Homeopathic surgery

Oh sure, but just look at poor old Charlie Weiss! Wasn’t he operated on by two of the MGH’s finest MDs?

Thanks, happyman. I’m getting tired of people harping on leaks in bypass surgery, although I would like to qualify that the mortality rate for laparascopic bypass surgery is <1% nationwide, if the surgeon has passed his first 100 cases. At a high-volume academic center like MGH, I'm willing to bet it's under 0.01%, even taking into account their undoubtedly higher-risk population.

Side effects like leaks and bleeding are always counseled before the surgery, and pretty much the best treatment available is to monitor the patient until the leak heals up. If it doesn’t, then a return to the OR is indicated. But since morbidly obese patients are too large to fit most scanning equipment, the only option short of re-operating is…exploratory laparotomy.

I honestly think that if we provided psychiatric counseling and aptitude tests to patients willing to sue (overheard today: “the chemo went fine, but my girlfriend wants me to sue over this [tiny] burn on my leg from the process”), we’d lose half of them in the process. It’s a shame that Oklahoma law requiring a lawsuit to be medically justified was overturned. I’m in favor of it more each day.