Appendicectomy
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Taking out the appendix was commonplace last century when the big case was the operation on King Edward V11, whose coronation had to be postponed because he came down with acute appendicitis. He said "I will be crowned on time even if I die on the steps of Westminster Abbey!" His surgeon told him "Your Majesty, that's what might well happen". The first successful case was in 1735 when a French doctor working in London, took out a lump in a boy's belly, it was later found to have been caused by the child swallowing a pin which perforated the appendix and while fortunately not causing peritonitis did result in a lot of pain and an interesting lump. The advent of antibiotics has reduced the incidence of appendicectomy by simply fixing the infection.
Natural remedies
Frequently patients ask for something natural. The plain fact is that most medicines are derived from natural things. We know that penicillin came from a fungus and, of course, morphia the basis of the strong painkillers comes from the poppy. The herb Vascine was used for people who had chest problems as it loosened up the phlegm. The active ingredient was bromhexine, which is sold under various trade names, including Bisolvon.
Ingrown toenails
Too often someone presents with a limp and a painful toe caused by ingrown toenails. Generally these come from cutting the nails too far back. The nail should be allowed to grow outside the skinfold and then rounded off so as not to put holes in the socks. If an ingrown toenail develops there is the need often for antibiotics and in some cases for a surgical procedure, the wedge resection, cutting out part of the toenail. If people are having problems with their toenails they should either talk to their doctors or see Sue Leitner the foot nurse.
King Canute and the inevitable
King Canute could not stop the tide coming in and the Catholic Education Office cannot stop the inevitable emergence of a Mt Carmel School going all the way to year 12. These people have had to apologise and retract in relation to statements made about the people at Mt Carmel and now they are simply trying to put bureaucratic pressure on the staff - an expected reaction which will not work. Education is too important and Mt Carmel students should not have to bear the results of poor planning in Canberra.
Craniotomies and football
A craniotomy is the cutting out of a bit of bone from the skull to allow access to the brain. Sometimes these can be by small holes put in with a drill to allow a blood clot to get out from the skull. These are called burr holes. Other times a whole section of the skull is removed and this is often when the brain is swelling to such an extent that it would push down part of the brain into the hole at the bottom of the skull cutting off the spinal cord. Unfortunately one of the situations when this occurs is in a traumatic head injury at sport. Historically, ancient Egyptians practiced craniotomies with not a lot of success and the Greek god Zeus had one which cured his headache.
Flu prevention success
The high take-up rate of people coming in to get their flu injections is heartening because there is a need for a large proportion of people to be immunised to give security. The flu variations in emerging overseas make it only a matter of time before one comes to Australia.
Clinics
Dr Ann Stephenson, psychiatrist - April 28.
Dr Hannah Burn-Petersen, Women's Health, Yass and Murrumbateman
Sue Leitner, Foot nurse - May 2, May 16, June 13.