Having surgery during your pregnancy is never ideal, but if it has been recommended that you have surgery during your pregnancy it is very important that you gather information prior to making your decision.

If surgery can be avoided, that is always the best solution for both the mother and the fetus, but that isn't always possible. If surgery is absolutely necessary, there are ways to reduce the risk to both the mother and the fetus.  Delaying surgery until later in the pregnancy, even if only for a few weeks, may be of great benefit to the baby if the mother can tolerate the delay.

Find out what you should know about Surgery During Pregnancy.

If you are spending time in the hospital you may be confused by all of the different student doctors and physicians walking around.  If you are confused by what an intern is, the differences between a resident and a fellow, or even what an attending is you are in the right place.

It is important to know who is providing your care as well as their level of experience and training. An intern and an attending are very different things, one is a brand new doctor and one is a fully trained physician.

Medical Students, Interns, Residents and More

Kyuji Fujikawa, pitcher for the Cubs, is out for the season.  He will be having Tommy John surgery after feeling a "pop" while pitching last week. The surgery will take only a few hours, but the recovery could take 9 to 12 months, if things go well.  A normal patient could regain strength and motion in 3 months, but a professional athlete will take far longer because of the stress of pitching.

Fujikawa has millions of reasons to get back on the mound as soon as possible.  He is in the first year of a 9.5 million dollar contract. Being well enough to play again for the Cubs next year means a 5.5 million dollar payoff.

It's a strange tale and it gets stranger every day.

Stanwood Elkus, 75, killed Dr. Ronald Gilbert, a urologist, in January.  It had been reported that Elkus was angry over the outcome of a surgery that was performed by Gilbert.  I find killing a doctor over prostate surgery to be both extremely sad and very strange.

Here is where it gets even stranger: Gilbert didn't operate on Elkus.  A different doctor with a similar name performed the procedure.  Even stranger is the fact that the surgery was done 21 years ago.

Stanwood Elkus is being held in jail.  The Gilbert family has filed fraud and wrongful death claims against Elkus.