NEW DELHI, July 18, 2008 (AFP) - An Indian man has survived an operation to remove a 1.5-metre long (five-foot) iron bar that stabbed right through his chest, reports said Friday, calling it a medical miracle.

The rod was lying on a construction site when the taxi Supratim Dutta was travelling in smashed into it Thursday.

DURHAM, June 2, 2008 (AFP) - US Senator Edward Kennedy underwent 'successful' surgery Monday on a malignant brain tumor and should have no lasting side-effects, his doctor said in a statement.

LOS ANGELES, Utah, April 15, 2008 (AFP) - Tiger Woods, who is fresh off a second-place finish at the 2008 Masters, will miss at least four weeks of the PGA Tour after undergoing surgery on his left knee.

Woods, who has had problems with his left knee previously, underwent arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday in Park City, Utah.

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2008 (AFP) - Cosmetic interventions, surgical and non-surgical, increased eight percent from 2006 to 2007, and 457 percent in 10 years, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) said Monday.

HOUSTON, Texas, March 1, 2008 (AFP) - China's giant centre Yao Ming will undergo surgery Monday to fix a stress fracture in his left foot, the Houston Rockets announced on Saturday.

HOUSTON, Texas, March 1, 2008 (AFP) - China's giant centre Yao Ming will undergo surgery Monday to fix a stress fracture in his left foot, the Houston Rockets announced on Saturday.

PARIS, Feb 28, 2008 (AFP) - Patients with end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who have two lungs transplanted in place of one live nearly two years longer on average, according to a study released Friday.

Lung transplant is by far the most effective treatment available for patients in the final stages of COPD, which progressively constricts the organ's airways.

SEOUL, Feb 11, 2008 (AFP) - Some South Koreans have started the Lunar New Year with a new face after taking advantage of the long holiday break to undergo cosmetic surgery, a report said Monday.

Clinic officials quoted by the Korea Times reported booming business as customers scheduled their operations to give time for facial swellings to subside before returning to work.

LONDON, Feb 4, 2008 (AFP) - British women had facelifts and men had tummy tucks and 'man boobs' removed in record in numbers in 2007, new data released on Monday revealed.

According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), 32,453 surgical procedures were carried out on men and women in Britain last year, a 12.2 percent increase on 2006.

OBIYA, Uganda, Jan 13, 2008 (AFP) - The first time a knife was put to Anna Alwoch's face, her lips were hacked off by rebels. The next two times, sharp blades were used by surgeons to rebuild her mouth -- and the process is almost done.