Category: surgery

Do physicians have a right to be forgotten?

When we all lived in villages, knowing individual merchants allowed you to identify and avoid the cheats. As we urbanized, brand names became the reputational marker. But when you are dealing on the internet, where no one “knows you’re a dog,” what gua…

A plastic surgeon explains the dangers of the Brazilian butt lift

The Brazilian butt lift (BBL) is a procedure that enhances the buttocks through fat transfer. Excess fat is harvested from other areas of the body including the abdomen, hips, lower back and thighs through liposuction. BBL is a popular procedure for th…

A physician’s elective rotation in Rhodesia

An excerpt from Close to the Sun: The Journey of a Pioneer Heart Surgeon. In the third year of medical school, we were granted a three-month elective, during which we were encouraged to work at another hospital or in some medically related endeavor to …

When depersonalization is necessary in medicine

I could hear the scream from across the room. It was shrill and filled with panic. Any parent can identify the difference between the cries of normal toddler discomforts and a true emergency. I dropped what I was doing in the kitchen and found my three…

Do you know why you’re having surgery?

During my third year of medical school, I completed a clinical rotation in surgery. I was certain that it would be horrible. I envisioned myself in the OR, getting lightheaded, passing out onto the sterile field and being yelled at by my attending phys…

Where’s the humor in medicine?

“Come on, bring it on! Come on, bring it on!” the little girl repeatedly chanted behind the drawn curtain in the pre-op holding area. I pulled the curtain back and peered in to see my young patient in the bed and happy as a lark, her mother was sitting…

Is it orthopaedic surgery or orthopedic surgery?

In 1741, a French physician named Nicolas Andre coined a new word, Orthopédie, and published a book on the topic. Andry described how physicians and families could correct or prevent skeletal abnormalities in children. At that time, the treatment metho…

What advocacy means to this physician

Patients first Patient care brings me enormous satisfaction. Nearly 40 years ago, when I chose medicine as a career, this was a driving force. Within moments of patients coming into my office, they often share aspects of their life history known only t…

What advocacy means to this physician

Patients first Patient care brings me enormous satisfaction. Nearly 40 years ago, when I chose medicine as a career, this was a driving force. Within moments of patients coming into my office, they often share aspects of their life history known only t…

Your patients are counting on you

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com. I recently attended a state medical society’s annual meeting where the agenda consisted of an awards program, several speakers and a keynote address.  The highlight …