Advanced electrical stimulation technology can repair damaged nerves, restore neuron function with virtually no side effects

(NaturalNews) Patients suffering from nerve damage or paralysis may soon be able to better regain function, thanks to a new electrical stimulation technique developed by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, Mass., and engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Science Daily reports that the new method of functional electrical stimulation (FES) reduces electrical output by 40 percent and better protects surrounding nerves and tissues from damage by focusing energy directly to the damaged site. Published in the journal Nature Materials , the findings reveal a method of stimulating neuronal activity in patients with nerve damage that is superior to traditional FES technologies. By reducing the amount of electrical current emitted and better concentrating it into damaged areas, scientists have successfully developed a safer and more efficient method of helping nerve-damaged patients regain function with less damaging side effects. “This new device works by manipulating the concentration of charged ions surrounding the nerve,” said Samuel J. Lin, MD, a surgeon at BIDMC’s Divisions of Plastic Surgery and Otolaryngology, Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and co-author of the study. “This could potentially mean reduced risk to surrounding nerves because less electrical current is required to stimulate the affected nerve.” Since sensory nerves and the nerves that control movements are located very closely together, reducing both the amount of electrical current as well as its spread is crucial to maximizing the benefits and reducing the side effects of FES treatments. And after experimenting with the various ions in the fluid that surrounds nerves, the research team discovered that removing the positively charged calcium ions helps to focus the electrical current on the damaged nerve areas while protecting the healthy areas. “Nerve fibers fire their signals based on the message they receive from the interaction of ions, or charged particles,” added Lin. “The nerves that control movements and the sensory nerves that carry pain signals are extremely close together, so existing FES therapy has had limitations. This (new discovery) is an important step towards the design of a device to help patients suffering from nerve paralysis and chronic neurological conditions.” Sources for this article include: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111121194131.htm

Was Andy Rooney killed by his surgery?

(NaturalNews) The infamous media writer Andy Rooney died last week after undergoing surgery for an undisclosed, but reportedly minor, condition. Though he was 92 years old, Rooney was not known to be sick prior to this minor surgery — but somehow the medical procedure went awry, which resulted in the rapid demise of the often-controversial 60 Minutes commentator. Whether you loved him or hated him, it is undeniable that Andy Rooney had become a type of American media legend. And while many of those paying tribute to his life after his passing have a lot of good things to say about him, one glaring segment that is missing from such reports concerns the circumstances surrounding his mysterious death. Why did an otherwise healthy man suddenly die after being admitted to the hospital for a minor surgery? What were the “major complications” that arose following this minor surgery, and how were they able to progress so badly that they ended up killing him? Throughout the past several years, NaturalNews has covered the many celebrities and other prominent figures that have died from things like prescription drug overdoses and conventional treatments for serious conditions like cancer. In many of these cases, their cause of death could be traced back to the treatment rather than the disease. While nobody knows for sure why Andy Rooney went in for surgery, it is clear from media reports that the issue was minor and not life threatening. And even though nobody in the media seems all that concerned with investigating the incident further, it is also clear that something went terribly wrong during Rooney’s surgery that ended up killing him. Rooney was very private with his personal life and medical history, which is perhaps why the media is leaving the surgery issue alone. But it only seems right that the issue be addressed — after all, if there was some type of medical malpractice involved, does not the world deserve to know the truth? A 2010 study published in the British Journal of Surgery found that roughly 25 percent of patients end up in worse shape after surgery than they were before surgery (http://www.naturalnews.com/030839_surgery_patients.html). And another more recent study out of Harvard University found that many surgeries performed on seniors are unnecessary, and they often correspond with increased mortality (http://www.naturalnews.com/034013_hospital_profits_Medicare.html). Was Rooney the victim of a conventional medical procedure that was dangerous and unnecessary for a man of his age? Sources for this article include: http://news.yahoo.com/andy-rooney-wry-60-minutes-commentator-dies-133038061.html http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/26/entertainment/la-et-quick-20111026

British woman develops allergy to electricity following chemotherapy treatment

(NaturalNews) British woman Janice Tunnicliffe cannot watch TV, keeps her washing machine in a concrete outhouse and cannot have neighbors with wireless internet because she is “allergic” to electricity. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/8520405/Meet-the-woman-allergic-to-electricity.html) The problems began following chemotherapy treatment for bowel cancer. The cancer had not spread but it was decided that she should have chemotherapy after her surgery as a precautionary measure. Shortly afterward her unusual problem started, she began to feel ill whenever she was near electrical and wireless devices in her home. What could the rare condition, called electrosensitivity, say about chemotherapy or about the electrical and wireless devices that abound in our lives? Tunnicliffe, 55, cannot bear to be anywhere near electromagnetic fields of any kind. She even had to cover her windows with a special metallic material to deflect any electromagnetic waves coming in. Her condition, which requires her to avoid cell phones, radios, kitchen appliances, computers, and wireless internet, among other things, has left her completely isolated from the world filled to the brim with these devices that the rest of us live in. She suffers constant headaches, chest pains, nausea and tingling in her arms and legs whenever she is near electrical devices or items that emit a signal. The chemo connection The medical profession has been slow to recognize electrosensitivity as an illness, according to Graham Lamburn, technical manager at the independent organization Powerwatch, which promotes safer environments, and the causes are still unknown. But the timing of the Chemotherapy and the onset of her illness seals the deal for Tunnicliffe. “Personally, I think there must be a link with the chemotherapy and the ES,” she said. “But no one is going to admit that.” Toxicity of chemotherapy In recent years more studies and more experts are beginning to acknowledge the toxic impact chemotherapy has on the human body even for the workers who only handle chemotherapy agents. A 10-year study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control released in 2010 confirmed that chemotherapy agents continue to contaminate workspaces, and are still being found in the urine of those who handle them. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38114586/ns/health-cancer/t/lifesaving-cancer-drugs-may-put-workers-lives-risk/) “If cancer specialists were to admit publicly that chemotherapy is of limited usefulness and is often dangerous, the public might demand a radical change in direction,” wrote Ralph W. Moss in his book “The Cancer Industry”. A 2010 study from Indiana University adds to the growing list of harmful side effects caused by chemotherapy. According to scientists, the chemical cancer treatment destroys gray matter in the brain associated with cognitive function and memory. (http://www.naturalnews.com/029996_chemotherapy_brain_function.html#ixzz1MuC7AzE3) A 2006 study published in the online edition of Breast Cancer Research and Treatment showed that chemotherapy might change the way the brain works, causing mild forgetfulness and brain fog in some cancer survivors, often described as “chemobrain”. (http://www.naturalnews.com/020665.html#ixzz1MuCJRRk6) Canary in the coal mine? Aside from the dangers of chemotherapy, what about the dangers of electromagnetic radiation? Canaries were often used in coal mines as a warning system because toxic gases would kill the bird before they would affect the miners. Could Ms. Tunnicliffe, made extra sensitive by illness, be the canary of the electrical world? Possibly so, according to a new report by the Council of Europe’s Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs. Last week, the powerful European body ruled that immediate action to protect children was required after examining evidence that cell phones and wireless networks have “potentially harmful” effects on humans. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/8514380/Ban-mobile-phones-and-wireless-networks-in-schools-say-European-leaders.html) It is crucial to avoid repeating the mistakes made when public health officials were slow to recognize the dangers of asbestos, tobacco smoking and lead in petrol, according to the report. The report also pointed to potential health risks from cordless phones and baby monitors, which use similar technology. “Mobile phone technology is clearly incredibly beneficial and useful,” said Professor Paul Elliot of Imperial College in London and lead researcher in an international study of the long-term effects of mobile phone use on 200,000 people. “But we have to weigh up those potential health effects, so it is responsible to do research on that. In children, that research has not yet really been done, so we need more research in this area. In the meantime the advice is not to be excessive in use.” Sources for this article include: http://www.naturalnews.com/029996_chemotherapy_brain_function.html#ixzz1MuC7AzE3 http://www.naturalnews.com/020665.html#ixzz1MuCJRRk6 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/8514380/Ban-mobile-phones-and-wireless-networks-in-schools-say-European-leaders.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/8520405/Meet-the-woman-allergic-to-electricity.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38114586/ns/health-cancer/t/lifesaving-cancer-drugs-may-put-workers-lives-risk/

Drug injection delays puberty

(NaturalNews) Children with supposed “Gender Identity Disorder” (GID), a rare condition involving sexual confusion, that are having a hard time deciding whether they want to be male or female can now choose to artificially delay puberty while they figure it out. A recent report in The Telegraph explains that a monthly drug injection will prevent sexual development in children to give them more time to make up their minds about having a sex change — and kids as young as 12 are eligible to receive it. Puberty-blocking drugs for young children have been available in the US for several years, but they are just now emerging in the UK for childrenSupporters say the drugs prevent the maturation of sexual organs so that, if a child chooses to undergo a sex change, the surgery will be less involved. But critics say the practice is a horrific to natural childhood development, and that sexual manipulation is an abuse against humanity. Previously, British doctors were prohibited from prescribing the drug to children under age 16. But the UK National Research Ethics Service (NRES), a group that “protects the rights, safety, dignity and well-being of research participants,” has decided to give exclusive approval to one London hospital to perform the procedure on 12-year-olds. The long-term effects of the drug are uncertain. While proponents say the hormone manipulators stop interfering once treatment ends, others worry that deliberately altering hormone levels during the crucial developmental years can cause permanent damage. “Do we know what the impact of such heavy hormonal interference will be on the health of these young people?” asked bioethicist Wesley Smith a few years ago when an international medical organization began pushing the treatment on young children. “If not, doesn’t this border on unethical human experimentation?” Sources for this story include: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8454002/Puberty-blocker-for-children-considering-sex-change.html http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2009/jan/09010509

Health Freedom victory within reach in North Carolina as SB 31 amendment clarifies definition of medical felony crimes

(NaturalNews) We are on the verge of being able to report a significant health freedom victory in North Carolina. Although we do not yet have a confirmation that this amendment has passed, NaturalNews received the text of an amendment from a North Carolina state Senator who sponsored the bill, and the text is encouraging (see below). The amendment has not yet passed, but if it does, it will alter the text of the bill to indicate that the Class I felony charge would only be applied to those who “falsely represent” themselves as being licensed medical practitioners, not merely to those who “practice medicine without being duly licensed.” The distinction is crucial to protect holistic health practitioners. A law which targeted people who merely “practice medicine without a license” would have technically criminalized huge numbers of holistic health practitioners who are actually denied any sort of license to practice medicine by the state (http://www.naturalnews.com/031976_North_Carolina_health_freedom.html). The new language of this amendment, if adopted, would limit the Class I felony charge only to those who falsely (fraudulently) pretend to have a medical license while actually having no such license (see the amendment text, below). Here at NaturalNews, we support this new amendment language. It shifts to focus of the law to the kind of people who, for example, perform dangerous surgical procedures under the false pretense of having a medical license when in reality they have no such license. This genuinely is a problem, most notably in the cosmetic surgery realm where numerous fraudulent quacks have been arrested over the years for pretending to be licensed surgeons. Because, let’s face it: Surgery is dangerous enough even when licensed doctors perform it. To have it performed by a con artist pretending to be a physician is unquestionably far more dangerous. The new language in the proposed amendment NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY AMENDMENT Representative Weiss …moves to amend the bill on page 1, lines 13-19, by rewriting the lines to read: “and registered shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, except that if the person falsely represent himself or herself in any manner as being licensed, registered, and practicing under this Article or any other Article of this Chapter, or any person so practicing without a license is an out-of-state practitioner who has not been licensed and registered to practice medicine or surgery in this State, the person shall be guilty of a Class I felony.” (We do not have a public source yet to link to. This amendment text was emailed directly to NaturalNews. We believe it to be authentic.) This language is still not a total solution for health freedom, by the way. It still does not address the issue of the state medical board maintaining what is essentially a monopoly over the practice of medicine in North Carolina — that’s a far larger debate for another day. At least this modified amendment language does not directly implicate holistic health practitioners as committing felony crimes. Why loosely-worded laws can be so dangerous to freedom NaturalNews wishes to thank NC state Senator Eric Mansfield for spearheading this effort to see this amendment adopted. From Sen. Mansfield’s explanations to NaturalNews, it seems there was not a malicious attempt to use the original language of the bill to specifically attack holistic health practitioners, but that’s the problem with laws, you see: The intention behind the law is irrelevant in the courts. As this bill was originally written, a North Carolina courtroom judge could have very easily interpreted it as meaning that NC legislators specifically intended to classify holistic health practitioners as felons. Many of the really important laws get wildly abused by prosecutors these days, even in North Carolina. For example, North Carolina passed a law a few years back that called for extreme penalties to be used against people caught manufacturing chemical weapons . Now, when you and I think “chemical weapons,” we think about sarin gas or some other such devious substance used by terrorists to kill thousands of people. But in North Carolina, a prosecutor used this very same law to charge a man running a methamphetamine lab with the far more serious chemical weapons charge. As the Associated Press reported, “If convicted, Martin Dwayne Miller could get 12 years to life in prison for a crime that usually brings about six months.” (http://www.november.org/stayinfo/breaking/Patriot.html) Notably, North Carolina prosecutor Jerry Wilson claimed he wasn’t even abusing the law. (See? This is how it begins…) The law, he insists, defines chemical weapons of mass destruction as “any substance that is designed or has the capability to cause death or serious injury” and contains toxic chemicals. Well gee, under that definition, North Carolina should be arresting the operators of pesticide factories and food additive manufacturers . How about the cancer centers that are pumping chemotherapy into the veins of innocent patients? But no, North Carolina doesn’t prosecute pesticide factories and cancer centers for manufacturing chemical weapons, even though that’s technically exactly what they’re doing. The prosecution is selective , meaning that only those the state really wants to go after get prosecuted. Everybody else gets a pass. That’s the danger of leaving inappropriately-worded laws on the books. An overzealous prosecutor can commit all sorts of state-sponsored tyrannies against the People even while following the letter of the law! This is why it matters to fight for poorly-worded legislation to be revised so that the words say what the lawmakers really intended. When laws are not narrowly written, they are dangerous to us all It is extremely dangerous to leave laws on the books that cast a wide net of criminality across innocent people and then rely on the “discretion” of prosecutors to decide to whom that law does or does not apply. And that’s what the situation would have been in North Carolina if not for NaturalNews readers rising up in a mass online protest against North Carolina’s SB 31 as originally written. So thank you to all NaturalNews readers who took part in this legislative reality check for North Carolina. Your efforts paid off and a notable health freedom victory seems very close now to being accomplished. NC legislators heard your protests and, to their credit, they took action to clarify their intentions of the law while removing the poorly-chosen language that could have very easily criminalized holistic health practitioners. The NC legislative offices did not enjoy receiving a barrage of phone calls, emails and other complaints from NaturalNews readers, but we don’t pretend to be polite when it comes to defending our health freedoms against potentially dangerous legislative action. We are fighting for the rights and freedoms of those who have long been persecuted by the State for daring to explore alternative cancer treatments or advanced medicine protocols that are decades beyond the current limited knowledge of conventional medicine. We are a large grassroots action network of mission-driven people who are fed up with being criminalized under a monopolistic, deeply corrupted system of pharmaceutical medicine. And we will fight for the freedoms of our fellow holistic health practitioners even if it means raising our voices and protesting bad laws. SB 31, as originally written, was a bad law. It now seems to be far better if this new language is adopted. You can follow the fate of this bill at http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/billlookup/billlookup.pl?Session=2011&BillID=S31 Rest assured, NaturalNews will continue to follow the progress of this bill, and once this new amendment has in place, we will post a confirmation on Facebook (www.facebook.com/naturalnews). If this amendment does not get adopted for some reason, we’ll bring you that news, too. Stay tuned. And thank you to the reader from NC who brought this bill to our attention. Because we are a truly independent media source, we rely heavily on news tips from our readers. Keep sending us stories that you think we need to cover, and we will do our best to cover as many as we can. We are currently expanding our editorial staff and hope to have additional reporting capacity in place by the end of April. Our intention is to provide more localized coverage of health freedom issues as they emerge in various states or nations. We remain your information source for breaking news and developments on health freedom, GMOs, vaccines and much more. Subscribe now to our free daily email alerts if you want to be kept in the loop on breaking news stories: http://www.naturalnews.com/ReaderRegistration.html Stay safe and be healthy!

Tonsillectomies cause kids to gain excess weight

(NaturalNews) When kids complain of sore throats and their tonsils appear infected, the condition known as tonsillitis, doctors are often quick to urge the surgical removal of these clumps of lymphatic tissue found on both sides of the throat. Tonsils are also cut out when babies and young children are found to have enlarged tonsils that are sometimes linked to heavy or raspy breathing, especially at night. In fact, tonsillectomy is the most common major surgery performed on children and it’s a huge money-maker for mainstream medicine. Why remove tonsils instead of using less invasive treatments to fight an infection? The reasoning goes that surgery will prevent future tonsillitis. After all, it’s a no-brainer that if tonsils no longer exist, they can’t become infected. But what’s rarely discussed is the fact tonsils are actually part of the body’s immune system; they fights infection and trap germs coming in through the mouth and nose. And now there’s another reason to think twice about having your child’s tonsils surgically removed. Having a tonsillectomy could lead to obesity. According to a new report just published in the February 2011 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery , youngsters subjected to tonsillectomy, with or without the removal of their adenoids (adenoidectomy), are at increased risk for becoming overweight after the operation. In all, the researchers analyzed studies involving 795 children from birth to 18 years old, described as normal weight or overweight, who had a tonsillectomy or an adenoidectomy, or both. In almost 50% of the children, the primary reason for surgery was listed as “disordered breathing” that was blamed on enlarged tonsils. In one group of 127 children, body mass index (BMI) increased by 5.5 to 8.2% following the removal of tonsils. In a second group that included 419 patients, standardized weight scores increased dramatically in the vast majority of the young patients. Another group included three studies with 249 patients — and 50 to 75% of these kids gained weight after adenoidectomy. Lead author of the paper, otolaryngology specialist Anita Jeyakumar, MD, suggested that the weight gain could be blamed on parents who over-feed their child after surgery. She also hypothesized that children with chronic tonsillitis might eat less due to sore throats and other symptoms , so when their tonsils are removed, the kids feel like eating more. But this doesn’t explain why the youngsters would become overweight and sometimes downright obese after the operation. Although the new study doesn’t delve into the possibility that the actual removal of the tonsils could play a role in the weight gain, the findings raise more questions than answers. For example, could the tonsils play an as yet undiscovered role in metabolism? Or does the removal of part of the body’s immune system spur weight gain? For more information: http://www.entnet.org/ http://www.naturalnews.com/tonsils.html

Doctors should be forced to tell patients they are seriously impaired from lack of sleep before they operate

(NaturalNews) Here’s another one of those stories about mainstream medical practices that sounds like it couldn’t be true — but it is. According to an editorial just published in the New England Journal of Medicine , there are currently regulations in place to restrict the work hours of doctors in training — but no such rules for fully trained physicians. That means doctors who are severely sleep deprived are currently performing operations on unsuspecting patients who have no idea their surgeons are as impaired as if they were drunk out of their minds. “Studies have shown that sleep deprivation impairs psychomotor performance as severely as alcohol intoxication,” the authors of the study pointed out in a media statement. The editorial presents a compelling case that these sleep-deprived physicians should not be allowed to perform elective surgery unless their patients give informed, written consent agreeing to be operated on by an impaired doctor. “This approach would represent a fundamental shift in the responsibility patients are asked to assume in making decisions about their own care and might prove burdensome to patients and physicians and damaging to the patient-physician relationship,” the authors wrote. “This shift may be necessary until institutions take the responsibility for ensuring that patients rarely face such dilemmas.” So just how dangerous is it to be operated on by a doctor who is sleep-deprived? A 2009 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found a significant increase in the risk of complications in patients who underwent elective daytime surgical procedures performed by surgeons who hadless than a six-hour opportunity for sleep during a previous on-call night. What’s more, doctors who are sleep-deprived are often not able to accurately recognize how severely they are impaired. “Sleep deprivation affects clinical performance. It increases the risks of complications. And it is clear from survey data that patients would want to be informed if their physician was sleep deprived and that most patients would request a different provider,” Michael Nurok, M.D., Ph.D., an anesthesiologist and intensive care physician at Hospital for Special Surgery who is first author of the editorial, said in a press statement. “We think that institutions have a responsibility to minimize the chances that patients are going to be cared for by sleep-deprived clinicians.” The editorial concludes that sleep-deprived physicians should be required to inform patients of their condition; it also argues that patients have the right to be told of the potential hazards that can come from surgery performed by sleep-impaired surgeons. And patients should be given the opportunity to go ahead with the procedure, proceed with a different doctor, or reschedule for another time. If patients decide they want to go ahead with a planned operation performed by a sleep deprived doctor, Dr. Nurok and his co-authors believe they should be required to sign a consent form on the day of the procedure in front of a witness to show they understand the potential risks. Although it would seem like a no-brainer that patients have a right to know a surgeon they are trusting their bodies and lives to is not impaired, the editorial authors say there are many barriers to the idea of this informed consent. Not surprisingly, one of the biggest problems is based on the fear that when patients learn doctors are impaired from lack of sleep, there will be financial consequences for hospitals and physicians. Some doctors will lose cases and have a drop in income and medical centers will lose money if patients reschedule and go elsewhere for their surgery. However, Dr. Nurok and his colleagues counter that by giving patients the facts and true informed consent, any income lost by docs and hospitals will be offset by improved surgical outcomes and reduced complications. “There has been widespread discomfort with the idea that patients are having procedures performed by physicians who are fatigued,” Dr. Nurok concluded. “New policies are needed.” For more information: http://www.hss.edu/newsroom.asp

DePuy To Face 4000 Lawsuits Over The Manufacture Of Defective Hip Implants

DePuy Orthopaedics might have already realized the severity of the troubles that they are currently in. They are not an unpopular company, after all, because Johnson & Johnson owns them. They have been even more known for manufacturing the ASR implants, specifically the ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System, that have [...]

Hospital botches operation causing healthy woman to lose both legs

(NaturalNews) Going to hospital these days for even the simplest medical treatments has become a high-risk activity that could result in serious injury or death. A recent story in the New York Daily News tells of Stacey Galette, a 30-year-old woman who lost both her legs due to a surgical error. Galette says she was perfectly healthy when admitted to Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, New York, two years ago, but a day later, her life would change forever. According to reports, Galette’s surgeons punctured her intestines during a simply gynecological surgery, which triggered an infection that spread to her legs. Her blood became poisoned and her legs developed gangrene, which eventually resulted in them having to be amputated. “It’s horrifying,” explained Galette’s lawyer Sanford Rubenstein, to the New York Daily News . “She will be spending the rest of her life with a below-the-knees amputation, all because the doctors didn’t follow accepted medical practice.” Before the surgery, Galette was healthy, married, and worked a full-time job. Today, she is in the process of a divorce, lives with her mother, and remains on disability because she is unable to work. She also permanently lost some of her hearing after being put into an induced coma for three weeks following surgery-induced cardiac arrest. A 1995 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association explained that more than a million people are injured at hospitals every year, and roughly 280,000 die every year from these injuries (http://www.naturalnews.com/023892_hospital_hospitals_health.html). Bacterial “superbugs”, surgical errors, poor care and improper drug and dosage administration, are just a few of the many complications that often arise at hospitals that can cost patients their lives. Currently, there is no way to identify which hospitals have the worst error rates. So patients have no way to compare hospitals and make an informed decision about which one to choose. Sources for this story include: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/11/19/2010-11-19_bklyn_ma_in_endless_pain_after_operation_goes_terribly_wrong_amputee_sues_hosp_o.html

Missing the wrong kidney? Surgery mix-ups remain surprisingly common in U.S. hospitals

(NaturalNews) Three patients walk into a bar after recovering from foot amputation surgery due to diabetes. The first patient says, “My doctor did a great job with my amputation, but he left a little scarring that looks pretty ugly.” The second patient says, “That’s nothing. My doctor did a fantastic job with the amputation, but it was the wrong foot.” The third patient shakes his head and blurts out, “You got off easy! My doctor amputated my foot with the skill of a master surgeon, but I’m not even diabetic and was only there for a prostate exam!” It’s all too common these days, it seems: Doctors are performing surgeries on the wrong organs and even on the wrong people . All it takes is a little paperwork mix-up — a process at which hospitals seem to excel — and you could wake up missing a perfectly good kidney, lung or foot. You might even end up having the wrong organ irradiated as a “cancer therapy.” It happens so often that the current phenomenon of surgical mishaps has been called “catastrophic” by surgeons themselves. Catastrophic surgical errors are “a lot more common than the public thinks,” says Dr Martin Makary a professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins University. He wrote an editorial alongside the study that’s now shedding light on the seriousness of this problem. The study, led by Dr Philip Stahel, was published in the October issue of the Archives of Surgery . The data used in the study were gleaned from a review of the database records of a medical malpractice company that insures doctors and surgeons. These records revealed that patients sometimes had entire organs removed (such as the prostate gland) after medical personnel mixed up biopsy samples and diagnosed a perfectly healthy male patient as having prostate cancer. Catastrophic medical errors were surprisingly common, and one-third of them led to patient harm, the study authors found. Only about twenty percent resulted in malpractice claims or lawsuits, however, meaning that in about 80 percent of the cases, patients just suffered the consequences with no compensation . This is yet another good reason, by the way, that holistic medicine is so much better for you. Even if a holistic naturopathic physician treats the wrong part of your body, the treatments are supportive, natural and non-invasive, so there’s no harm done. Given that the first principle of medicine is supposed to be “do no harm,” it’s astonishing that conventional doctors and surgeons end up harming so many people. How to protect yourself from medical numbskulls So how can you protect yourself from overzealous surgeons who want to start cutting into you immediately upon diagnosing you with some disease you might not even have? (I’ve heard stories of cancer surgeons scaring people into undergoing radical procedures on a same-day basis…) First of all, don’t believe any diagnosis without a second opinion . Doctors are wrong all the time. Labs mix up results all the time. Paperwork gets shuffled around, data entry errors take place, and overworked medical staff make regrettable errors with astonishing frequency. Never take a single medical opinion as medical fact. You may find that your first doctor is full of bunk (or even that they’re all full of bunk if you’re in a cancer clinic). Secondly, before your next surgical procedure (should you for some reason choose to undergo one), use a magic marker to write, in big letters, “WRONG LEG” on the leg your doctors shouldn’t amputate (for example). You literally need to spell it out for these people because they’re only going on what the computer records tell them, and those records might be wrong. Because you’re already unconscious under anesthesia by the time they start cutting, you have no way to tell them to stop, and a few hours later you might wake up to discover that they removed your one good kidney while leaving behind your diseased one. Thirdly, try not to have surgery in the first place! Most conventional surgeries are medically unnecessary. From hysterectomies and tonsillectomies to mastectomies and coronary bypass surgery, most of these medical procedures are based on nothing more than pure quackery backed by no real science. They make millions of dollars for surgeons and hospitals, but scientifically speaking they offer no real benefit to patients. Most (but not all) surgical procedures can be either prevented or entirely avoided with more natural approaches to health. The bottom line to all this is to be careful when choosing surgery because surgical mistakes are a lot more common than you might suspect. In fact, they are apparently more common than most doctors would even suspect. As Dr Makary wrote in his editorial, “Each hospital, whether they publicly admit it or not, and whether or not it’s discoverable in a lawsuit, has an episode of wrong-site or wrong-patient surgery either every year or once every few years.” Don’t let that catastrophic mistake happen to you. Sources for this story include: CNN.com http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/10/18/health.surgery.mixups.common/index.html?hpt=T2

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