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Surgery and surgeons

1,981 articles · Since 2004

Articles, page 44

Physician voices

The best doctors expect the unexpected

Skeptical Scalpel, MD

January 30, 2015Jan 30, 2015

The following is based on an actual case that occurred a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. A 65-year-old man arrived in the emergency department by ambulance after being found unresponsive. His respiratory rate was 40 per…

The following is based on an actual case that occurred a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

A 65-year-old man arrived in the emergency department by ambulance after being found unresponsive. His respiratory rate was 40 per minute, heart rate was 170 per minute, and temperature was 102.2°. He did not respond to Narcan or an ampule of 50 percent dextrose. Blood sugar was 600 mg/dL. The diagnosis …

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The best doctors expect the unexpected

Physician voices

After a doctor’s murder: All you hear about is deflated footballs

Shirie Leng, MD

January 27, 2015Jan 27, 2015119

This week the local and national attention has been riveted on accusations that Bill Belichick and the Patriots football team deliberately deflated the footballs used in the division championship game. Football, remember, is a multi-billion dollar industry in which the…

This week the local and national attention has been riveted on accusations that Bill Belichick and the Patriots football team deliberately deflated the footballs used in the division championship game. Football, remember, is a multi-billion dollar industry in which the commodity being sold is grown men throwing brown, oblong balls at each other and knocking each other down. Boston.com, a …

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After a doctor’s murder: All you hear about is deflated footballs

Physician voices

Truth in advertising: When is a doctor really a doctor?

American Society of Anesthesiologists & Daniel Campos, MD, MPH

January 27, 2015Jan 27, 201517

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com. In an emergency, the first question people often ask is: “Is there a doctor in the house?” When you have a medical problem, the best advice is, “Ask…

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

In an emergency, the first question people often ask is: “Is there a doctor in the house?” When you have a medical problem, the best advice is, “Ask your doctor.” Most people automatically assume that “doctor” in this context refers to a physician with a medical degree.

Dentists, chiropractors, and podiatrists are well-educated professionals who may also be addressed as …

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Truth in advertising: When is a doctor really a doctor?

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Physician voices

This is exactly why surgeons are so fragile. All of them.

Kathryn A. Hughes, MD

January 23, 2015Jan 23, 2015

- Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre Alas, the frailty is to blame, not me -- for such as we are made of, such we be … - William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night Sha-doo-bee, Shattered … - Mick Jagger, “Shattered”, The Rolling Stones,…

You are human and fallible.
– Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

Alas, the frailty is to blame, not me — for such as we are made of, such we be …
– William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

Sha-doo-bee, Shattered …
– Mick Jagger, “Shattered”, The Rolling Stones, Some Girls (1978)

The image of the surgeon is synonymous with strength. Surgeons are stereotypically charismatic, commanding, confident, even arrogant. Strong minds, strong bodies, strong wills. Leaders, especially …

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This is exactly why surgeons are so fragile. All of them.

Physician voices

The legacy of Dr. Michael Davidson

Miranda Fielding, MD

January 22, 2015Jan 22, 2015171

In 1994, I was working at my first radiation oncology job in San Diego at Grossmont Hospital when I came into work to hear disturbing news. One of my colleagues in medical oncology, a compassionate man known for his gentle…

In 1994, I was working at my first radiation oncology job in San Diego at Grossmont Hospital when I came into work to hear disturbing news. One of my colleagues in medical oncology, a compassionate man known for his gentle nature, had stayed late at the cancer center the evening before to finish up paperwork. With his back to his ever …

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The legacy of Dr. Michael Davidson

Conditions and diseases

The math and politics of organ transplantation

Christopher Johnson, MD

January 21, 2015Jan 21, 2015

We have a problem in this country with how precious organs for transplant are allocated. The problem has been brewing for years, and is well recognized in the transplant community, the physicians and institutions that perform them. Two recent opinion…

We have a problem in this country with how precious organs for transplant are allocated. The problem has been brewing for years, and is well recognized in the transplant community, the physicians and institutions that perform them. Two recent opinion pieces review the issue well: “Very Complicated Math — Reconfiguring Organ Allocation,” and, “Transplantation Traffic — Geography as Destiny for Transplant Candidates.” Since PICUs such as mine are …

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The math and politics of organ transplantation

Medical education

Sexism in the OR: What’s a medical student to do?

January 18, 2015Jan 18, 201520

We recently had a session hosted by the medical education staff at our school where we were encouraged to share any difficult situations encountered in clerkship (submitted anonymously beforehand if that was preferred) and discussed them as a class. Issues…

We recently had a session hosted by the medical education staff at our school where we were encouraged to share any difficult situations encountered in clerkship (submitted anonymously beforehand if that was preferred) and discussed them as a class. Issues regarding ageism, sexism and racism were brought up and addressed with the group. While I have not encountered any of the …

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Sexism in the OR: What’s a medical student to do?

Physician voices

MDs and CRNAs: Highlighting each other’s expertise

Shirie Leng, MD

January 15, 2015Jan 15, 20156

A front page entry in a recent issue of Anesthesiology News: "Physicians Versus CRNAs: Redefining Roles in the Changing Landscape of Health Care." Sounds like a prize fight or a gang war: Crips vs. Bloods. I immediately got my boxing…

A front page entry in a recent issue of Anesthesiology News: “Physicians Versus CRNAs: Redefining Roles in the Changing Landscape of Health Care.” Sounds like a prize fight or a gang war: Crips vs. Bloods. I immediately got my boxing gloves on, readying myself for another bout of vitriol and dislike thinly disguised as concerns for patient safety. But the author, Michael DeCicca, a second-year anesthesia resident, surprised me.

He writes: “Logically the number …

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MDs and CRNAs: Highlighting each other’s expertise

Physician voices

Want to know what Atul Gawande thinks? Read this interview.

Robert Wachter, MD

January 15, 2015Jan 15, 2015

Atul Gawande is the preeminent physician-writer of this generation. His new book, Being Mortal, is a runaway bestseller, as have been his three prior books, Complications, Better, and The Checklist Manifesto. One of the joys of my recent sabbatical in…

Atul Gawande is the preeminent physician-writer of this generation. His new book, Being Mortal, is a runaway bestseller, as have been his three prior books, Complications, Better, and The Checklist Manifesto.

One of the joys of my recent sabbatical in Boston was the opportunity to spend some time with Atul, getting to see what an inspirational leader and superb mentor he is, along with being a warm and menschy human being. In my continued series of …

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Want to know what Atul Gawande thinks? Read this interview.

Physician voices

The American Society of Anesthesiologists: Deep roots in patient safety

John P. Abenstein, MD

January 10, 2015Jan 10, 2015

In a hushed surgical theater in Boston in 1846, anesthesia changed medicine forever. The first successful public demonstration of ether anesthesia allowed patients to undergo surgery they would otherwise not have been able to tolerate. Previously, patients who had been…

In a hushed surgical theater in Boston in 1846, anesthesia changed medicine forever. The first successful public demonstration of ether anesthesia allowed patients to undergo surgery they would otherwise not have been able to tolerate. Previously, patients who had been subjected to biting down on cloth or looking into a blue light could finally undergo surgery …

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists: Deep roots in patient safety

Physician voices

Joan Rivers: What should the anesthesiologist have done?

Karen S. Sibert, MD

January 8, 2015Jan 8, 20153

New York Post reporter Susan Edelman revealed the name of the unfortunate anesthesiologist allegedly present on August 28 at Yorkville Endoscopy, during the throat procedure that led to the death of comedian Joan Rivers. She is reported to be Renuka…

New York Post reporter Susan Edelman revealed the name of the unfortunate anesthesiologist allegedly present on August 28 at Yorkville Endoscopy, during the throat procedure that led to the death of comedian Joan Rivers. She is reported to be Renuka Reddy Bankulla, MD, 47, a board-certified anesthesiologist from New Rochelle, NY.

Having her name made public will be a nightmare for Dr. Bankulla, as …

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Joan Rivers: What should the anesthesiologist have done?

Physician voices

How to keep a medical marriage strong

January 4, 2015Jan 4, 20154

Question: We are currently in the last year of med school, and I’m wondering; what are some practical, everyday things we can do to keep our marriage strong? Especially with intern year coming up. Answer: Don’t confuse character with situation.…

Question:

We are currently in the last year of med school, and I’m wondering; what are some practical, everyday things we can do to keep our marriage strong? Especially with intern year coming up.

Answer:

Don’t confuse character with situation. When the demands of life become overwhelming, it is easy to attack your spouse’s personality when in reality it is the situation you are angry …

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How to keep a medical marriage strong

Physician voices

Physician burnout: Medicine fails us

Starla Fitch, MD

December 22, 2014Dec 22, 20144

We are often our own worst critics. Whenever doctors feel down, or burned out in our roles as health care providers and healers, we look inward. We wonder what is wrong with us. What could we do differently? We wonder…

We are often our own worst critics.

Whenever doctors feel down, or burned out in our roles as health care providers and healers, we look inward. We wonder what is wrong with us. What could we do differently? We wonder why other doctors don’t have this problem.

The truth is, we do. We all do.

And yes, sometimes the problem is within us.

But other times, the problem is outside of us. Sometimes, it’s …

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Physician burnout: Medicine fails us

Conditions and diseases

Tongue cancer in an elderly patient: Thinking of my grandmother

Bruce Campbell, MD

December 17, 2014Dec 17, 2014

Old age is no place for sissies. -Bette Davis “I want the surgery today!” She started to cry. “I’m ninety-four years old. I’ll accept any risk. Just take this thing out!” She looked back and forth between the anesthesiologist and…

Old age is no place for sissies.
-Bette Davis

“I want the surgery today!” She started to cry. “I’m ninety-four years old. I’ll accept any risk. Just take this thing out!”

She looked back and forth between the anesthesiologist and me. Her golf-ball sized tongue cancer had been growing over the past six months. It wasn’t changing from day-to-day, but it had increased over the course of the three weeks since we had …

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Tongue cancer in an elderly patient: Thinking of my grandmother

Physician voices

A cardiologist undergoes knee surgery. Read what he learned.

December 10, 2014Dec 10, 20144

The phone rang one evening and a pleasant voice was on the other end. "Hi, my name is nurse so-and-so and I'm the educational coordinator for your upcoming knee surgery. Do you want to go to the patient orientation session?"…

The phone rang one evening and a pleasant voice was on the other end. “Hi, my name is nurse so-and-so and I’m the educational coordinator for your upcoming knee surgery. Do you want to go to the patient orientation session?” she asked. “It’s very helpful to go over things before and after your surgery and to answer any questions you might …

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A cardiologist undergoes knee surgery. Read what he learned.

Physician voices

The time I almost got fired for saving a young woman’s life

Carolyn Messere, MD

December 8, 2014Dec 8, 201430

I was a fourth-year surgery resident, on the transplant team. It was a difficult rotation, because the doctor who ran it was sexist and got along better with you if you flirted with him. He made innumerable sexual wisecracks in…

I was a fourth-year surgery resident, on the transplant team. It was a difficult rotation, because the doctor who ran it was sexist and got along better with you if you flirted with him. He made innumerable sexual wisecracks in the OR while we were working, and preferred to round with his arm around me as he made further innuendoes.

I wasn’t …

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The time I almost got fired for saving a young woman’s life

Physician voices

After Joan Rivers: How we can make patients safer

Ahmed Zaafran, MD

December 5, 2014Dec 5, 20149

On September 4th, 2014, iconic comedian and TV personality Joan Rivers passed away due to complications following what seemed to be a routine visit to her gastroenterologist. Up until now, a wave of speculation and mystery has surrounded her case…

On September 4th, 2014, iconic comedian and TV personality Joan Rivers passed away due to complications following what seemed to be a routine visit to her gastroenterologist.

Up until now, a wave of speculation and mystery has surrounded her case with a trove of unanswered questions. What happened on that tragic day? What kind of procedure did she have? Was it a dangerous surgery? Who was in the room?

On October 16th …

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After Joan Rivers: How we can make patients safer

Physician voices

Having children during medical residency: 6 tips to survive

Jasmine Almeida

November 27, 2014Nov 27, 20147

We had our first child during the fourth year of my husband’s ophthalmology residency, and our second son joined us during the first year of a surgical retina fellowship. Juggling long hours, multiple medical commitments and the needs of two…

We had our first child during the fourth year of my husband’s ophthalmology residency, and our second son joined us during the first year of a surgical retina fellowship. Juggling long hours, multiple medical commitments and the needs of two small children can be exhausting but every day is complete with fulfillment and laughter — and who can ask for anything …

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Having children during medical residency: 6 tips to survive

Physician voices

What medicine can learn from the Secret Service failure

November 26, 2014Nov 26, 2014

I was listening to the news on my way to work recently, and heard a story about the review conducted after the well-publicized security breach at the White House. Like many people, I was shocked when the story of the…

I was listening to the news on my way to work recently, and heard a story about the review conducted after the well-publicized security breach at the White House. Like many people, I was shocked when the story of the fence-jumper first broke. How was it possible that some guy with a knife managed to get over the fence, cross the lawn, enter the White House and get deep into the …

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What medicine can learn from the Secret Service failure

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