September 10, 2007
Submitted by: Adam Johnson
From Scratch
I wanted to send you a note to ask you to please write a story that would give Dr. Kyle Dickson the thanks he so dearly deserves. I met Dr. Dickson in March of 2007 after a long and difficult series of failed surgeries done to reconstruct my fractured tibia plateau I had originally broken in a bmx accident in Oct 2005. My original surgeon operated twice in an attempt to repair the non-union fractures that were present after my first operation with no success which left me with a severely bowed leg and collapsed tibia plateau. At one point I spoke with two different prostheticians to get a better understanding of my options with amputation, as at the time no one I had found wanted to even try and attempt to correct my non-unions. It seemed to be the last option I had available versus a life on crutches before I met Dr. Dickson in March this year.
Dr. Dickson performed a reconstruction using graft material from my hip (the second bone graft I had) and affixed a “T plate” using 8 screws to hold the bone fragments of my tibia together. The 3 months recovery after the surgery was difficult, but it was the third time I had done lived through it, so it wasn’t a surprise as to what was involved. At the end of July he looked at my x-rays and pointed out all of the fracture lines had healed and all of the evidence of the surgery had healed completely. I was now in possession of a fully healed bone again! I began to put weight on it and was walking without any aid within four weeks. I went from believing I was going to lose my leg to walking again on my own without crutches and I owe it all to Dr. Kyle Dickson’s skill and dedication to his profession.
Thank you.
June 29, 2007
Submitted by: Caroline
Hurricane and Flood Handbook
You always write such inspirational articles. Just wanted to let you know that I appreciate them and find them very informational. I especially liked the one regarding Hurricane Preparedness. I decided after reading your article to develop a family “Disaster Action & Recovery Plan”. I put your article and attachments in our folder as the beginnings of that plan. Thanks. You’re doing a great job!
June 21, 2007
Submitted by: J. Friedman
Hurricane and Flood Handbook
Thanks for the great hurricane and flood guide. It’s the best one I’ve read so far. I’ve printed it out and will keep it in my cooler with emergency supplies.
June 14, 2007
Submitted by: Anonymous
Doctor's are from Venus; Patients are from Mars
Your article was hilarious because it is sooooo true!
I was just at the doctor's today and experienced some BHB: Bad Hospital Behavior.
Some good things:
December 22, 2006
Submitted by: Denise Caruselle, Special education teacher
Give & Get
Thank you for the health newsletter that comes by email. I have been helped by many of the topics. Just when I am wrestling with the should's and shouldn'ts of holiday decisions, I read about give and get and realize I am human—not flawed.
Thank you for infusions of counseling that make all the difference. I am grateful for the peace of mind this endeavor has provided me.
December 3, 2006
Submitted by: T. West
Shingles
I just wanted to write and thank you for the article on shingles online. I too have them at present. I scanned the web of course looking for info. on the disease but found your article most informative. The personal stories of others experience is what really confirmed my diagnoses beside the doctors visit.
September 21, 2006
Submitted by: J. Halbach, Sr
The Power of Words
Karen: Your wonderful publication on the net/email is very helpful and full of valuable insights and erudition.
Coursing through the whole site, recently, I came upon this article:
The Power of Words by Drs. Blair & Rita Justice.
Reading this article, I was appalled. I fully expect the next article by these good doctors to describe the benefits of blood letting. Sad to say, I know lots of medical institutions make good money on some of this stuff – but I would have expected it to be beyond such a fine institution as the UT Health Science Center.
I have nothing to say against prayer, I'm sure it's beneficial to many (for the right reasons). This:"The capacity of words to change the molecular structure of water has been demonstrated in the work of Japanese researcher, Dr. Masaru Emoto. Emoto's research was presented dramatically in the independent film, 'What the (bleep) Do We Know?' In the film and in Emoto's books, The Message From the Water, photographs of water crystals showed almost shockingly how the very structure of the newly-formed frozen crystallized molecules changed when words, positive or negative, were “spoken” to the water or even taped to a plastic bottle containing water. A crystal that had a visually random pattern became organized when the Japanese word for “thank you” was spoken to the same sample of water." though, and much of what follows, is science???
This is certainly out of the ordinary for all the great work you all do.
September 13, 2006
Submitted by: M. Bernal
Friendship: Ctrl_Alt_Delete
Ms. Krakower:
Let me start by saying that I look forward to this e-column every time it comes in. I have only one concern. Your stories, for the most part, are targeted to middle class America. The "control alt delete" column in particular portrayed America as a "Blackberry" and "blogger" society. What about the Americans who are single parents and have no time for close social ties because they have 3 minimum-wage jobs? They are also suffering from social isolation. What's more, they do not have the luxury of compensating for this isolation with the help of technology.
It is true that this frequently neglected sub-culture in America is comprised mainly of minorities and, by definition, the underprivileged. It is true that such a community, due to their limited access to electronic sources, may not have frequent to HealthLeader and this column, but does that mean that they should be ignored? Many employees of the UTHSC are either lower class minorities or come from such a background. Surely they would like to see issues addressing their interests and the interests of their loved ones.
I understand the HealthLeader doesn't intentionally neglect this community in its selection of topics; nevertheless, this is an area in which it may improve in the future. Once again, I truly enjoy reading this column. I myself am a part of middle-class America. I am merely making a suggestion for improvement for this already successful column.
June 23, 2006
Submitted by: A. Gadre, MD
Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery
Dear Karen Krakower:
Congratulations on a wonderful article, on endoscopic skull base surgery. Many of the techniques are so new that they have yet to find a place in our text books.
I was trained in the conventional techniques by one of the premier practioners of skull base surgery who has written textbooks and several peer reviewed articles on the subject, Dr. Paul Donald. He is also one of the founding members of the North American Skull Base Society. I am partial towards my own way of doing things, for as surgeons we are all creatures of habit.
Yet, if I or a member of my family had a similar tumor, I would go see someone with the skills that Dr. Fakhri has developed. Indeed I freely confess that I am incapable of doing what he is able to do with the endoscope....and consistently obtain superb results.
Thank you very much for your foresight in making the availability of these cutting edge techniques known to the lay public and professionals alike. Keep up the good work.
June 22, 2006
Submitted by: D. Vollmer, MD
Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery
Ms. Krakower:
I am sorry to say that I find the lead article about endoscopic surgery simplistic, highly misleading, and dismissive of an entire neurosurgical subspecialty. The article describes transnasal endoscopic removal of what was largely an endonasal tumor. To imply any sort of equivalence of this case with the vast majority (>90%) of skull base cases as was done in this article does a disservice to all. It is also misleading to imply that a significant number of "skull base tumors" are appropriately managed by an otolaryngologist without neurosurgical collaboration or in fact leadership.
While I have no issue with the case reported nor Dr. Fakhri's successful management of it, I take issue with the apparent need to make inappropriate comparisons and global generalizations without any basis in fact. Even a superficial review of the skull base literature in current medical textbooks or peer reviewed journals would have caused one to make more responsible comments. "Less invasive" is not equivalent to "less dangerous" and the fact that this unusual case was managed in this way says nothing about how other more common, different cases should be managed.
I was especially taken aback by outrageous statements rearding open surgery: "The traditional approach for removing these tumors is with invasive, "open" procedures which can lead to collateral, unavoidable injury to otherwise normal brain tissue and a lengthy hospital stay and recovery time." This kind of generalization was obviously made with little or no knowledge of conventional neurosurgical skull base techniques or results. I might also note that I suspect the tumor described in the article would likely have been managed without a facial incision by most subspecialty trained skull base surgeons even if done "open". Dr. Serdar Alp, a fellowship trained skull base neurosurgeon in our department, routinely performs complex skull base procedures without "unavoidable" injury to normal brain, unsightly scars or lengthy recovery time. Most of these lesions would not be treatable in any meaningful way by endoscopic techniques. Might I add however, that Dr. Alp and others in the Department of Neurosurgery utilize a broad array of adjunctive techniques including but not limited to neuro- and transnasal endoscopy, the latter frequently with Dr. Fakhri, when appropriate.
Although like most physicians I have become accustomed to the sensationalistic, low brain power, "tabloid"style of health care journalism that characterizes today's print media, I am nonetheless appalled to find such oversimplified, marketing in a medical school publication such as this.
May 5, 2006
Submitted by: L. Parsley
Mumps & Measles
GREAT story! Beautifully written, riveting and informative.
As a beneficiary of having received word of the measles outbreak in Cabo just two weeks before we went there on vacation in January, we jumped on getting a booster... even though the clinic thought we were a bit deranged.
What was interesting was the booster through Kelsey-Seybold (on a walk-up request) cost, I believe, $37. My booster through my private physician (with an advance request) cost $167.
Go figure. Even the latter was still cheaper than two weeks in the hospital. I can only hope this article saves other people from the same fate as Heather and Delia. GREAT job!!!
April 11, 2006
Submitted by: S. Alam
The Sweet & Sour
Aspartame or saccharine is used in thousands of products—from packaged food to candies/cookies and medications. Saccharine was subjected to controversy as early as 1911 with in decades of its inception. Sold under the names ‘Equal’ and ‘NutraSweet’, it is also called tenderly as “blue packet”. To add to the confusion, many of the studies on product-safety were financed by the corporations that manufacture it.
A seven-year cohort study by the European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences in Bologna, Italy, with over a million dollars of funding, had suggestive evidence that aspartame was reminiscently attributed to high rates of lymphoma, leukemia and other cancerous tumors in rats—even in relatively small doses (the equivalent of three soft drinks a day for women or four soft drinks for men).
Over a period of times, studies as mentioned above, and primarily due to the personal experiences of the public, a hypothesis has been established that these products have some relationship with the cancerous tumors, ‘No study has confirmed those findings’, under the heading of “Latest research” wouldn’t refute this hypothesis.
Artificial sweeteners have penetrated our food chain to an extent that it has been impracticable to judge the intensity of its consequences in a cohort study on humans, primarily because of our inability to control the exposure on control group. In this context, the most recent study conducted on humans by the National Cancer Institute showing no link between aspartame consumption and lymphoma or leukemia is itself questionable. As per Deepa A. Vasudevan, MD, and assistant professor in family medicine at UT MSH, “I have had patients who report that their headaches went away when they stopped using products with aspartame or saccharine”, also supports this philosophy.
November 17, 2005
Submitted by: G. Harleston
Girl Bullies
As I was trying to help my daughter, who has been going through a classic 'sophomore slump' (she has just had her sixteenth birthday), I came across your article while searching Oprah Winfrey show archives for a show about girl bullying that we had seen back when she was in middle school. I think your article may have been written several years ago, also (perhaps 2002).
Anyway, I printed your article and read most of it to my daughter during a tearful heart-to-heart. Though I wasn't willing to let myself or her blame all of her woes on the very strong personality that seemed to be dominating her world, there was no doubt that this other girl borders on a bully.
What was especially helpful to her, I believe (maybe someday she'll tell me), was the information you provided about the bully's insecurities, as well as how victims behave in response. That was much easier than explaining the concept of 'self-fulfilling prophecy' - they make you believe you're a loser, you start to act like a loser, etc. We were able to talk about this girl's VERY volatile and, well, obnoxious, family and her place in it as the youngest child. It gave her some perspective that she might not have heard if it had just come from me. In fact, the evening before when I was trying to give her another way to look at things, she accused me of taking everyone else's side! I also think she heard the parts about how girls who really know better and ARE better get caught up in the need to belong.
That very day she came home from school and reported that she had tried some of the strategies that I had suggested, including where to sit at the lunch table and to focus on the people who seemed to be reaching out to her. (She still doesn't know the power of the 'mom network' - gathering and disseminating information; how does she think I knew who to suggest to her might be someone who felt the same way!?)
I just wanted you to know that something you had written had a positive effect on a young woman long after you wrote it and was really, really helpful to a mom who was trying to pull her up out of the depths. I don't have the definitive data to prove that it was those couple of sessions that made the difference, but she seemed to have a different perspective pretty rapidly, after weeks of 'nobody loves me, everybody hates me' angst! Thanks!
June 15, 2005
Submitted by: M. Smolensky, Ph.D.
Aspirin: A Humble Miracle Worker
You missed an important new application — evening (not morning) daily ingestion of 100 mg aspirin by pregnant women, beginning ~16-20 weeks term significantly reduces the risk of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia and with minimal risk of side effects. (See Hermida et al in Pub Med.; I don't remember the pear of publication off hand.)
Dec. 10, 2004
Submitted by: J. Goldsby
Holiday Pet Guide
In regards to the article "Animal Attraction, Holiday Pet Guide 2004", there was a lot of good information there, but I was very disappointed with the incorrect ferret information. I expected with the picture of the little girl kissing her pet ferret that the article would expound on the pleasure of having a pet ferret. Instead, it continued to spread disinformation. Ferrets have been domesticated since the middle ages if not longer (some experts think they have been domesticated longer than cats). A small child is more likely to be bitten by dog than a ferret (plus a small child should never be left alone with any pet). I don't want people to be scared of my pet ferrets when there is no reason to be.
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Because flu viruses change every year, the vaccine is updated annually. So even if you or your children got a flu vaccine last year, you both still need to get a flu vaccine this season to remain protected. If October and November slip by, and you haven’t gotten your children or yourself vaccinated, get vaccinated in December or later.
