As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus observed, all things change. Certainly, the history of surgical treatment of patients with lung cancer is an example. There is both more and less. LESS For the consideration of “less” there is the consideration of the amount of lung the thoracic surgeon removes when operating Read More
Author: alexlittle@att.net
I continually boggle to consider how much surgical treatment of these malignancies has evolved and results have improved since I completed my thoracic surgery residency and began my practice of genera thoracic surgery in 1981. The two changes with the most impact are the way these operations are performed and Read More
There are few more distressing sensations than having difficulty swallowing, called dysphagia. There are, perhaps surprisingly, many causes of this feeling. The awareness of a lump in our throat when emotions run high—saying goodbye to a loved one for example—is, thankfully, short lived and only a temporary cause of difficulty Read More
Cancer of the esophagus. All cancers are awful but this one in particular. Untreated it’s quickly lethal. Since retirement I’ve dwelt on this surgical challenge as little as possible; however, my attention was drawn back by a recent letter from someone reading my blogs. He had his esophagus removed by Read More
As I entered retirement my wife Louise encouraged me to consider writing a book as a way to have at least a modest interest in some reasonable activity. Accordingly, after mulling over possible topics I set to work on a book principally about the origin and development of my specialty Read More
It was only as a medical student at Johns Hopkins that I became aware that the private practice of medicine—any specialty, thoracic surgery in my case—was a possible career choice. By far the greater number of physicians at that time and now are in private practice. There have been changes Read More
Few, if any, lung cancers are cured (gone forever) without surgery to remove them. On the other hand, not all patients are cured by their operation and many are not thought to be candidates for an operation. The goal of all treating physicians, medical oncologists as well as thoracic surgeons, Read More
The Tucson area of southern Arizona has a regular monsoon season from roughly the fourth of July until Labor Day. Its impact is variable and unpredictable. Some areas get much more rain than others. I blogged about one year ago that Oro Valley, a Tucson suburb where my wife and Read More
You may never have heard of achalasia. This uncommon disorder of esophageal function was a mystery for many years until physicians took advantage of the advent of esophageal motility studies to first define it and next to develop treatments. Esophageal motility studies use a catheter inside the esophagus to evaluate Read More
One surveying a desert full of prickly pear cacti will quickly notice that, despite their armamentarium, many are missing a chunk, leaving a defect that looks for all the world like something took a bite, thorns and all. Turns out that’s the case. The attached photo taken in our yard Read More
