Killing a company slowly
BY LITO BANAYO
Scarless surgery
PHILIP S. CHUA M.D FACS, FPCS
‘But one thing is clear, eating fish is healthier than eating red meats and other food items loaded with saturated fats.’
CHOLECYSTECTOMY, the surgical removal of the gallbladder, has been successfully done through the vagina, leaving no scar in the abdomen, and no adverse effect on childbearing or delivery.
Surgery on tumors of the pituitary gland inside the skull is now being done through the nose, without having to open the skull anymore. Thyroid removal has been done through the axilla (armpit), without a neck incision, and appendectomy, done transgastric (through) the mouth.
Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) is a fairly recent development in surgery, which allows surgeons to use natural openings in the body, like the nose, mouth, vagina, etc., to perform operations on accessible organs, without leaving any visible scar on the body.
In these days of cosmetic conscious society, NOTES is becoming more and more popular. Not only will there be no visible post-op incision, the trauma of surgery to the body is lessened, faster recovery, resulting in earlier ambulation and shorter hospital stay. The overall cost, everything considered, may be higher than the conventional open-technique because most of the instruments used are disposable.
At the present, NOTES is not widely used and relegated to research institutions. Once enough cases have been done to prove that the "incisonless or scarless" technique is safe and effective, and superior to the open method of surgery, it will eventually be used as a standard approach in surgery.
NOTES could well be "the next major paradigm shift in surgery, just as laparoscopy was major paradigm shift during the 1980 and 1990s." Time will tell.
From time immemorial, man has been searching for the fountain of youth and longevity. As a result, many have fallen helpless victims to the so-called food supplements and herbal preparations in various forms, majority of which are effective only in reducing one’s net worth, and not the weight of a dieter, and improve the company’s bottom line and not the person’s well-being. And as we have warned in previous columns, many of these food supplements and herbals may even be hazardous to health in the long term, years after taking them. Not to mention their ridiculous price tags.
Anyway, an 8.5-year population-based research in Greece, published in the British Medical Journal on June 24, 2009, has spotlighted on the items in the Mediterranean diet that "appear to contribute to the increased in longevity associated with this diet," according to Dr. Dimitrios Trichopolous of Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA., as reported by Heartwire.
The Harvard investigator found out that "overall diet is more important than individual components, with emphasis on moderate--but not excessive--wine consumption, particularly during meals, preference for olive oil as the main added lipid, low consumption of meat, and high consumption of vegetables, fruits, and legumes."
Dr. Trichopolous noted that disciplined and moderate consumption of alcohol (wine with meals), which in other studies have shown to reduce cardiac disease, was a prominent factor in longevity (reduced risk of mortality) in Greece, similar to the French Paradox.
The study proves that no single food increases longevity, and that various foods consumed may have synergistic effects on the body and health of the person.
But one thing is clear, eating fish is healthier than eating red meats and other food items loaded with saturated fats, and a good diet should include a lot of vegetables (especially the green leafy variety, fruits (like blueberries, strawberries, apple, cranberry, bananas, mangos, etc) , and nuts and whole grain food items. A daily multivitamin-mineral supplement, with added Vitamin D, daily physical exercises, and drinking at least 8 glasses of water daily, on top of the above "menu," are part of a wholesome regimen for a healthy lifestyle.
While it is true that the Influenza A (H1N1), erroneously called swine flu earlier on, appears not to have killed as many as the annual death toll of "regular" flu, it is nothing to sneeze about. Statistics show the global death toll to be more than 1000, since it was declared by the World Health organization a pandemic on June 11, 2009, involving 74 countries. As of last Tuesday, July 21, 2009, there were 148,053 cases of laboratory confirmed H1N1 Influenza A with a death toll of 1012 worldwide, 40,542 cases with 306 deaths in the USA, and 2688 cases with 5 deaths in the Philippines.
Some preventive measures: wash hands frequently, stay away from crowded places, avoid touching door knobs and handrails with bare hands in public places, cover your nose with a clean handkerchief or a mask, if you can’t get away from someone who might have the flu, have adequate rest, eat healthy, drink a lot of water, see a doctor if you think you may have the flu, and, if you have the H1N1 virus and not hospitalized, quarantine yourself, to protect others. The virus could be transmitted to others quite easily and rapidly.
Again, Influenza A (H1N1) can be deadly, in spite of what some people may say. Let’s all be careful and prudent.
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