Maybe I’m the wrong ex-patient to be telling you this: Experimental surgery erased stage III colon cancer from my shell-shocked body six years ago. But even I’ve got to admit that all is not well in America’s operating rooms. Please don’t get me wrong. I’d go back under the scalpel in a minute if I had a gastro-tumor recurrence (like White House press officer Tony Snow did) or some totally unrelated, unforeseen orthopedic emergency (a knee injury, for instance). But at least 12,000 Americans die each year from unnecessary surgery, according to a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) report. And tens of thousands more suffer complications.
The fact is, no matter how talented the surgeon, the body doesn’t much care about the doc’s credentials. Surgery is a trauma, and the body responds as such—with major blood loss and swelling, and all manner of nerve and pain signals that can stick around sometimes for months.
Those are but a few reasons to try to minimize elective surgery. And I found even more after talking with more than 25 experts involved in various aspects of surgery and surgical care, and after reviewing a half-dozen governmental and medical think tank reports on surgery in the United States. Here, what you need to know about five surgeries that are overused, and newer, sometimes less-invasive procedures and solutions that may be worth a look.
Next page: Hysterectomy
Comments (28)
dear sirs; i found your article re: 4 surgeries to avoid most interesting and informative and food for thought in case either me or mine should ever need help in this area. many thanks to you. keep up the good work. God bless you all and the Work
Thank you for the updates and especially about the
adult stem cell use and success. My son has chronic
lower back pain.
I have GERD and the info is very informative. I will look into this topic for further info.
Thanks a bunch. Keep up the fantastic work. The world needs to know that there a better options to consider and yes, we do have choices.
5 Surgeries to Avoid
Great news that we the public are seldom privy to. Choices make us feel better with or without surgery. Having options available will help us work harder toward helping ourselves in these situations.
Very informative article, as usual. Where can I get more information on stem cell therapy for lower back?
I’m a physician, although not a surgeon, and I found this article very instructive and excellent in the recommendations. I so much agree! I am an endocrinologist and push life-style changes daily, routinely, constantly. Unfortunately, in this country, people want quick fixes and medical treatments that have been proven to be very effective and safe, such as statin drugs, diabetes treatments and certain blood pressure medications, get bad press and for some reason in spite of constant recommendations from their physicians many patients remain non-compliant and at times plainly refuse to take the medications. I think the problems in our health care system are in part to our attitudes about health in general, our insistance on quick fixes, and paranoid-journalism coverage creating unwarranted fears about effective treatments that would prevent unnecessary surgeries.
Thanks for the great article!
My sister had an episiotomy that cut into her rectum…surgeries followed with much agony to repair. I had three kids with NO episiotomies and I was the only patient literally skipping down the hallway afterwards and not hanging onto the hall railings…don’t do it!!
I’ve had the esophygus surgery twice. I still take meds and I still have severe reflux. I sleep on an inclined pillow and still regurgitate some at night. 1st surgeon told me I wouldn’t have to take meds afterwards. Also, said GI doctor wouldn’t agree to surgery because I wouldn’t need to see him any longer. Went to another GI doctor still complaining with problems, he told me I was a pain in the ass. Finally referred me to another surgeon had surgery again. Continue to have problems swallowing. Lodges between upper stomach and back of my throat. Don’t have the surgery, take the meds.
If anyone can help me, please have them contact me.
Thanks.
I would like to comment on “lower back surgery”. The scope of “lower back surgery” is large; there are many problems that can affect the lower back, and many non-operative and surgical options to treat them. It is true that some surgical procedures for the lower back are overused. However, it is also true that for several common conditions, like pinched nerve (radiculopathy) from a herniated disc, surgery usually results in faster recovery than waiting for spontaneous resolution. Moreover, sometimes surgery is definitely necessary without delay – for example when the herniated disc causes progressive weakness or other loss of function. Avoiding surgery in these cases will result in permanent neurological deficit. Rather than making a blanket statement like “avoid lower back surgery” I would recommend to use reason and logic. Distinguish between isolated lower back pain (surgery rarely the best option) and other problems such as radiculopathy, spinal instability, spinal stenosis with difficulty walking etc (surgery is often helpful and may be necessary!) Ask your doctor questions, and get a second opinion!
Thank you for this information. My mother had a noninvasive procedure called cryoablation to disolve a tumor in the lung. The procedure had no side effects and it was done on an outpatient basis. At a year post procedure, it showed the tumor was almost gone. As I understand it the freezing of the tumor prevents the tumor from being fed by the blood which will eventually die. What a fantastic option instead of undergoing surgery. This was done in radiology guided by a cat scan.
Another comment – as you may have guessed from a previous comment, I am a physician. I also do stem cell research (although not for spine). Beware of the hype that surrounds new treatments. There is still a huge knowledge gap when it comes to therapeutic use of stem cells. It is ludicrous to recommend avoiding proven procedures while promoting unproven methods with unknown risks and benefits. When considering treatment options, ask and think carefully about the risks and the benefits of each procedure, and get more than one opinion. Above all – do not rely on journalists or websites for answers. They bear no responsibility for your health or for the consequences of their advice.
Thanks for this article. Very informative.
I just had major low back surgery-I am 5 weeks post op and already I feel like I am regaining my life! For the first time in years I am pain free-THANK GOD for back surgery!!
25 years ago I had a forceps delivery and an extreme episiotomy. I was 18 years old. I suffered a third degree tear, into the rectum. I have suffered three attempts to repair the perineum, to no avail. My daily life is profoundly affected by this injury. I needed a damned cesarean section and the doctors neither monitored the situation nor did they attempt to provide any sort of medical care after the fact. They accused me of “lying” when I told them I was incontinent. It takes a daily cocktail of Immodium AND Metamucil to provide some semblance of normalcy to my life. Usually I am unable to leave my home in the am and sometimes not at all. There are days when the incontince endures a full day. I cannot describe what a life sentence this has been for me.
Way to keep the reporting as vague as possible, so a study of 2000 patients helped you determine the effecy of angioplasties versus medication?? Please include references to your research and class up the reporting on cnn, just a little, just once.
I am curious about another common procedure that I think is “abused” by some practitioners, namely: the CS (Caesarean Section). Could it be that some OB’s suggest CS procedure right away even when the woman doesn’t really need it because she can deliver the normal way, and the reason for suggesting CS is higher professional fees? I do recognize that CS procedures have saved a lot of lives, both mothers and children. But they have enriched some OB’s and anesthesiologists as well. No offense meant. I just wonder.
Due to a traumatic injury suffered while serving in the military, I underwent three (3) cervical spine surgeries. The first surgery went very well, and the neurosurgeon was very blunt beforehand: “The film studies show more damage at the level below your symptoms, but the nerve conduction studies align with your pain. You may need surgery for the more damaged areas within a week or eighteen (18) months, but I won’t operate again for a year.” Sure enough, 1.5 years later I needed another surgery, and that surgery required far more rehab post-operatively (thank God for swimming). Unfortunately, the second surgery caused enough trauma to the neck, that bony formations began in the canal the nerve passes through, as it comes off the spinal cord. Thus, the surgeons went back in a third time to cut a “window” in one of my vertebrae so the nerve wasn’t pinched inside the canal. Three surgeries and sixteen (16)years later, I am in chronic pain. HOWEVER, exercise keeps the pain under control and I don’t even take aspirin for what most folks would be begging their doctors for something a lot stronger (narcotics). Okay, kinda lengthy right? Well here’s the clincher: I injured my low back as well, but because I had seen the low back patients do so poorly on the neurosurgery ward, I chose to suffer for the eight to twelve weeks of acute pain associated with disc herniation and then exercise and stretch for that injury. It was a good choice. My low back injury without surgery gives me less problems than the neck injury with surgery. Another point to keep in mind: Men carry their body weight above their waist and do NOT do as well with low back surgery as women. Furthermore, as men age, they increase the stress on the low back because of the manner in which most men’s bodies distribute fat. My recommendation: Don’t think twice about low back surgery, think about a hundred times and, unless you are crawling from the pain, find another means to deal with the low back problem.
I still feel that better diagnosis is the key to avoiding some of these unneeded surgeries. In my experience(as a patient with a herniated disc and another bulging disc and times of chronic acid reflux), the cause of most low back issues & acid reflux are psychosomatic in origin. Unfortunately many, if not most, doctors are unable to make a diagnosis like this. Also, most patients are unwilling to accept a diagnosis like that.
Check out Dr. John Sarno if you want more info on this.
Why not eliminate the cause of all these health problems? Stop eating all the acid forming cooked dead foods loaded with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics flavor enhancers, iodized salt, sugar and colorants.
It is also very helpful to avoid all dairy products (even organic), processed grains, soda, dead animals, fried foods etc. When you learn to eat the foods that were designed by nature for your species (fruits vegetables and herbs), you will experience energy, clarity and health that is almost unknown in today’s world. It is so easy to eliminate disease that it is almost a laughing joke that people still go to doctors who know very little about the medicines they prescribe for diseases of which they know less to heal humans of which they know nothing!!! Eat fruit, walk daily, find a way to forgive yourself and everyone else…. Enjoy Life :)
Regarding the article on back surgery, I couldn’t agree more. However, after living with low back pain for five+ years, I learned with the help of an MRI that I suffered from DDD (Degenerative Disk Disease)at L5-S1. After viewing the x-ray with my surgeon, there was no doubt that surgery was necessary. The disk was gone! It’s been 5 years since my surgery and much to my relief, I have been pain free.
I ended up having lower back surgury, after 3 yrs of pain and frustration.I had epiderals , physical therapy,and lots of drugs. The pain meds made me sick, so I needed more pills to fix that. Plus by delaying the operation,I have 30% loss in the rt. leg, and 20-25% in the left leg. I also picked up a flesh eating staph infection at the hospital, that was interesting.I now have a Med-Tronic Intrathecal Pump.I can’t say enough on how wonderful it is working for me. It dosen’t block the pain 100%, but makes it very tolerable. I can honestly say it saved my life. The pain was so bad at one times I thought seriously of suicide many times .There are careing doctors out there. Do your research, and become an informed consumer. Good Luck All.
I ended up having lower back surgury, after 3 yrs of pain and frustration.I had epiderals , physical therapy,and lots of drugs. The pain meds made me sick, so I needed more pills to fix that. Plus by delaying the operation,I have 30% loss in the rt. leg, and 20-25% in the left leg. I also picked up a flesh eating staph infection at the hospital, that was interesting.I now have a Med-Tronic Intrathecal Pump.I can’t say enough on how wonderful it is working for me. It dosen’t block the pain 100%, but makes it very tolerable. I can honestly say it saved my life. The pain was so bad at one times I thought seriously of suicide many times .There are careing doctors out there. Do your research, and become an informed consumer. Good Luck All.
I sure wish my husband would have read this on lower back surgery; however, I don’t believe he had a choice in the matter because the workers’ comp insurance company calls the shots. My husband had surgery in March of this year because of hernaited disks and nerve impingement with severe sciatica. Immediately following the surgery he knew something was wrong and he did not feel at all like the neurosurgeon told him he would feel. Two weeks after the surgery the surgeon went in again!! He claimed that the nerve was free but he cut away some ligament (just in case) and everything looked great. More $$ for him I suppose.
My husband is now about ten times worse than he was before the surgeries and has been diagnosed with nerve damage. His ankle and leg are getting worse and he has been recently diagnosed with RDS/CRPS caused by the surgery. They are working on keeping the disease from taking over his entire leg.
I feel that if he would have stayed out of the operating room, I would have a husband in 50% less pain than he is in every day of his life.
I had spine surgery in l994 for a severe case of scoliosis. I have Harrington rods in my back and or course fusion. I started every day with pain that continued thruout the day before the surgery.
I had a great and caring surgeon (he has since retired) and it was l00% successful.
After reading these comments and articles, I am even more confused about having surgery. Is it a good thing or not? I have been through physical therapy, shots, acupuncture, exercises, chiropractor, and I am on narcotics. This is not the life I want, but I have low back pain constantly. Please respond.
Disc surgery is needed only when there is a “progressive neurological deficit” which means the person can no longer control the bladder and/or bowels. Another not so good sign is a person with back and leg pain, the back pain goes away, but the leg pain remains. But, even these cases can be helped non surgically. In Denver Colorado we secialize in helping people like this http://www.youneedmeback.com
How could an article about alternatives to back surgery not include Chiropractic care? Chiropractic and acupuncture are both very effective treatments for low back pain.