Relatives of an American woman are suing a clinic where a surgery was performed that left a rolled-up towel inside the chest of a woman following surgery for emphysema. The towel had been left in her chest for years, and the woman had often complained of an odd feeling in her chest, but her doctors told her that it was just the symptoms of her emphysema, and that the benefits of the surgery would not last forever.
I've heard of people smuggling towels out of fancy hotels, but out of hospitals? This is ridiculous...
Here we see yet another example of surgical procedures gone bad. Not only did the surgeon leave a towel in the torso of this woman, he also blamed her condition, for the pain she was experiencing as a result. Good job, doc. The least you could have done is given her a towel with a nice imprint on it, say, a Disney character or something.
Of course, it's hard to blame only the surgeon in this case, since the woman had taken up the habit of smoking at the age of 15 and decided to smoke two packs of cigarettes a day until her lungs had been practically destroyed and she required surgery. If someone is going to effectively commit suicide by taking up a heavy smoking habit, it's sort of hard to blame surgeons for whatever happens to that person on the operating table.
My take on all of this? It's an example of an irresponsible patient meeting a careless surgeon. The result? Skyrocketing healthcare costs and medical malpractice lawsuits that help no one. The real blame here, I think, goes to Big Tobacco, which of course was manipulating nicotine levels in cigarettes in order to addict people for a lifetime.
Hey, maybe it was a Marlboro towel.
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In mid 2010, Adams produced NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a successful software entrepreneur, having founded a well known email marketing software company whose technology currently powers the NaturalNews email newsletters. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates.
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Thursday, August 19, 2004
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