surgeon

Does a Surgeon’s Right or Left Handedness Effect Teeth Adjacent Wisdom Teeth After Removal?

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An interesting articled titled “Effect of the Surgeon’s Dominant Hand on Postoperative Periodontal Status of Adjacent Molars After Removal of Lower Third Molars” by Petsos et al. appears in the 2019 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 77, pp. 912-919). The authors devised a study to explore if the side of the wisdom tooth, either left or right, had an influence, and the hand the surgeon prefers to use, either left or right, has different effects on the periodontal status of the second molars adjacent the wisdom teeth. In the study the authors selected patients who had lower wisdom teeth on both the left and right sides, had no systematic diseases, and were able to complete a follow-up six months after surgery. All patients were treated by the same right handed surgeon who was always positioned … Read more

Difference between Cosmetic Surgeon and Plastic Surgeon for Facial Procedures

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Many patients are interested in having procedures done to improve the functional and aesthetic aspects of the face. However many may not know that there is a difference between a cosmetic surgeon and a plastic surgeon. Nowadays many practitioners from plastic surgery backgrounds and non–plastic surgery backgrounds alike are offering cosmetic services to patients. In a 2013 study only 8 of the 96 study participants were aware that any physician with a medical degree was legally qualified to perform cosmetic surgery. This study was conducted in an article titled “Factors Influencing Patient Interest in Plastic Surgery and the Process of Selecting a Surgeon” written by Galanis et al. appearing in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal (vol. 33, no. 4, May 2013, pp. 585–590). Therefore many surgeons that perform cosmetic surgery may be board certified but not by the American Board of … Read more

Is the health news you are reading accurate?

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An interesting article titled “Keeping up with the news: Separating fact from fiction,” appears in the Oct. 2015 issue of JADA and written by the American Dental Association (vol. 146, no. 10, pp. 792). The article encourages dental patients to make sure that they know the source they are receiving their news from is trustworthy. The article discusses a few things to look for to make sure this occurs. The article tends to focus on receiving information from websites. If you are looking at a website, the first thing to look for is an about us section. This is because you want to know who is responsible for the article. It is good to know who pays for or sponsors the website. Also if you are looking at a website the domain name can give a hint. If it ends … Read more

Should You Have a Dental Extraction Before a Cardiac Surgery?

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An interesting article titled “Morbidity and Mortality Associated With Dental Extraction Before Cardiac Operation,” appears in the March 2014, journal The Annals of Thoracic Surgery (vol. 97, issue 3, pp. 838-844). The article is conducted by researchers from Mayo Clinic. They found that people who had planned dental extraction before cardiac operation are at risk for major adverse outcomes, which included a 3% risk of death before cardiac operation and included an 8% risk of a major adverse outcome including stroke or kidney failure. In many cases problem teeth are extracted before surgery with the thought being that they will reduce the risk of an infection occurring such as endocarditis which is an infection of the inner lining of the heart. Prosthetic heart valve-related endocarditis results in about 25% of infective endocarditis cases and is fatal in up to 38% … Read more

Controversy Over Spinal Fusion

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Debate over spinal fusion surgery continues to occur. A recent article tiled “Spinal fusions serve as a case study for debate over when certain surgeries are necessary,” appears in the Washington Post written by Peter Whoriskey and Dan Keating and published on October 27, 2013. (Note I have previously mentioned some of the controversy over spinal fusion in the post Tips to Prevent Medical Errors – AHRQ) The article mentions that spinal fusions being performed in the U.S. has risen over the years and that around half of the surgeries they reviewed don’t meet expert consensus on when the surgery should be performed. This article discusses a surgeon at a Florida hospital who was earning well over a million a year performing spinal fusions on patients. Auditors at the hospital began to wonder if all the cases were necessary and … Read more