MARCO Grand Rounds for December 28, 2008

From Warren, KD4GUA:

Another Sunday coming--Rick VE6 GK was apparently unavailable last Sunday. We will discuss "Hyperbaric Oxgen" this Sunday. Hyperbaric Oxygen is giving 2 or more atmospheres of oxygen to wounds expecting them to heal faster. We don't hear too much about them because only 20 medical schools plus have hyperbaric chambers available.

Tune in, should be fun.

A Merry (Ham Radio) Christmas

Thanks to Smitty, W6CS, and the NCCC for this defacement of a classic verse:

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the shack
The rig was turned off and the mike cord lay slack.
The antenna rotor had made its last turn,
The tubes in the linear have long ceased to burn.
I sat there relaxing and took off my specs,
Preparing to daydream of armchair DX,
When suddenly outside I heard such a sound,
I dashed out the door to see what was around.
The moon shone down brightly and lighted the night-
For sure, propagation for the low bands was right.
I peered towards the roof where I heard all the racket,
And there was some guy in a red, fur-trimmed jacket.
I stood there perplexed in a manner quite giddy.
Just who was this stranger - di di dah dah di di?
He looked very much like an FCC guy,
Who'd come to check up on some bad TVI.
I shouted to him, "OM, QRZ"
"Hey, you by the chimney, all dressed up in red."
I suddenly knew when I heard sleighbells jingle.
The guy on the rooftop was jolly Kris Kringle.
He had a big sack full of amateur gear,
Which made a big load for a prancing reindeer.
Transmitters, receivers, for cabinets and racks,
Some meters and scopes and a lot of co-ax.
He said not a word 'cause he'd finished his work
He picked up his sack, then he turned with a jerk.
As he leaped to his sleigh, he shouted with glee,
And I knew in a moment he'd be QRT.
But I heard him transmit as he flew o'er the trees
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all seventy-three's."

MARCO Grand Rounds for December 21, 2008

From Warren, KD4GUA:

This Sunday we promised Rick in Calgary to discuss hyperbaric oxygen...we still have to finish off MOHS surgery. Maybe we can get both in..both interesting subjects.

Tune in 14.307, 10 a.m. eastern Sunday.

Spam strikes!

We were blitzed with spam comments today.
I have changed this blog's settings so that only members of googlegroups can post comments.

The web site linked to from comments posted by "chat," "tchat," "music," or "anonymous " contains potentially harmful content. DO NOT VISIT THIS WEBSITE.

Thanks,
-KM2L

MARCO Grand Rounds for December 14, 2008

From Warren, KD4GUA:

This Sunday we are going to discuss "MOHS SURGERY."

To those not familiar with Mohs a brief description....you find a growth on your nose and go to a dermatologist. He says "We can remove it by standard means and it will cost you $100 or we can use Mohs surgery and it will cost you $3,000.

Which would you pick? Why would anyone go for the more expensive way? Are surgeons using this to pad their wallets or are they honest in the their recommendation? This is your problem as a doctor and a patient--what choice should I make?

Tune in, should be interesting.


There has been some interesting email in follow-up to this topic.

Alfred Greenwald WA2CBA, a retired plastic surgeon described his experience:

Just to add a note on my experience with MOHS Surgery in the discussion on Sunday. As a plastic surgeon, I was not impressed with MOHS technic because in the two cases I saw prior to my retirement, the dermatologist doing the original procedure was not able or capable of handling the reconstruction with restoration of function.

1) A dentist friend of mine who served with me in the Army in 1955 had MOHS surgery by a dermatologist for a basal cell carcinoma of the right lower eyelid resulting in an ectropian of the lid. I reconstructed the lower lid using a full thickness skin graft taken from the upper lid and suturing the upper and lower lid margins together temporarily for a week with an excellent end result.

2) An elderly male patient who consulted with me wearing a band aide across the upper lip. A local plastic surgeon had referred him to the same dermatologist from the case above who treated this patient using MOHS surgery to remove a basal cell carcinoma of the mid portion of the upper lip just beneath the columella of the nose. He had a wide defect of the upper lip showing his upper central incisor teeth with his lateral lips closed. I recommended reconstruction of the upper lip using a two stage procedure with a V shaped pedicle flap from the lower lip. He declined the surgery and continued to wear the band aide.

73s,

Alfred WA2CBA

Mary K Favaro AE4BX had these memories:

I have the honor of actually knowing and being taught by Dr. Mohs (thought I'd throw that in for some celebrity prestige....). He had already retired but was a professor emeritus when I was a med student at Univ of Wisconsin. He came in for some dermatology lectures - on - you guessed it his Mohs technique. This was in the mid 60's and derms were still being trained in the procedure.

Also had Dr. Schilling of the Schilling test as a hematology prof. And of course WARFarin is named for the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation" after their work on cows and fermented grain.

I myself haven't invented anything important enough to carry my name. Maybe that's why I'm banished to the South.

Still traveling and doing Locum Tenens. Hope to get some station time when the sunspots improve enough to make my lousy attic antennas function.

Mary K Favaro MD
Surfside Beach SC

MARCO Grand Rounds for December 7, 2008

From Warren, KD4GUA:

Last Sunday we did some day--morning dreaming. We picked up a couple of sleep walkers and learned that a lunatic is a wakeful dreamer. Thus, the dream has been called a short-lasting psychosis and a psychosis is a long-lasting dream.

This Sunday we will continue the discussion on dreams.

There was an AP bulletin on a fellow who thought his life was being portrayed on a TV show--this is called "the Truman Syndrome" after a delusional movie filmed in 1998 in which a phony, stage-set world was set and he was the star....When I was in 5th grade I once thought my eyes were a projector and the world was a movie!!! Fortunately, I grew out of that..anyone ever have that delusion?

Tune in should be fun.