Have you possibly undergone a medical procedure that could have been avoided? The Doctors discuss how a study found that annually nearly 600,000 patients had a surgery or procedure that was not needed. The cost of those unnecessary medical procedures was a shocking $282 million dollars and The Doctors ask if the medical industry is putting profits ahead of healing?
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They examine the recent rise of the number of leg stent surgeries with cardiologist Dr. Joel Kahn. He feels there are too many leg stent surgeries (which are used to address plaque in arteries) being performed and says the need for an emergency leg stent procedure is actually rare. He says often times instead of a leg stent, things like quitting smoking, eating a better diet, routine exercise, managing your blood pressure or diabetes can deal with the issues that a leg stent would be used for.
So why are so many leg stents being performed?
Johns Hopkins surgeon Dr. Marty Makary, author of "The Price We Pay," says most doctors do the right thing and do not perform this type of unnecessary procedure, but for the ones who opt for surgery when it is not needed, each surgery costs somewhere between $10,000 to $20,000 dollars. Dr. Makary says there are even instances of doctors going to health fairs to recruit patients for these procedures. He stresses that patients need to understand when a leg stent is urgent and when it is not necessary. He urges patients to seek out a second opinion if there are not experiencing any issues with arteries in their leg.
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Dr. Kahn urges people to seek out preventive suggestions and tips before undergoing a leg stent procedure and he echoes Dr. Makary and also says a second opinion is also something to consider.
The Doctors note again they are discussing how to handle doctors who are rogue outliers regarding this topic and they note that most physicians do have their patients' best interests in mind when advising what surgeries to have. As always, do your due diligence before any medical procedure.
