Guest guest Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 > I must respectfully disagree. > > 1. Is this any different that the " ethical issues " raised by the fact that > doctors profit from *all types* of surgery (and thus, some unscrupulous docs > may do unnecessary procedures)? I don't think so. Um, the profit margins from having a 50% interest is a wee bit different than the profit margins from any single procedure performed, I would think. It has disturbed me for quite some time that HIFUS was approved on the basis of 14 trial patients in Europe who were not followed for any real significant time period. How did that happen? What were the influencing factors? The EU isn't THAT loose on their drug/device approvals..... Now, I have even MORE questions. And will definitely ask them when this device comes up for FDA review on the next go around.... > 2. Should an " ethical issue " at one particular hospital somewhere (this one > in Israel) lead us to reject a promising therapy out of hand? No. But it doesn't mean we don't ask the questions which would protect us all from what could potentially be just one more unscrupulous abuse of our bodies for profit, either. > 3. Doesn't every procedure have a " failure rate " ? Yes. But 20% for any procedure is high, high, high. Particularly considering the exhorbitant cost. > Shouldn't every woman > carefully weigh the risk:benefit ratio for herself? Absolutely. But governing bodies who oversee public health care and universal coverage, as in the UK and other parts of the world, also have a duty to provide care for ALL women who need it...Costly treatment with low long-term efficacy won't cut the mustard when push comes to shove on any given national healthcare budget.... > Focused ultrasound, while still in its infancy, has shown great > > > promise as a therapy not only for fibroids, but for all types of > > > tumors. To my mind, any research that offers the promise of > > > > > ultimately benefiting a great number of people should be encouraged. Yes, I agree. Patients with cancererous tumors and brain tumors will have tremendous benefit from HIFUS, when it's perfected. And, it will be a cost effective treatment for those health issues. But, for fibroids? I have my doubts as to whether or not fibroid patients will even be able to get on the schedule, once it's approved for treating those other, much, much, more serious and life-threatening tumors. Only time will tell how this will shake out. Believe me, my interest is piqued..... Carla Dionne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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