Surgery, Not Safe Enough?

Technology and research advancements have taken surgery to a new level as we enter
the 21st century. However, the dangers associated with such invasive procedures remain
a discomforting reality, a fact emphasized by a recent study that appeared in the journal
Surgery.

Researchers examining data from 15,000 hospital discharges in Utah and Colorado in
1992 found that three percent of patients undergoing an operation or child delivery
experienced an adverse event, and that 5.6% of those patients died as a result. Most
distressing perhaps is some of the specific data on such events:

· Technique-related complications accounted for nearly 25% of all adverse surgical
events;

· Drug-related errors, diagnostic errors, and errors in therapy of choice accounted
for 12% of these events; and

· Fifty-four percent of these complications were considered "preventable."

Doctors always warn patients that surgical procedures carry a certain risk independent
of the condition or injury being treated, but these results seem to suggest that the
surgeons could be doing more to reduce the risk. If you or a loved one is considering
surgery or has been advised to undergo a surgical procedure, make sure you get a second
opinion and investigate nonsurgical alternatives. Your doctor of chiropractic can provide
you with information on conservative care that may be as effective as (and definitely
safer than) going under the knife.

Gawande AA, Thomas EJ, Zinner MJ, et al. The incidence and nature of surgical adverse
events in Colorado and Utah in 1992. Surgery 1999: Vol. 126, No. 1, pp66-75.