Risk Factors

Understanding Medical Risk: Where Patients Go Wrong

I’ve blogged on this a few times, but when it comes to where patients often go wrong with keeping themselves safe, understanding medical risk is usually where they have a hard time. Hence, today we’ll go over several common medical risk scenarios to help you better decide how to manage your risk and live your…read more

1 in 8 Orthopedic Surgeries Lead to Heart Damage

Sometimes a paper comes along that breaks my brain. This is one of those research studies which is in the form of a position paper published by the American Heart Association. It basically says that some people are getting heart damage during routine surgery. So let’s dig in because when I first read it yesterday,…read more

When IPM Is Worse than Spine Surgery

I’ve blogged a few times on the idea that some Interventional Pain Medicine clinics are becoming as bad as the surgeons they have long criticized. Case in point this morning is an x-ray shared by a radiologist. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, this one is worth 1,001. Let’s dig in. IPM IPM=Interventiopnal Pain…read more

More Information that High Dose Steroids Are Bad News for Joints

One of the most common orthopedic interventions on earth that collectively occurs more times than any other is a steroid injection into a joint. However, we know that these simple procedures harm joints. Despite that, they are still used millions of times each year. Now new research shows that a steroid injection before a meniscectomy…read more

Is Hip PAO Surgery a Bad Idea?

I have my list of surgeries that when I first learned of them, my reaction was, “They did what to you!?” Hip PAO surgery has been on that list for years. Why? Its goal is to replace the need for a hip replacement, but it’s far more invasive than the surgery it seeks to prevent. Let me…read more

Are All Hip Replacement Devices Associated with Pseudotumors?

A few years back, I blogged on a research study that looked at masses that were associated with metal-on-metal hip replacement surgeries called pseudotumors. However, now new research shows that these awful side effects may be more common than anyone realized and occur with other types of hip replacement devices as well. In fact, they…read more

Alcohol and Stem Cells: Worse than I Thought?

We have always told stem cell patients to avoid drinking more than a glass of wine before a stem cell procedure. This was based on data from studies showing that alcoholics are more prone to damaging bone stem cells, and that can cause osteonecrosis. However, alcohol may be more damaging to stem cells than we…read more

Does Anesthesia Increase Surgery Dementia Risk?

This morning’s study is near and dear to my heart. When I was a medical student, my father broke his hip and needed surgery. After surgery in the hospital where I was training, he experienced severe postoperative delirium. It was epic “sundowning,” which foreshadowed his upcoming dementia and slow descent into his own personal hell…read more