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Woman's Abdominal Organs Removed in Unique Cancer Surgery

Discussion in 'Science & Technology' started by Firesole, Mar 25, 2008.

  1. Firesole

    Firesole Season Ticket Holder

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    http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100198903&GT1=31036

    This is truly amazing! Science is a wonderful thing!
     
  2. alen1

    alen1 New Member

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    Thats crazy........
     
  3. TheMageGandalf

    TheMageGandalf Senior Member

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    NIIICCCEEEE....

    Hopefully she recovers well and this procedure can be improved upon and help more people.
     
  4. Lab3003

    Lab3003 Golden era

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    I know Dr. Tzakis from when I did research @ The School of Med. Wow...

    leiomyosarcoma, the cancer this brave lady had, is cancer of smooth muscle. Some background, everyone has three types of muscles; voluntary skeletal, mixed cardiac and involuntary smooth. Skeletal is muscle that used to move joints. Cardiac makes up the heart. Smooth muscle is FOUND EVERYWHERE ELSE (e.g. the GI tract, your blood vessels, etc...)

    This patient had cancer of the smooth muscle in her Aorta. Now if someone told me that, hey I have cancer of the aorta, well to me they're pretty much done. She opted to have all of her abdominal removed, the tumor cells along with the vasculature (HER EFFING AORTA!), and then her abdominal organs were reinserted and artificial vessels added.

    Folks, next thing they'll be telling us is gas fell below $1.00 per gallon; that's how incredible this is. Now I'm studying medicine and I can tell you right now, there's NO SURGEON in their right mind who'd risk this. Even accepting to do this procedure could be black mark in the medical community ethics boards just because the risk of death is likely above 80%, maybe 90%.
     
  5. JCowScot

    JCowScot So funky the dead dance

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    Well, the risk of death in NOT doing it is somewhere around 100%. That is something I have never understood about the medical community (and I've been in/around it my entire life). If the patient gives the OK and signs the waiver, why not try something drastic???

    There are far too many doctors now who will simply say "It can't be done." instead of saying "How can this be done??" and letting the patient decide if they're willing to risk it or not. Thankfully, here in FL we have two such hospitals full of staff like Dr. Tzakis (UF-Shands being the other). I think some of it has to do with the fact that they are teaching hospitals, and therefore do a lot of research/experimentation.

    I am hoping you are wrong and the boards don't come down on him for this- society needs more physicians like him.
     
  6. Lab3003

    Lab3003 Golden era

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    Let's say that yeah the surgery goes well. But one of the sutures fail and the area gets infected. Instead of spending her remaining time in peace, she now has to spend it in excruciating pain because she's entering septic shock.

    Remember that doctors are human beings with fears and faults like everybody else. It's not a question of whether or not it can or can't be done, anything can be done just about. It is the responsibility of the doctor to keep patients safe from harm and the risks associated with certain procedures sometimes outway the payoffs.

    For example, there is a cancer treatment for terminal cancer patients called cis-platin. This is a chemotherapy drug that its administration is extremely arduous and painful for the cancer patient. It will extend the patient's life expectancy a few months but they will be spend nauseated, pain-filled and overall miserably. That's not how I want to die.
     
  7. JCowScot

    JCowScot So funky the dead dance

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    I do understand that...that's why I said that the patient should be allowed to decide. In most cases where there is more than one treatment option available, the doctor has the training and experience, as well as the right and duty to chose the best and SAFEST course of action. I'm not disputing that. Infection and septicimea are always a risk when dealing with invasive procedures.

    What we are discussing has do to with terminally ill patients, where all normal procedures/treatments at best will only offer a temporary reprieve from the inevitable. Take your last example- the treatment only offers TIME, not a possible cure. I am/was talking about radical procedures that have the possibility of curing/removing the disease/malady in question.

    In that instance, I would like to see more MD's have the courage to try and fail than not to try at all. I would like to see the patients have the courage to not take 'no' for an answer and trust their doctors' to try something different and extreme. And MOST of all, I would like to see the families of the patients having the courage to thank, appreciate, and feel for the doctors stepping out on these ever-so precarious limbs, instead of suing the letters off them because they didn't get the outcome they wanted. That is what I would like to see.

    Too bad it will never happen. :(
     

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