surgery
Will Sniffing Alcohol Ease Nausea After Surgery?
Most of the time when we learn about an unusual home remedy, we have no idea how or even whether it works. So we were thrilled last year when we came across an actual placebo-controlled trial of sniff…
Unexpected Bills Come as Nasty Postsurgical Surp…
Are hospitals stacking the deck against patients? People with insurance have learned that they need to ask whether the surgeon as well as the hospital are in-network before elective surgery. Despite d…
How Does Aspirin Compare to Pricey Anticoagulant…
When people have knee or hip replacement surgery, they may face the danger of blood clot formation. Such clots can form in the large veins of the legs, break loose and end up in the lungs as pulmonary…
Ginger Was Brilliant Remedy for Post-Operative N…
Post-operative nausea can be very troubling. People who have had any type of abdominal surgery definitely want to avoid throwing up. In addition to the usual unpleasantness, vomiting after surgery cou…
Is Aspirin Cost-Effective Blood Clot Prevention?
Blood clots can be useful if you cut yourself. That's how the body stops the wound from bleeding. In many circumstances, however, blood clots are undesirable. Doctors prescribe expensive anticoagulant…
Will Potatoes Slow Your Recovery from Surgery?
Have you ever gone into the hospital for a planned surgery? If so, you've probably been offered some materials that explain the procedure and tell you what to expect, when to arrive and how long you s…
How Risky Is Shoulder Replacement Surgery?
Shoulder replacement surgery is becoming increasingly common. Now, researchers writing in The BMJ say that patients should be warned that the risks of this procedure are higher than doctors originally…
Will Antibiotics Replace Surgery for Appendiciti…
Do you always need to have surgery for appendicitis? For more than a century, the standard treatment for appendicitis has been surgery to remove the organ. This was usually treated as an emergency bec…
Should You Stop Taking Aspirin Before a Biopsy?
Millions of people take low-dose aspirin (once called "baby aspirin," though it is not for babies) to protect themselves from blood clots that could lead to a heart attack or stroke. People at higher …
Show 1071: How You Can Get Relief from Chronic P…
Spine surgeon David Hanscom does some of the most complicated surgery you can imagine on bad backs. But his patients get even more relief from chronic pain by employing the nonsurgical techniques he o…
Why Is Codeine the Wrong Pain Reliever for Kids?
Doctors used to prescribe codeine to kids who’d undergone a tonsillectomy or appendectomy. They believed that this narcotic was less potent and hence not as risky as more powerful opioids. However, …
Popular Shoulder Surgery Is No Better Than Place…
As people get older, they may suffer from chronic shoulder pain. Other than a torn rotator cuff, one type of pain is brought on by bone spurs rubbing on soft tissue such as rotator cuff tendons. This…
Will Stopping Aspirin Lead to A Heart Attack?
Many people take low dose aspirin, usually 81 mg, to prevent cardiovascular complications. Doctors frequently prescribe aspirin after a patient has had a heart attack or after a stent has been placed …
Show 1074: Surviving Medical Errors and Seeking …
Medical errors and misadventures account for surprisingly high mortality in the U.S. Some experts estimate that they should be considered the third leading cause of death in this country. Many such mi…
What Are the Benefits and Risks of Mesh in Herni…
When people need surgery to fix abdominal hernias, the surgeon often uses a piece of mesh to strengthen the hernia repairs. The investigators reviewed the records of all surgical hernia repairs in Den…
Is Cardiac Evaluation Before Surgery a Mistake?
Many people anticipating some type of operation other than one on their hearts are sent for cardiac evaluation with coronary artery angiography before surgery. Surgeons want to make sure that their …
Does Appendicitis Always Require Surgery?
A new study suggests that appendicitis doesn't always need to be treated with surgery. This is a radical idea, given that most physicians and patients believe that acute appendicitis requires emergenc…
Physical Therapy Eases Low Back Pain as Well as …
Lumbar spinal stenosis, a condition in which narrowing of the spinal column crowds the spinal cord causing serious pain, is frequently treated with spinal surgery. Spinal stenosis is not unusual as pe…
Why Do Surgical Patients Land Back in the Hospit…
Hospitals have begun paying much more attention to readmissions of patients within a month after they have been discharged. That is because neither Medicare nor Medicaid will pay for the care of such …
Show 972: New Pathways to Overcome Chronic Back …
At some point during our lives, most of us will have at least one episode of back pain. Sharp or dull, the pain can come on at an unexpected moment and dominate our lives for days or weeks, until it d…
Propofol Linked to Less Confusion after Surgery
Q. After reading your column on the aftereffects of anesthesia, I want to share my own experience. I had severe memory lapses for months after undergoing anesthesia. It was like knowing something was …
Did Anesthesia Scramble His Brain?
Q. What can you tell me about the after-effects of surgical anesthesia? I am a healthy 72-year-old man, still very active. Five days ago I had TURP prostate surgery. Now I’m plodding through a two-w…
Did Surgeons Really Leave 16 Items Inside Patien…
It is one of those stories that sends shivers up and down our spines. Next to operating on the wrong patient or the wrong body part, leaving surgical "stuff" inside a patient's body tops our list of "…