Open heart surgery, collapsed diaphragm

Posted on 07.31.17 |

Following open heart or bi-pass surgery it is fairly common for patients to note problems with breathing. Often this is due to one or more sides of the diaphragm, the major muscle of respiration, being collapsed. The surgeons say that nothing can be done to remedy this.

They are wrong.

Today I saw a patient who has this procedure done about a month ago. He has had a lot of breathing problems since then as well as being in pain from the surgery. I found that the surgery had created a pull in the ligaments and connective tissues in his chest, down to the diaphragm, as well as all the way into the pelvis.

In addition, since the breast bone is broken to gain access to the heart for the surgery and pried back like a claim shell, what commonly happens is that the heads of the ribs in the back are jammed. This will result in back pain as well as other problems in the years to come.

All of this can be permanently corrected with osteopathic treatment based on a specific diagnosis by a trained physician.

Today’s patient remarked that not only was he breathing a lot better following this initial visit but that also he was in less pain.

I had this procedure years ago. My right diaphragm was collapsed. I had an x ray to prove it. Two cardiologists who saw the x ray confirmed that as a result of the surgery my right diaphragm was collapsed. When I showed this to the surgeon he told me that I was mistaken and offered me an inhaler for asthma medicine to help with my breathing.

I never saw him again.

And neither should you.

Come get treated if you have had open-heart surgery. You will save yourself years of suffering and medical run arounds.

Comment on Hitting a medical wall, and turning to unproven treatments

Posted on 05.5.17 |

The online NY Times published the following comment I wrote regarding their article, Hitting a medical wall, and turning to unproven treatments, by Jane Brody on 1 May 2017.

While I was doing my residency training in Washington, DC in the late 80s, I daily saw proof that much of the current medical approach to patient care is not only misguided but profoundly unscientific. Patients were ignored;their symptoms became the focus of their physicians.
For the past 27 years I have focused on meticulous physical examination of patients, figuring out why their bodies produce the symptoms they do. I do this using ever more refined palpation of physiology via the musculoskeletal system which is a reflection of the autonomic nervous system. The ANS, the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, is often out of balance in our patients. Most patients are in a hypersympathetic state.

Using osteopathic examination and treatment it is possible to change this. In addition, using classical homeopathy and acupuncture, patients may be guided to their natural state of health. I rarely prescribe drugs.

As Andrew Taylor Still, MD, the man who discovered osteopathy wrote, To find health should be the object of the doctor. Anyone can find disease.

Our current medical model is focused on disease. This results in the treatment of symptoms which, while not always bad ( ex. stabilization of patients in the ER or other emergency and acute situations), does not seem to be the answer to most chronic problems.

When we truly treat the person versus their symptoms and focus on changing their physiology, then we may help them return to their natural state of Health.

Here is the link to the NY Times article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/well/live/hitting-a-medical-wall-and-turning-to-unproven-treatments.html