As I entered retirement my wife Louise encouraged me to consider writing a book as a way to have at least a modest interest in some reasonable activity. Accordingly, after mulling over possible topics I set to work on a book principally about the origin and development of my specialty Read More
Category: Thoracic Surgeons
Reflux of acid from the stomach back into the esophagus is the disorder identified by the acronym GERD which stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease. It’s such a common disorder that I suspect few of you need this explanation—you are all too familiar. Unhappily, many are also well acquainted with the Read More
These surgeons, about whom I have previously written, are two of the giants on whose shoulders the current generation of surgeons stands. They overlapped in time, interests and accomplishments. Both were innovative and creative and made seminal contributions to the development of surgery. Among other achievements these men developed eponymous Read More
The thoracic outlet is the part of the body surrounded by the curvature of the first rib on each side; this is the base of the neck and the top of the chest. The blood vessels (arteries and veins) and nerves to the arm exit from the chest through this Read More
Conflicts: Inevitable? Patients and their families are human beings. Surgeons, to the surprise of some, are also. As such our interactions, especially during the time after an operation when feelings run high, are subject to potential conflict. Despite the best of intentions, the stress of an illness or need for Read More
This week’s blog is by a friend and colleague Dr. Ed Bender. Ed is a cardiothoracic surgeon who is affiliated with Stanford and practices in the Bay area. He is a pioneer in the development and use of Smartphone Apps for surgeons. Using Smartphone Apps in a Daily Medical Read More
The surgeon’s dilemma. An unescapable result of any invasive operation, certainly the chest surgery I performed for several decades, is pain. Patients hurt…a lot. My patients needed, actually required, narcotics/opioids (opioids are narcotics) for their pain. If the pain was insufficiently treated they not only suffered but were unable Read More
Fad or the future? In my last blog I touted the benefits of minimally invasive chest surgery, thoracoscopy, which provides as good outcomes as open surgery but causes much less pain and allows patients to recover quicker. So-called robotic surgery is felt by some surgeons to be the next advance Read More
Less is more…beneficial. For years surgeons had only one option for an operation to provide access to internal organs: open surgery performed through a usually generous incision through skin and muscle. In a chest operation the access procedure to get inside a chest is called a thoracotomy. It begins with Read More
What is the goal of an esophagectomy? The answer may seem obvious, but it was not always so. As recently as when I began my practice in the early 1980s the hoped-for outcome was that the patient’s dysphagia would be relieved. Cure of the cancer was a welcome result but Read More
