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Does it really matter if useless surgery is popular? Cosmetic surgery is largely useless, but people still do it. It's an issue of bodily autonomy. I used to l

Does it really matter if useless surgery is popular? Cosmetic surgery is largely useless, but people still do it. It's an issue of bodily autonomy. I used to live in Germany, where health insurance companies cover all manner of quack treatment in the standard plan. You cannot choose a plan that does not cover this. It's annoying, because I don't want my insurance payments to be funding someone else's placebo habit, but it seems there is no broad move to change this. Society as a whole has decided that placebos are okay. I do think doctors should be honest with their patients about the various alternatives and not push them toward useless surgery, but I'm not sure it matters very much if some people still choose to get it.

bszupnick 6y ago
There's a difference between "elective" and "useless". Cosmetic surgeries are elective, where as surgeries that the patient is made to believe will help them with an ailment but wont, are useless.
- sparky_z 6y ago
  Not just cosmetic stuff. Things like knee replacements that serve a real medical purpose are still considered "elective".
webmobdev 6y ago
> Does it really matter if useless surgery is popular? Don't think in terms of only insurance. You need to account for the greed of doctors and corporate hospitals too, when considering if such "useless" operations are ok. Think of those who do not have a insurance and yet are told that such "useless" surgery will help them. And they spend their hard earned (or worse, borrowed) money on such surgeries that may (if you account for the placebo effect) or may not help them. In India, doctors routinely advise caesarean section, a surgical procedure to deliver babies, simply because they can make a lot more money from it than through a normal delivery (natural childbirth). And because it is less stressful for them! (1) A certain number of cases are also because the patient can't bear the pains of natural delivery and asks for a C-section mid-way, not really understanding that it is a serious surgery nor its repercussions on the health. (2) If this continues, childbirth through C-section might soon be the norm in India. (3) (1) ‘If I do 10–15 normal deliveries in a month I hardly ever sleep at home.’ A qualitative study of health providers’ reasons for high rates of caesarean deliveries in private sector maternity care in Delhi, India: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6276145/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6276145/ (2) Caesarean deliveries have become an ‘epidemic’ in India — record 300% jump in last decade: https://theprint.in/health/caesarean-deliveries-have-become-an-epidemic-in-india-record-300-jump-in-last-decade/334291/ https://theprint.in/health/caesarean-deliveries-have-become-... (3) India might soon have the most Caesarean births: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/india-might-soon-have-the-most-caesarean-births/article26756931.ece https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/india-might-soon-h...

bszupnick 6y ago

There's a difference between "elective" and "useless". Cosmetic surgeries are elective, where as surgeries that the patient is made to believe will help them with an ailment but wont, are useless.

sparky_z 6y ago
Not just cosmetic stuff. Things like knee replacements that serve a real medical purpose are still considered "elective".

webmobdev 6y ago

> Does it really matter if useless surgery is popular? Don't think in terms of only insurance. You need to account for the greed of doctors and corporate hospitals too, when considering if such "useless" operations are ok. Think of those who do not have a insurance and yet are told that such "useless" surgery will help them. And they spend their hard earned (or worse, borrowed) money on such surgeries that may (if you account for the placebo effect) or may not help them. In India, doctors routinely advise caesarean section, a surgical procedure to deliver babies, simply because they can make a lot more money from it than through a normal delivery (natural childbirth). And because it is less stressful for them! (1) A certain number of cases are also because the patient can't bear the pains of natural delivery and asks for a C-section mid-way, not really understanding that it is a serious surgery nor its repercussions on the health. (2) If this continues, childbirth through C-section might soon be the norm in India. (3) (1) ‘If I do 10–15 normal deliveries in a month I hardly ever sleep at home.’ A qualitative study of health providers’ reasons for high rates of caesarean deliveries in private sector maternity care in Delhi, India: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6276145/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6276145/ (2) Caesarean deliveries have become an ‘epidemic’ in India — record 300% jump in last decade: https://theprint.in/health/caesarean-deliveries-have-become-an-epidemic-in-india-record-300-jump-in-last-decade/334291/ https://theprint.in/health/caesarean-deliveries-have-become-... (3) India might soon have the most Caesarean births: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/india-might-soon-have-the-most-caesarean-births/article26756931.ece https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/india-might-soon-h...