Yugh and lawsuits abounding:<\/p>\n
Nearly 300 patients have filed lawsuits against a local cardiologist and his two partners, claiming that they performed needless operations.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Source: A Small Indiana Town Scarred by a Trusted Doctor – The New York Times<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
Warning: If you, unlike me, are highly suspicious of doctors and the medical procedures they recommend, this story will escalate your paranoia.<\/p>\n
But if you read through the whole article, you’ll learn that there were other physicians in the community warning about this doctor.<\/p>\n
Trouble is, just like crime–the occupation of a minuscule percentage of our population–it takes only one bad physician to cause waves of MD fear to break out among all patients.<\/p>\n
Note: A couple of months ago I had my annual skin inspection performed by my scrupulous dermatologist–a necessity because, although I have always avoided spending time in direct sunlight, I am what is professionally called “moley.” That is, my skin is prone to popping out moles. And those moles must be looked at every year.<\/p>\n
I have had the occasional mole that required a biopsy (all have come back negative). But this time a mole was suspicious enough to my dermatologist that he said it should be removed. Although he showed me precisely what looked odd to him, I myself couldn’t judge why that mole was different from all my other moles.<\/p>\n
But I trust him utterly. He sent me to a plastic surgeon.<\/p>\n
Some people–see above, re suspicions–would have brushed off the warning, I’m sure. I didn’t. Under precisely localized anesthesia, the surgeon removed the mole.<\/p>\n
To my surprise, the biopsy came back diagnosing a condition much closer to melanoma than I, at least, expected. I’ve since had a further procedure to make sure the clean margins around that excised mole are wider.<\/p>\n
I tell you this because distrust of physicians–provoked further by articles like the NYT one about Dr. Gandhi–can be dangerous to your health.<\/p>\n
Because I’m not a doctor, I wasn’t sure of the remedy to the disease known as Fear of Physicians. I suppose if a doctor recommends a surgical procedure that concerns you, go for a second opinion, and even a third. But in the end, you–like me, with my bad mole–can’t diagnose for yourself.<\/p>\n
We are laymen. We don’t know enough.<\/p>\n
LATER TODAY<\/strong>: I contacted my brother-in-law Rob, who just this week retired from his medical practice. Here’s exactly what he said about what you should do if your physician’s treatment recommendation makes you worried:<\/p>\n
2nd and 3rd opinions are always appropriate. \u00a0If an MD shows any hesitancy about getting a 2nd opinion, dump him\/her.<\/em><\/p>\n
Having a good reliable internist\u00a0you trust to run things by probably is your best defense.<\/em><\/p>\n
Dr\u00a0Rob<\/em><\/p>\n
And that’s direct from the doctor’s RX pad!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yugh and lawsuits abounding: Nearly 300 patients have filed lawsuits against a local cardiologist and his two partners, claiming that they performed needless operations. Source: A Small Indiana Town Scarred by a Trusted Doctor – The New York Times Warning: … Continue reading