The July/August issue of AARP magazine features a column on “Reasons to think twice before going under the knife.”
The column’s preamble states:
“The following four operations are overperformed for a variety of reasons: Some are moneymakers for hospitals and doctors, others are expedient, and still others seem to work, at least in the short term. But evidence shows that all have questionable long-term outcomes for treating certain conditions, and some may even cause harm.”
The four they list are:
1. stents for stable angina
2. complex spinal fusion for stenosis
3. hysterectomy for uterine fibroids
4. knee arthroscopy for osteoarthritis
Opinions on other issues in news, journals, PR, advertising, marketing
Monday at #ADA2021, an infectious disease epidemiologist, a journalist, and a researcher shared perspectives on communication of risk in the era of COVID-19: http://ow.ly/ROfR30rMeE7 @AstleyCM @garyschwitzer @berthahidalgo @ADA_DiabetesPro
Shoutouts to @susan_bewley @drkevinknopf @MichaelBaum11 in this call for more than fawning coverage from press releases for these kinds of stories.
Also, linked history inside goes back 5 years just on Grail apparently trying to become Holy Grail. https://twitter.com/garyschwitzer/status/1408849696416841731
Comments
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allan jones
July 5, 2011 at 10:36 amaarp is a rip off and a great supporter of obamacare and i therefore have no use for this subversive organization…
ed krzykwa
July 21, 2011 at 4:03 pmi don’t understand why aarp articles repeatedly ignore chiropractic care. chiropractic has saved me from numerous medical interventions. three hospitals in two states and it was a doctor of chiropractic that saved my life. you are missing the boat when all health professions are not given fair research.
Thomas
November 14, 2011 at 12:56 amGood information, thanks Gary. Another one that a family member was convinced to have is a gallbladder removal. Although generally a lot less traumatic than open surgery, the laparoscopy method is used in most gallbladder removals (an increase of 40% since the advent of laparoscopy), there are still major potential risks. Unintentional cutting of the bile duct, which could result in permanent liver damage, happens in 1 to 2 % of laparoscopies.
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