I saw a patient recently, a man in his late seventies, who suffered from back pain. He came to me for a myelogram, a procedure in which I inject contrast dye into the intrathecal space of his spinal canal. This allows us to see clearly the outline of his spinal canal and nerves with a […]
The cloud of doom and depression hanging over the world for the last six months feels permanent. There are days when a patch of sunlight shines through, moments when we are able to feel normal, connected with each other. Then something happens to remind us how strange our world has become. The latest example is
And also, just maybe just take it easy on the Spring Break Partiers. Don’t throw things and call them murderers. Because most of them are just kids. Are they selfish and shallow and obnoxious? Definitely. Are they murderers? I don’t think so.
It seems like a new article makes the rounds every week complaining about medical costs. A recent example published in USA Today blasted the use of screening tomosynthesis, a newer technology that involves the use of a three-dimensional mammogram. The point of the article seems to be that money-hungry companies and doctors are pushing
My first day of medical school was incredible. I didn’t have any classes, but I learned a lot nonetheless. Shortly before classes started, I was offered the chance to attend an autopsy. At that point in my education, I was fired up, and ready to dive into everything. So I asked to go, and one
I occasionally meet a young person who wants to become a doctor, and asks for advice about how to make this happen. Probably more often, I work with a nurse or tech who has a child or niece or nephew who wants to become a doctor, and they’ll ask for advice. Apparently, these youths
I thought of this phrase a few days ago, during a particularly difficult biopsy. Most of my procedures involve very little bleeding, but this one was giving me heartburn. No matter what I did, the patient continued to ooze. I even got some blood on my clothes “gasp!” Now, I recognize that the few cc’s
People shove lots of weird things in their bodies. I’m not just talking about little kids who swallow coins and batteries and keys. Although they do swallow these things. A lot. That’s not so weird- little kids will eat anything. No, I’m talking about adults. Crazy people who stuff things in their rectums and
One thing that always blows my mind is the medical conspiracy theories. There are multiple theories, but one of the most insane is the cure for cancer. It goes something like this: there is a cure for cancer, and it is being kept secret by everybody in the medical establishment, because we make so
In 2016, the most dangerous job in the US was that of logger. According to Time Magazine, loggers suffer 135.9 deaths per 100,000 workers. I don’t know all the particulars, but I would assume that big trees fall on people during the course of this job. I haven’t ruled out Yeti attacks, given that
