Amid the mounting concern about radiation exposure and future increases in cancer rates comes a report from Washington State describing the benefits of imaging, particularly CT scanning, for the diagnosis of appendicitis.
The authors collected data from some 55 hospitals of all types and sizes over a six-year period for more than 19,300 patients older than age 15; 91% of patients underwent one or more imaging studies. There were ...
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She had only been in the hospital twice in her life: once when she was nine and now, 60 years later. She had gotten tonsils out then. She was getting tumors out now.
Her abdomen hurt when she was awake. Her abdomen would also hurt during exploratory surgery, although she wouldn’t be able to feel it under general anesthesia. Her body would feel it, though, and could respond by dangerously spiking ...
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Recently, a medical student confided in me a thought that few in our profession would dare say aloud: “We may have come to medical school to help people, but we choose our specialty careers based on potential salaries.”
This in part explains why the most-prized residencies are in fields such as dermatology and radiology, whose procedures generate high fees. According to a physician survey by the Medical Group Management ...
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In my hospital’s preoperative area, upright on her bed, sat an unhappy middle-aged lady who needed an operation to treat complications from her previous bariatric surgery. She hadn't lost weight and clearly was feeling discouraged about practically everything. She was physically uncomfortable, couldn't even keep down her own saliva because her lower esophagus was obstructed, and was in tears.
As her anesthesiologist, ...
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Did you know that urine pregnancy tests are routinely performed on all females before every surgery? No exceptions. The Children’s Hospital in Buffalo tests 9 years and above. Don’t know if a parent or a patient has a right to refuse the test, but I do know that the anesthesiologist will refuse to give anesthesia, except for a life-threatening emergency.
I have never paid much attention to these tests. The nurses ...
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A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
"The tragedy of man is what dies inside himself while he still lives."
- Albert Schweitzer
Statistically speaking
When is the last day you truly remember feeling peace, happiness and a deep sense of well being? If you cannot answer this question, you are not alone among ...
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From the moment I first stepped into a restaurant kitchen, it felt like home; even though for the past eight years my real home has been an operating room, as I am a surgeon.
Though many on the outside may not realize it, the chef and the surgeon have much in common. Both profess modest beginnings. Cooks were slaves and surgeons were barbers. Those who did the cutting were not even ...
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The Surgeon had been handicapped by a burr in the plantar aspect of his left foot. All summer it had been causing discomfort on jogs, during soccer games, and,eventually, even just walking barefoot across the hardwood floors in the morning. There was something lodged in the thick skin of the strikeplate of his foot--- a splinter, a piece of glass, whatever the hell--- and it was really starting to cramp ...
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When I learned recently that I would need cataract surgery, I researched New York City hospital ratings from three well-known sponsors: US News & World Report, the federal government’s Hospital Compare and the Leapfrog Group. After writing about what I discovered, I wondered if perhaps a few measures might offer a clue or two about how to better honcho some of my care, like the one that asks ...
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If you or someone you love is considering surgery or an intensive treatment, it really pays to be sure you understand the pros and cons.
While that seems like common sense, millions of people say "yes" without learning all the facts.
Some simply rely on the trust they have in their physician. Others assume the known benefits and risks are too complicated to fully understand. And some people just want to get ...
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"A comprehensive and extremely useful roadmap for doctors."
-Eric Topol, MD, author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine
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Past 6 Months
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