May 2nd, 2010 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Humor, True Stories
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An orthopedic doctor in Japan wanted to see what made the iPad tick, so he threw it under an X-ray machine and posted the images to his blog.
We guess the good doctor (whose name is Dr. Ambition, according to his blog) wasn’t happy with all of the teardown photos and videos of the iPad. Or maybe he just wanted to see what happens when you pump it full of radiation.
Appropriately enough, the iPad’s X-ray was processed with OsiriX DICOM medical imaging software for Mac.
The good news for the iPad is that nothing was broken and, as long as the stool samples come back negative, it seems it can look forward to a long life.
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
January 15th, 2010 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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We’re in ski season and so a few unfortunate individuals will suffer few knee injuries. A while back, a reader asked me to describe an uncommon injury, which is a torn posterior cruciate ligament (PCL).
This injury usually occurs during a fall. As you can see from the drawing, the PCL keeps the lower leg bone (tibia) from moving too far back in relation to the upper leg bone (femur). If a sudden unnatural force is applied, usually a direct blow to the front of the lower leg near the knee while the knee is bent, the tibia is jammed backwards and the PCL may be torn. In the skiing situation, this usually happens during a fall and a tumble, when someone strikes an immovable object, or when the knee is bent or “twisted” and struck forcefully from the side.
The immediate sensation is pain, and there may be a feeling of instability to the knee, particularly when trying to walk or change levels (e.g., walk over the snowpack or on stairs). When the injury occurs, there usually is not the “pop” sensation noted with an anterior cruciate ligament tear. However, the knee will almost always swell, because there is bleeding into the knee joint and/or soft tissue swelling. Read more »
This post, Ski Season, Knee Injuries, And Posterior Cruciate Ligament Tears, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
January 13th, 2010 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, True Stories
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I’ve always wanted to be a doctor.
Never a writer.
With a new year and a new decade, I am determined to become a better writer not because of some childhood dream or expectation from others, but because of a near mishap that occurred at the beginning of 2000. A simple phone call changed the destiny of my brother from having a good outcome to having a great outcome. A simple phone call may have been the difference between “you are cancer free” to “I’m sorry to tell you it’s come back.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
January 9th, 2010 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
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This post is in response to Jane Brody’s recent NY Times article on the FRAX fracture risk calculator. FRAX is a clinical decision tool devised by the World Health Organization that allows physicians to account for the myriad of risk factors, including bone density, to determine a patient’s risk for osteoporotic fracture.
Now about 20 years into the practice of medicine, I have evolved from what they call an “early adopter” of new drugs, through a time of cautious use of new drugs, to what I am now – highly skeptical of most new medications and suspicious of Big Pharma, medical thought leaders and anyone else trying to “educate” me about a disease. I am also disappointed in my medical societies for failing to cut the ties between themselves and industry, but hopeful that we are slowly but finally starting to emerge from of an era of industry-dominated health care and into a time of patient-centered medicine. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Blog that Ate Manhattan*
November 7th, 2009 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, True Stories
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I took my son to the ER for a broken thumb. It was a minor injury but the thumb is the most important digit on the hand. The ER care was just fine…a quick look, an Xray and a small splint. We didn’t have to wait long and everyone was courteous.
Imagine my surprise to receive the bill from the hospital. Yes, I have insurance. My out of pocket expense was minimal but here is what the insurance company was charged:
- Hospital Misc.- $56.00 (could this be the splint?)
- Diagnostic Xray – $342.00
- Emergency Care- $952.00
- Surgery – $570.00
- Total $1920.00
Take a look…surgery? There was so surgery, no procedure. There was no break in the skin. The doctor component of the visit was about 7 minutes (mainly because I knew the doc and we chatted about politics)
This bill is unreal and is comprised of unreal health care costs. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
