https://youtu.be/WDzXtkpSWd0 What do you think? Do you like it? Please leave a comment. … [Read more...]
Controversial Utah Cleft Palate Care -III
A summary of Part II re Cleft Palate Care at Primary Children's Part II deals with the the timing of jaw surgery in cleft lip and palate care at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake, Utah. At this children’s hospital, ProPublica asserts pediatric surgeons are taking controversial risks with how they care for kids with cleft lip and palate. Experimenting With Bone Grafts 'About seven years ago, spurred by what [Dr. Dana] Johns said was a “hypothesis we had,” Primary Children’s cleft team … [Read more...]
Controversial Utah Cleft Palate Care -II
A summary of Part I re Cleft Palate Care At Primary Children’s Hospital in Utah, pediatric surgeons are taking controversial risks with how they care for kids with cleft lip and palate. This is the conclusion of a ProPublica article of which the below is the second of three parts. I’m reprinting it in my blog because the article is disturbing. (I’ve added several new subheads in brackets below.) It is interesting that the recent article was penned by Megan Rose a crime reporter who … [Read more...]
Controversial Utah Cleft Palate Surgeries -I
As the beneficiary of an innovative cleft-palate team at Seattle Children's Hospital, I'm always interested in the progress being made regarding cleft palate surgeries. The innovation in my day was approaching the birth defect as a team effort from the minute a baby is born. Heretofore, most doctors did cleft palate surgeries without the input of dentists, orthodontists, speech therapists, and others involved in the decade-long treatment of the defect. [Contested Cleft … [Read more...]
The new Frida Kahlo. Are Appearances Deceiving?
If my prior post showed skepticism about the latest self-reinvention of Paris Hilton, then this post is different. I invite you to learn about the private life of well-respected Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. After you learn some of the against-type characteristics of the artist's personal life, reflect on whether Kahlo’s unconventional life seems more real and honest than Hilton’s. BTW, search my website for other posts about "appearances being deceiving," like my blog about President … [Read more...]
Implicit Bias against People with Facial Differences?
Implicit bias is a phrase for the idea that we're all probably at least a little bit biased, even if we really don't want to be. It's a term that describes what's happening when, despite our best intentions and without our awareness, stereotypes and assumptions creep into our minds and affect our actions. Implicit bias. The phrase has been used lately regarding race, and especially by those alleging that slight "microagressions" are hurtful to racial minorities. The right has fought … [Read more...]
The saga of the Titanium Rib and Dr. Mel Smith
I've had a lifelong interest in discrimination and birth-defects stemming from being bullied for my once-nasal cleft-palate speech. Hence I was interested when college classmate Alain Gunn wrote The Titanium Rib. The Discrimination Angle The book is about a device that allows infants born with defective chests and lung function to live. And it's a true story of two dedicated surgeons —one being a black man who endured discrimination as a trailblazer entering the lily white ranks of … [Read more...]