In 1895 William Macewen, a Scot, removed an entire lung from a patient with rampant infection. He was the first to successfully accomplish this operation, a pneumonectomy. Remarkably, he incorporated none of the technical actions that are and have been routinely and consistently used by thoracic surgeons for many years Read More
Author: alexlittle@att.net
As with many others, I have boggled at the number of folks able to promulgate outlandish beliefs that are without any proof and defy common sense understandings. A recent book, “The Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything” has provided some insight by discussing a known psychological phenomenon known as belief perseverance. Read More
It seems time to revisit this topic. Barrett’s esophagus picked up its name years ago when the surgeon Norman Barrett in England performed an esophagectomy on a patient with an ulcer in the esophagus. The final pathologic exam of the esophagus showed that the cells lining the inside of the Read More
Winter in Tucson is coming to an end. While much of the country has suffered through weather bringing extreme cold and massive snows, we have enjoyed a pleasant winter. There were a few nights with near freezing temperatures and days in the 50s but mainly we were subjected to 30s/40s Read More
Reflux of acid from the stomach back into the esophagus is the disorder identified by the acronym GERD which stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease. It’s such a common disorder that I suspect few of you need this explanation—you are all too familiar. Unhappily, many are also well acquainted with the Read More
The annual Gem and Jewelry Show in Tucson roared back to life this year after fear of Covid resulted in a significant slow-down in recent years. This is huge for the Tucson economy. It’s easy to understand why, as the pandemic was in full force, vendors from around the world Read More
The last two posts reviewed the thoracic surgical thought that informs the decision-making process for a patient being evaluated for a lung cancer operation. If the cancer is potentially curable and pulmonary assessment shows the patient will have sufficient lung function after the operation it’s a go. But a third Read More
In my previous blog I reviewed the concerns a surgeon has about the impact of a lung cancer operation—which costs a patient some of their breathing capacity—on a patient’s quality of life and how that determines the amount of lung that the surgeon can remove; quality of life after surgery Read More
I thought it was time to revisit the topic of operations for lung cancer. The surgeon has options which differ in the amount of lung being removed. The surgeon’s goal in all cases is to cure the cancer but they are constrained by the patient’s ability to tolerate, both immediately Read More
Yes…that van Gogh. Vincent himself. My wife surprised me last week with the news she had obtained tickets and we were going to Phoenix to see the van Gogh Immersive Experience. We drove up from Tucson and I must say it indeed was quite an experience and well worth the Read More
