“Technology continues to evolve every day. In the near-term future, portable and easily deployable robots will allow surgeons all over the world to perform minimally invasive surgery in an increasing number of procedure types and become even more…
Category: surgery
The necessity for the globalization of surgery and its barriers
For years, the surgical practice has been an essential medicine to treat many diseases, such as benign lesions or neoplasms, deliveries, cesarean sections, infections, obstructions, bleeds, and cardiovascular diseases. In many cases, the standard of ca…
Racial disparities in surgical care [PODCAST]
“As a practicing surgeon for 30 years in the super-specialized field of otology, neurotology and skull base surgery, I have been privy to some of the most disturbing realities of surgical care. Often, these realities are bleaker than most people …
A data-first strategy to recovering surgical volumes [PODCAST]
“The first step to hospital recovery is the collection and analysis of data. Organizations that effectively leverage data to optimize surgery can see rapid, quantifiable, and sustained improvements in metrics that directly link to operational eff…
A neurosurgeon’s lessons on love, loss, and compassion [PODCAST]
“Dehumanizing patients can lead to indifference in physicians. It is a privilege to be trusted to take care of every patient we encounter, yet we can lose sight of this and begin to see our patients as a burden, or as units of work, rather than a…
Ageism and the mid-career physician
Four years ago, I was ready to throw in the towel. I practiced for 22 years in a large metropolitan hospital, became very involved in resident education, clinical program directorship, medical staff affairs, in addition to a busy hospital-based surgic…
The bleak reality of racial disparity in surgical care
As a practicing surgeon for 30 years in the super-specialized field of otology, neurotology and skull base surgery, I have been privy to some of the most disturbing realities of surgical care. Often, these realities are bleaker than most people expect….
You are not “asleep” under anesthesia
“You will be asleep for your surgery,” anesthesiologists often reassure their patients. Just before the start of anesthesia, a patient may hear the nurse saying, “Think of a nice dream as you go off to sleep.” While these statements are intended to soo…
Robotic surgery’s impact on training the next generation of surgeons
While we’re not there yet, we may be approaching a point where we’re facing a significant skills shortage among surgeons. A 2017 study by Meritt Hawkins found that 52 percent of orthopedic surgeons were 55 and older, as were 48 percent of general surge…
Our country needs a debridement: A South African physician reflects
This week sees myself in the office only for a few hours. I decided to drive across the city yesterday to meet with supportive friends for lunch. All three of us are fully vaccinated. Along the way in the suburbs, there were still people parked at stra…
