Many Surgeries are
Pointless and Unjustified
Lyle Loughry--May 2007
Many physicians are appalled by the number of vacations and luxury automobiles that have been paid for with blood money for unnecessary surgeries -- while on the other side of the scalpel millions of lives have been cruelly devastated, or lost altogether.
Obviously, some surgeries are vital, and the ONLY viable treatment, but way too many surgical procedures are just plain pointless and unjustified. Most doctors are committed to helping and healing people, but how can anyone explain how an otherwise healthy 83 year old get thrown under the knife so a doctor can take another vacation that year, and you've probably heard of just that sort of thing happening, or something very similar.
There are other doctors--far too many of them-- who are in it for the wealth and riches. Truth is, surgery is hard work, but that doesn't justify some surgeon's reckless sense of entitlement to excessive riches. Meanwhile their patients suffer through "iatrogenic" unbearable pain ...disabilities ...shock ...dementia ...incontinence ...depression ... and too often, death! Iatrogenic is defined as "physician-caused." Another article in this Featured Health Articles section documents the three-quarter-million Americans who die at the hands of doctors and hospitals, yearly. Be sure and read Death by Friendly Fire.
A lot more could be said about this issue of
unnecessary surgeries, but the following
article will make the point, sufficiently.
Surgeries that could literally KILL you
Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery:
Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease. Arteries or veins from elsewhere in the patient's body are grafted to the coronary arteries to bypass atherosclerotic narrowings and improve the blood supply to the coronary circulation supplying the heart muscle. This surgery is usually performed with the heart stopped, necessitating the usage of cardiopulmonary bypass; "off-pump" surgical procedures are also available to perform CABG on a beating heart. People undergoing coronary artery bypass are at risk for the same complications as any surgery, plus some risks more common with or unique to CABG. Numerous research studies prove beyond doubt that only 20% of the patients receive any benefit at all from this procedure. One-Half-Million Coronary Artery Bypass surgeries are performed in the U.S. every single year, and sadly, some160,000 of those painful, dangerous, and life-altering operations leave their victims with irreversible dementia and memory loss.
Prostate Cancer Surgery:
Prostate cancer is defined as "cancer that forms in tissues of the prostate (a gland in the male reproductive system, found below the bladder, and in front of the rectum)." Prostate cancer usually occurs in older men. The National Cancer Institute estimates that new cases in the United States will reach 186,000 in 2008. They also estimate that prostate cancer deaths in 2008 may reach approximately 15% (28,660). Prostate cancer surgery, called a prostatectomy, has become very prevalent, today. Of those who do have the surgery, 1% will die...17% will have difficulty urinating for life...a full 28% will become incontinent...and 50% will kiss their sex life goodbye! Many have concluded this is a very dear price to pay for the risk involved.
Hysterectomy:
As many as 1 in every 3 women in America has this surgery performed by the age of 60, and fifty to ninety percent of the 700,000 hysterectomies performed, every-single-year, may be unnecessary. Approximately half of the women who undergo hysterectomies develop postoperative complications like infections, scar tissues, abdominal pains and depression, and thirty percent never have sex again. Additionally, 400 women actually die annually from the operation itself.
Arthroscopic Surgery for Osteoarthritis:
Recently published studies revealed that there was absolutely no difference in pain relief resulting from actual surgery vs. fake surgery. Amazing revelation! They punctured a hole in the knee and pretended to fix it for placebo control. And that happens 500,000 a year!
Lower Back Surgeries:
350,000 Americans undergo lower back surgeries, every year. These surgeries are considered to be a "questionable procedure" by many. That opinion is perhaps best articulated stated in the pronouncement of Dr. Martin Samuels, Founding Chair of the Department of Neurology at Brigham and women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Samuels recommends that you should, "Never get back surgery for back pain! It's not only the wrong treatment - it doesn't work!" I think that's about as clear as you can get.
Dr. Alan Inglis, MD, is a real country doctor and nobody's fool. He has degrees from Amherst College, Cambridge University (yes, the one in England), The University of Vermont Medical School, and has done important post-doctoral work at Duke and Harvard. Now he works long hours treating patients the old-fashioned way in the New England mountains.
According to Dr. Alan Ingliss, known as America's Counry Doctor, "Up to 90% of certain surgeries are COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY!"
So what should you do if faced with the decision to have surgery, or not? Don't let any doctor perform any invasive surgery procedure without asking every question you can think of, including, "Is this absolutely necessary", and "Is there some other way", and "Why not"? If you have access to the internet, google the recommended procedure, and learn about the side effects, and remember, no invasive surgery is "minor." I've lost dear friends who swallowed that line . . ."It's a minor procedure, a piece of cake, there is little to no risk."
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