How to establish a face transplant team

March 3, 2015- Interviewed by Steven E. Greer, MD

In Part 2 of our interview with Eduardo Rodriguez, MD, DDS, Chairman of Plastic Surgery at NYU, he discusses the new face transplant team that he has assembled, preparing for their first case.

I just shook hands with a face transplant patient and did not know it

January 21, 2015- By Steven E. Greer, MD

I was in the process of being given a personal tour of the new facilities of the NYU Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery when the doctor interrupted and introduced me to a patient. The adult male was Read more »

Atul Gawande’s surgical checklist fails in real world study

March 15, 2014- By Steven E. Greer, MD

In 2009, Atul Gawande, MD, MPH and his large international team published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) an observational study that showed a significant reduction of death and “complications” after non-cardiac surgery. The World Health Organization (WHO) created the checklist used in the NEJM paper. After this non-randomized, non-controlled, observational study was published, entire nations adopted the surgical checklist system.

Now, in 2014, a population study drawing from Ontario surgical patient data, published in the NEJM, showed no significant benefit from the widespread adoption of the same WHO surgical safety checklist that Dr. Gawande popularized. This study was also observational, but it was stronger than the 2009 Gawande study in that it included the entire population within a region.

What went wrong? Read more »

NEJM letter casts doubt on original Gawande checklist paper

June 11, 2014- By Steven E. Greer, MD

When the recent Canadian studied published in the NEJM failed to show any benefit from the WHO surgical checklist championed by Atul Gawande, The Healthcare Channel pointed out that the original Gawande paper was possibly the problem. It was designed poorly, and collected data from non-U.S. countries with little oversight.

Now, in the current online NEJM, letters to the editor are coming in. One writer echoes our concerns about the original Gawande paper. Read more »

The Massachusetts General trauma response to the Boston bombings

Interviewed by Steven E. Greer, MD

Paul Biddinger, MD, Medical Director for Emergency Preparedness, Massachusetts General Hospital and also Chairman of the Massachusetts Medical Society’s Committee on Preparedness, discusses how his hospital, and all of Boston, responded to the several hundred severely injured patients after the Boston terrorist bombs. Lesson from the battlefield helped saves lives, as did the fact that Boston possibly has more Level 1 trauma centers than any other city in the world.

Reliable gun violence statistics

February 12, 2013 By Steven E. Greer, MD

In the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut massacre of 20 first graders and six brave adults, the debate over gun control is the main topic of the news. Consequently, both sides of the debate are using statistics to support their arguments. However, gun violence statistics are quite often inappropriately cited by untrained “pundits” or lobbyists.

A summary of some of the most important evidence and data: Read more »

How Boston medical centers prepare for unconventional weapon attacks

Interviewed by Steven E. Greer, MD

Paul Biddinger, MD, Medical Director for Emergency Preparedness, Massachusetts General Hospital and also Chairman of the Massachusetts Medical Society’s Committee on Preparedness, discusses how his hospital prepares and trains for the event of chemical and nuclear (dirty bomb) attacks.

Also

Violent video games and aggressive behavior

March 30, 2014- Interviewed by Steven E. Greer, MD

A recent JAMA paper connects the dots between violent video games and aggressive behavior. Author Craig Anderson, PhD, from Iowa State, reviews the findings.

CBS: Taser puts woman in cardiac arrest

Mark G. McKenney, M.D.: Advances in trauma care

Tremendous advances have been made over the last two decades in the way that trauma patients are handled in the OR and ICU. The ongoing wars have contributed much. Survival rates in the theater are now approaching 90%, compared to 70% decades ago. Mark G. McKenney, M.D., Chief of Trauma at the University of Miami and Co-Director of the Ryder Trauma Center discusses some of the most important developments in sepsis care, artery embolization, fluid resuscitation, and medical imaging using portable ultrasound.