Mesothelioma: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenges A mesothelioma is a malignancy of the tissues that line both the lung surface and the inside of the chest wall. These thin membranes—the parietal pleura lining the chest and the visceral pleura doing the same to each lung—occasionally develop a cancer called mesothelioma. More Read More
Author: alexlittle@att.net
Ireland Louise, aka Weezie, and I just spent two weeks in Ireland with a tour group. Started in Dublin in Ireland and then circumnavigated the island, including Northern Ireland (as you probably are aware is a separate country), in a counterclockwise direction. Found out that despite the existence of two Read More
Second Opinions Patients are frequently advised, or decide on their own, to seek a second opinion after a recommendation to undergo an operation. That seems reasonable but it can actually result in more uncertainty than existed prior to the second opinion. When the surgeon agrees with the first recommendation the Read More
How to teach. Surgeons that are either full-time or part-time academic faculty are the teachers and mentors of surgical residents. Although there is the occasional lecture and/or presentation at Grand Rounds or elsewhere, most teaching and learning takes place in a clinical setting, with patients in the hospital or in Read More
How and who to teach. I taught medical students for about 40 years. Most of that interaction took place while making rounds with them and residents and in the operating room. There were some classroom sessions but most activity was in the clinical setting oriented around actual patients. What is Read More
The Big Apple My wife Louise (hence Weezie) is an accomplished glass and jewelry artist. Proof is at her web site: louiselittle.com. We like to travel when we can. A jewelry exhibit at the NY Metropolitan Museum attracted us to New York a few weeks ago and it made sense Read More
This guest blog was written by Mark K. Ferguson, MD. Mark and I were colleagues at the University of Chicago where Adams and Phemister performed the first transthoracic esophagectomy with reconstruction. He has led the Thoracic Surgery division for many years and is an accomplished esophageal surgeon. ~ The average Read More
Where’s my doctor? For most of my practicing life it was customary for surgeons to care and be responsible for their patients at all times. Times change. Now the above question is not unusual and is followed by, “Who are you?” What’s going on? What has happened to the patient/surgeon Read More
Conflicts: Inevitable? Patients and their families are human beings. Surgeons, to the surprise of some, are also. As such our interactions, especially during the time after an operation when feelings run high, are subject to potential conflict. Despite the best of intentions, the stress of an illness or need for Read More
Explaining Medical Residencies After my previous blog on financing medical residencies, it was brought to my attention that medical residencies, their functional details (why and how) may not be well understood. Let’s start at the beginning for those who want to be a doctor. First you attend college where Read More
