3 ms·
Besides being over 70, what other circumstances discourage you from having surgery? My grandmother had two EGDs and hip surgery after 90 with no long term defi
by omgwtfbyobbq 7y ago
Besides being over 70, what other circumstances discourage you from having surgery?
My grandmother had two EGDs and hip surgery after 90 with no long term deficits from them that we can see. She was even classified as frail at the time, although in retrospect I'm pretty sure that was incorrect.
From what I've read it's a good idea to stay away from GA, but there's a lot that can be done with mild sedation and a spine block.
- mirimir 7y agoI don't trust surgeons, generally. As Maslow said: "I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail." I've never had surgery. I opted out of gall bladder removal, and changed my diet instead. And I haven't had further problems. So sure, if I get multiple opinions that I need surgery for something that'll kill me in a few years, I'l likely agree. But if I'm otherwise not happy with my situation and health, I might opt out.
- omgwtfbyobbq 7y agoAnything effective besides surgery is generally a better bet. Based on my limited experience with surgeons, they go out of their way to confirm there really is a problem and that you really want to go through with the surgery. If they don't do that I would be wary about taking their opinion at face value, and like you said it's always a good idea to get multiple opinions. To be fair, I think everyone should have the same critical approach to any treatment and/or diagnosis, but it's especially important with higher risk treatments like surgery.