Surgery du Jour, a.k.a. Needless Surgery

Surgery is the mainstay of traditional Modern Medicine.  It can be said, the philosophy is, ‘When in doubt, cut it out.’  The burning question is:  “If any body part isn’t necessary then why has it been there since the beginning of human existence?” Think about it—if a body part wasn’t for a specific purpose, the human body would not have evolved with it in tact.

The most common surgeries are:

Tonsillectomies: Usually performed on children under twelve, this surgery decreased from one million to 250,000 per year when evidence was produced that tonsillectomies didn’t stop throat infections and in fact could create Parkinson’s Disease later in life.

Myringotomies: The insertion of tiny tubes to prevent recurrent ear infection, usually in children under five.  This procedure has increased 250% since the 80’s and is the sixth most common operation in the U.S.

Cataract Removal: In 1993, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research warned that many operations to remove a cataract, or clouded lens of the eye, are not necessary. In those cases, the clouding had probably reduced visual acuity, but not enough to bother the patient. Despite the warning, the number of cataract operations has continued to rise — an increase that far outpaces the rise in the older population.

Low-Back Surgery: Between 1983 and 1994, the number of operations for low-back pain rose from 190,000 to 335,000 per year. While that rise has now leveled off — possibly due in part to a warning from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research the majority are unnecessary.

Gallbladder Removal: A decade ago, surgeons developed a technique called laparoscopy to remove gallbladder stones. The procedure uses miniature instruments and a lighted tube equipped with a video camera, all inserted through tiny abdominal incisions. Since the advent of laparoscopy, the number of gallbladder operations has risen 40 percent. A study of  54,000 gallbladder surgeries in Pennsylvania found that the number of surgeries in patients with minimal or no symptoms has risen more than 50 percent. Apparently, laparoscopy has convinced some doctors to prevent pain before it occurs. Ten percent of Americans have gallstones, and most never develop significant symptoms.

Hysterectomy: One in three women has her uterus removed—500,000 annually. Several years ago, the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research group, found questionable justification for at least 25 percent of those hysterectomies and no justification at all for at least another 16 percent. Little has changed since then.

Hysterectomy creates scar tissue that can eventually cause intestinal obstruction. Loss of the uterus — and of the cervix, which is often removed as well — can reduce sexual pleasure. Further, surgeons remove the ovaries in roughly half of all hysterectomies. The ovaries are a woman’s main source of the female hormone estrogen and of male androgens. After removal of a pre-menopausal woman’s ovaries, the loss of estrogen triggers premature menopausal symptoms and clearly increases the risk of coronary disease and osteoporosis. After removal of any woman’s ovaries, the loss of androgens may compound the reduced sexual pleasure by reducing sexual desire.  The loss of the ovaries and uterus precipitates the need for prescription drugs to replace the estrogen and androgens. These drugs frequently cause cancer.

Cesarean Section: A “C-section” the most common major surgery is performed in 20 percent of births. Down, from a decade ago,  it is above the estimated 12 to 14 percent considered medically justified.

Most C-sections are done because labor is progressing too slowly—a poor justification for major surgery.  Cesareans are performed in about three-fourths of women who previously had the procedure. 90% of those women could safely have a vaginal delivery. Continuous electronic monitoring of the fetal heartbeat, used in nearly three-fourths of all births, is part of the problem. It triples the chance of having a cesarean, by picking up worrisome signs that are often normal. Continuous monitoring does not protect the infant any better than intermittent electronic or even old-fashioned stethoscopic monitoring.

Surgery for Sleep Apnea: Snoring is usually caused by an intermittent obstruction at the back of the throat. In severe cases, called sleep apnea, airflow to the lungs is completely blocked for up to 90 seconds at a time. The resulting oxygen deprivation increases the risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, and stroke.

Surgery for Jaw Pain: Millions of people suffer from muscle or joint pain in the jaw, often caused by tense muscles, clenching or grinding the teeth, or chewing too hard. Some dentists prematurely prescribe aggressive, costly treatments to realign the teeth or jaws, including braces, caps and crowns, deliberately grinding down the teeth, and jaw surgery. These steps, particularly surgery, are seldom necessary and often ineffective.

Contrasting the AMA report of 250,000 medical deaths per year, the Nutrition Institute of America (NIA) a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that has reported on health issues for nearly 30 years, reported over 784,000 people die annually due to medical mistakes. Comparatively, the 2001 annual death rate for heart disease was 699,697 and cancer was 553,251.

Over 2.2 million people are injured annually by prescription drugs alone.  Over 20 million unnecessary prescriptions for antibiotics are prescribed for viral infections. The report shows that 7.5 million unnecessary medical and surgical procedures are performed annually and 8.9 million people are needlessly hospitalized. Based on these results, it is evident that there is a pressing need for an overhaul of the American medical system.

The findings, described as a “revelation” by Martin Feldman, MD, who helped uncover the evidence, are the product of the first comprehensive studies on iatrogenic incidents.

Carolyn Dean, MD, a physician and author who helped uncover the findings said, “I was completely shocked, amazed, and dismayed when I first added up all the statistics on medical death and saw how much allopathic medicine has betrayed us.”

Next month’s article will describe the causes for physical illness and the metaphysical way to overcome them.

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD
Genesis Consultants, Inc. http://www.gen-assist.com