Surgery and surgeons

1,981 articles · Since 2004

Articles, page 43

How corrosive cynicism is destroying professional relationships in medicine

March 12, 2015Mar 12, 20154

One of the obligations of a medical or surgical specialist is to communicate with the referring primary care provider. This can take many forms: a phone call, texting via smartphone, email, messages sent via EMR, and dictated letters. The format is pretty standard no matter what medium is chosen. You thank the referring doc for the consult request, you give some brief background info about the patient in question, and …

Physician voices

A surgeon will always have two spouses

Robert Sewell, MD

March 12, 2015Mar 12, 201510

I’m an old school general surgeon. I graduated from med school in 1974 and after a five-year surgical residency in San Antonio, Texas, I started out on my own, ready to cure the world. Boy, was I raw. Like many of my peers, I got married during medical school, and like every surgeon back in those days I told my wife, …

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A surgeon will always have two spouses

Physician voices

Why can’t physician anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, and anesthesiologist assistants just get along?

Karen S. Sibert, MD

March 10, 2015Mar 10, 20157

American anesthesiology reached a significant milestone last year, though many of us probably missed it at the time. In February, 2014, the number of nurse anesthetists in the United States for the first time exceeded the number of physician anesthesiologists.…

American anesthesiology reached a significant milestone last year, though many of us probably missed it at the time.

In February, 2014, the number of nurse anesthetists in the United States for the first time exceeded the number of physician anesthesiologists. Not only are there more nurses than physicians in the field of anesthesia today, the number of nurses entering the field is …

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Physician voices

An informed patient is a safer patient

American Society of Anesthesiologists & Fred E. Shapiro, DO

March 9, 2015Mar 9, 20154

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com. The health care landscape is changing, and now more than ever we as physicians should be focused on quality of care and ensuring the safety of our patients.…

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

The health care landscape is changing, and now more than ever we as physicians should be focused on quality of care and ensuring the safety of our patients. Anesthesiology was the first medical specialty to champion patient safety as a specific focus. Over the past century, physician anesthesiologists have advanced patient safety through innovative research, science and technology advancements. …

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An informed patient is a safer patient

Physician voices

Physician anesthesiologists do more than just “put you to sleep”

Paul Yost, MD

March 7, 2015Mar 7, 20152

There have been huge advances in patient safety, but that doesn’t mean there is no risk when it comes to having surgery and anesthesia. Each year there are more than 100 million operations and procedures performed with anesthesia. Doctors who specialize in anesthesia — we’re known as physician anesthesiologists — play a critical role in keeping patients safe and comfortable before, during, and after surgery.

Before surgery, a physician anesthesiologist checks …

Physician voices

Stop trying to be God. Be human.

Carolyn Messere, MD

March 5, 2015Mar 5, 20155

In medical school, I was taught to keep my distance. To remember that the patient is the one with the disease. I was told to protect my heart, to be a little cynical, a little deprecatory, to keep a separation…

For 18 years, I met people on what was arguably the worst …

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Stop trying to be God. Be human.

Physician voices

How can female surgeons break through the glass ceiling?

Heena P. Santry, MD

March 3, 2015Mar 3, 2015

Recently, the American College of Surgeons -- our profession's premier organization encompassing all surgical sub-specialties -- launched its updated website. Included in this website are online communities where surgeons from around the country and even further away, can connect. In…

Recently, the American College of Surgeons — our profession’s premier organization encompassing all surgical sub-specialties — launched its updated website. Included in this website are online communities where surgeons from around the country and even further away, can connect. In my interpretation of these communities, surgeons can connect over shared subspecialty topics (e.g., colorectal surgery, general surgery, orthopedic surgery), shared clinical interests (e.g., ethics, geriatric surgery, surgical safety), or shared circumstances (e.g., surgeons practicing …

Physician voices

Running late: The bane of every doctor

Kathryn A. Hughes, MD

March 2, 2015Mar 2, 2015

- The White Rabbit, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland It is in the very words, "running late." It is not walking late, or strolling late, or even meandering late. It is always running late, the phrase itself active, implying urgency and…

I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date! No time to say hello, goodbye! I’m late! I’m late! I’m late!
– The White Rabbit, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland

It is in the very words, “running late.” It is not walking late, or strolling late, or even meandering late. It is always running late, the phrase itself active, implying urgency and speed, rush and anxiety. The distress, just like the White Rabbit. The …

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Running late: The bane of every doctor

Physician voices

Secrets that your doctors are dying to tell you

Jamie Coleman, MD

February 27, 2015Feb 27, 201514

I’ve been thinking about this post for awhile, and finally, am going to spill some “secrets” about me and my colleagues. We are in debt. I mean, real debt. We are in debt. I mean, real debt. It actually costs…

I’ve been thinking about this post for awhile, and finally, am going to spill some “secrets” about me and my colleagues.

We are in debt. I mean, real debt. We are in debt. I mean, real debt. It actually costs most of us almost 1 million dollars to become your doctor.

It has taken us a long time to get here.

Let’s do some …

Physician voices

Help the doctor! When systems and the system fail physicians.

Kathryn A. Hughes, MD

February 25, 2015Feb 25, 2015

- The Beatles We are all here on earth to help each other; what on earth the others are here for I don’t know. - W. H. Auden “Help the doctor!” I’m sure most surgeons have heard this exasperated statement…

Help, I need somebody! Help, not just anybody! Help, you know I need someone, help!
– The Beatles

We are all here on earth to help each other; what on earth the others are here for I don’t know.
– W. H. Auden

“Help the doctor!”

I’m sure most surgeons have heard this exasperated statement at some point in the operating room. It is said with that special mix of …

Medical education

Do you want a doctor or a demotivated test-taking machine?

Shirie Leng, MD

February 20, 2015Feb 20, 201516

Last week, my best friend took the recertification exam in anesthesia, the so-called MOCA exam. Like a good doobie, she paid her $2,100, paid her nanny extra so she could study, took a day off in which she missed the funeral of a friend’s husband, and took the test. Wow, she must be the most awesome, most well-read, most skilled, most …

Drugs and prescribing

How the advent of propofol changed the meaning of the term “sedation”

Karen S. Sibert, MD

February 19, 2015Feb 19, 2015

“Twilight! She has to have twilight,” insisted the adult daughter of my frail, 85-year-old patient. “She can’t have general anesthesia. She hasn’t been cleared for general anesthesia!” We were in the preoperative area of my hospital, where my patient --…

“Twilight! She has to have twilight,” insisted the adult daughter of my frail, 85-year-old patient. “She can’t have general anesthesia. She hasn’t been cleared for general anesthesia!”

We were in the preoperative area of my hospital, where my patient — brightly alert, with a colorful headband and bright red lipstick — was about to undergo surgery. Her skin had broken down on both legs due to poor circulation in her veins, …

Conditions and diseases

Driving advice from a trauma surgeon

Jamie Coleman, MD

February 19, 2015Feb 19, 20156

No one ever wants to meet me. Well, at least inside of a hospital. If you are meeting me in a hospital, it is likely because you have been stabbed, shot, assaulted, or in a car accident. Although the only advice I have about avoiding the first three mechanisms of injury is to stay away from “two dudes” and not try to sell …

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Driving advice from a trauma surgeon

Physician voices

Plastic surgery and the ability to enact surgical justice

Shane D. Morrison, MD

February 16, 2015Feb 16, 2015

I felt out of place. It wasn’t the dull yellow flickering fluorescence of the hospital lights greeting me well before dawn. It wasn’t the photos of world-renowned surgeons lining the hallways as if monitoring my every step, or that some of those same surgeons were close by rounding on patients. It wasn’t the sea of dark suits swarming around me vying for a prestigious residency position. It was something far …

Conditions and diseases

Having surgery? Here’s how to manage your medications.

American Society of Anesthesiologists & Gregory M. Janelle, MD & Kent B. Berg, MD, MBA

February 16, 2015Feb 16, 2015

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com. Before undergoing surgery, you should carefully discuss your medications with your surgeon and physician anesthesiologist. You may fare better during the operation and the early recovery phase if…

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

Before undergoing surgery, you should carefully discuss your medications with your surgeon and physician anesthesiologist. You may fare better during the operation and the early recovery phase if you continue required medications, but you might need to avoid some medications that could interfere with your anesthesia. Three medical conditions and associated medications that should help improve your chances of …

Physician voices

My dad’s surgery helped bring me back to the art of medicine

Gregory B. Dodell, MD

February 14, 2015Feb 14, 20152

In the midst of seeing a patient, I got a call from another physician, my dad's new cardiologist. "Looks like he is going to need CABG (open heart surgery) since he has four major blockages." I was expecting this call,…

In the midst of seeing a patient, I got a call from another physician, my dad’s new cardiologist.

“Looks like he is going to need CABG (open heart surgery) since he has four major blockages.”

I was expecting this call, and this result, based on his history of diabetes and at least one month of chest pain. It was still shocking to hear. I walked back into the exam to continue the …

Physician voices

The occupational hazards of being a doctor are frightening

Kathryn A. Hughes, MD

February 13, 2015Feb 13, 20155

- Lucy Maud Montgomery Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary. - Gerard Way My colleague, Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, is currently on leave from his academic anesthesia practice as well as from his post as speaker of the house…

There isn’t any such thing as an ordinary life.
– Lucy Maud Montgomery

Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary.
– Gerard Way

My colleague, Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, is currently on leave from his academic anesthesia practice as well as from his post as speaker of the house of delegates for the Massachusetts Medical Society to serve as Lt. Commander Jesse Ehrenfeld, combat anesthesiologist in Kandahar, …

Medical education

How do patients really feel about students and residents?

Ergun Kocak, MD

February 10, 2015Feb 10, 20159

During my residency training in plastic surgery, I remember spending time in the offices of some of our community faculty members. These were invaluable opportunities to gain exposure to the field outside of the academic university hospital, where things were…

The university was a large organization where several residency programs and hundreds of trainees were not just seamlessly integrated into the workings of the hospital, but actually required to …

Physician voices

Touching a life on the other side of the world

Bhupesh Vasisht, MD

February 6, 2015Feb 6, 2015

In 2012, in a remote town of San Jose, on the southern part of Occidental Mindoro province in the Philippines, I met a little boy and his desperate, but courageous mother. The boy was just a few months past his…

plastic surgery In 2012, in a remote town of San Jose, on the southern part of Occidental Mindoro province in the Philippines, I met a little boy and his desperate, but courageous mother. The boy was just a few months past his first birthday. He was born with a facial congenital defect known as bilateral cleft lip, so commonly seen in …

Medical education

Survival pearls for surgical interns

Rajendra Sawh-Martinez, MD

February 5, 2015Feb 5, 20152

Living in the trenches of a surgical internship can be a gut wrenching, lonely experience for many. The journey from medical student to resident to surgical attending is a notoriously steep trek, necessitating our long 6+ years of training. Surviving intern year remains as hard as ever despite the significantly greater resources and awareness that exists among residency programs today.

These burdens are felt by all specialties and have tragically led …

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Survival pearls for surgical interns

Surgery and surgeons

Articles, page 43

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