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Viagra May Save Lives Post-Orthopedic Surgery
Thu, 16 August 2007
The highly celebrated ED drug, Viagra may save more lives other than just from impotence, according to Australian and Swiss researchers’ study. The revolutionary erectile dysfunction drug is being examined for its potency to guard patients’ life after bone surgery.
Australian and Swiss researchers are examining whether addition of sildenafil, the generic name of blue pill Viagra, into the anaesthetic cocktail previous to orthopedic surgery lessens the possibility of cardiovascular problems. Certain kinds of orthopedic surgery, including spinal operations, knee and hip replacements, lead to the release of fatty bone marrow into the bloodstream which, in turn, sporadically triggers a number of cardiovascular complications.
Sponsored by Brisbane's Wesley Research Institute, the study was conducted on two groups of sheep. During the study, it was found that application of Viagra into one group of sheep before the insertion of bone cement into three vertebrae averted the progress of cardiovascular problems. Whereas another group of sheep, which was not treated with Viagra prior to surgery, developed complications that were identical to those examined in humans.
"After any type of orthopedic surgery, one can get a spike in the pulmonary artery’s pressure or a fall in arterial blood pressure, which even can result in death due to heart stoppage," said Queensland University of Technology scientist Ben Goss.
Dr Goss said Viagra works by enlarging blood vessels in specific parts of the human body, including a men’s penis and lungs.
Dr Goss, who presented the study to a musculoskeletal conference at the Princess Alexandra Hospital this week, further added that more animal studies are needed previous to human trials. The sheep research is released in the journal Anesthesiology.
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