Eight is enough (I hope) for this medical "MacGyver" Remember back in March, when I told you about how 20% of hand surgeons have operated on the wrong hand or wrist of a patient at least once in their careers? What about when I told you how at least 1500 patients yearly leave U.S. operating rooms with a piece of surgical equipment - like a hemostat, electrode, or sponge - sewn up inside of them? Well, if reading about it so often in the Daily Dose has desensitized you to this manner of medical carelessness, here's an item that'll shock you all over again… According to CNN.com, a Hawaiian surgeon - correction, a surgeon practicing in Hawaii only because he'd had his medical license suspended or revoked in 2 other U.S. states - is being sued for malpractice (for at least the EIGHTH TIME, mind you) after a 2001 operation in which he implanted a sawed-off section of screwdriver into a patient's spine instead of the sterile, high-strength titanium rod that was supposed to be installed. Apparently, this quack misplaced the rod that was specially made for the sensitive procedure, but didn't realize it until after he'd already begun operating on the patient. So he improvised. Like something out of an episode of MacGyver, he rummaged around in the surgery drawer for a spare Phillips head, whipped out his trusty hacksaw (the one he's no doubt used to amputate many a wrong limb with), and sent his patient home with a SECTION OF THE TOOL'S SHAFT in his spine! Of course, it snapped a few days later. And after a pair of additional surgeries, the patient, Arturo Iturralde, ended up a paraplegic. Now, his relatives are suing because they maintain that his death this past June is due to complications from the procedure(s). The 48-year-old doctor (I won't name him to avoid giving coronaries to anyone who may be reading this that may have received "care" at his hands) was under review by the Hawaiian medical board at the time. This is a tragic story - one most people think makes headlines because this kind of thing is so rare. But I'm telling you that it's not. And what I want to know is this: How can a doctor who's been sued for malpractice almost as many times as he has fingers (unless he accidentally hacked a few of them off during surgery, which is not at all unlikely) - not to mention being sanctioned or reviewed by the medical associations of 3 different states - operate on anyone, anywhere? The really scary part is that this guy is still out there. In fact, last year he applied for a medical license in yet another U.S. state… I hope his next practice isn't on the "preferred provider" list of your health insurance carrier. ************************ The FDA goes nuts - but in a GOOD way for a change… Finally, there's some headway in spreading the word about REAL "health foods." Recently, the ever-tightening tentacles of the Food and Drug Administration loosened their chokehold - albeit it ever so slightly - on the consumer information that producers of TRULY healthy foodstuffs (in this case nuts like almonds, pecans, etc.) can print on their products… In other words, now they can finally say what everybody already knows: That most varieties of nuts are great for your heart - slashing your risk of heart disease by up to 40%, according to some studies. Although the FDA still considers the well-documented heart-healthy benefits of nuts "unproven," you've probably known for a long time (especially if you're a Dr. Douglass' Real Health Breakthroughs or Daily Dose reader) that the Omega fatty acids in most kinds of nuts are actually one of the best things you can feed your ticker. Even the glacially slow-to-change American Heart Association says so… And starting this September, so will the labels on most varieties of store-bought almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, and peanuts. Rumor has it that similar labels are waiting in the wings for some of my favorite heart-foods - salmon and other cold-water fishes. Halleluiah! One warning, though: Before you crack open that can of goober peas, take care to read the WHOLE LABEL on these (mostly) healthy snacks before indulging - just to make sure you aren't ingesting a bunch of vegetable oils and other additives that may be useless at best, or packed with trans fats at worst. Because if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that the food industry can find a way to turn even the most wholesome of eats into an artery-clogger… Giving credit where it's due,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD
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