羹是用虱目魚漿做成的羹品,雖然和𩵚魠魚羹一樣是羹湯,但不像𩵚魠魚羹會在湯中加入其他食材,而是讓虱目魚漿成為這道料理的主角。 peculiar (adj.) 獨特的;古怪的 The belly of a milkfish is considered the most
The practice of freezing embryos as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was thrown into chaos in Alabama this year, when the state supreme court ruled that such embryos should be considered children, exposing clinics to wrongful death claims in the event they are destroyed in the thawing process. In 2021, more than 80 percent of US IVF procedures involved the transfer of frozen embryos, according to a recent report by the US Department of Health and Human Services. HOW IS EMBRYO FREEZING USED IN IVF? IVF uses high doses of hormones to stimulate ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. Once
A situation puzzle is a game in which one person describes a scenario and asks the players to explain it. The situation is deliberately lacking in details, but the players may acquire more information by asking questions — however, these can only be answered with “yes” or “no.” A player wins by describing the approximate events that led up to the situation. To do so, they must use a blend of logical and lateral thinking. A famous example of this is sometimes known as “Turtle Soup.” Here’s the riddle: “A man in a restaurant orders turtle soup, tastes it