All posts tagged: surgery

How Turkey Hacked the Hair Transplant Industry

How Turkey Hacked the Hair Transplant Industry

Published by skeptic

The astounding growth of the hair-transplant industry in Turkey is not just a medical tourism success story; it’s also a tale of “hacked” medical equipment and algorithmic craftsmanship. From a biological and evolutionary perspective, human hair is often viewed as an unremarkable mass of keratin that still plays some important functions—protecting our scalps from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays and regulating our body temperatures—but, for the most part, is no longer essential to our survival. Yet, since ancient times, our subconscious perceptions of whether another person is healthy, young, or fertile have been based on visual cues such as skin radiance, the integrity of teeth, and hair density. Deep within our perceptions, hair has become one of the most powerful representations of our identity and self-confidence. It’s key to social communications and perceptions. Today, the global hair-transplant and restoration industry, which has evolved around this deep psychological and evolutionary need, has grown into a massive, multibillion-dollar industry. Various research firms have estimated the total size of the global hair-transplant market as sitting somewhere between $7.33 …

When drug after drug failed, a teen hoped brain surgery could fix her daily seizures. Insurance denied it.

When drug after drug failed, a teen hoped brain surgery could fix her daily seizures. Insurance denied it.

Published by Sam Flores

Several weeks later, the insurer went one step further, announcing a change in policy to include deep brain stimulation for certain conditions in children and adolescents. “We are constantly reviewing our medical coverage policies to keep pace with the latest treatment standards and expert recommendations,” it said in a statement. “After reviewing new clinical information, we have updated our deep brain stimulation coverage policy to include pediatric and adolescent patients in the treatment of epilepsy, OCD and dystonia when all other clinical criteria are met.” The change is “great news,” said Cambrie’s doctor, Guerriero. “Changes like this are an important step in improving access to care,” Marupudi wrote in an email. “I’m encouraged to see growing recognition of deep brain stimulation as a treatment option for carefully selected children with severe, treatment-resistant epilepsy,” she wrote. “For some patients who have exhausted other therapies, DBS can make a meaningful difference in seizure burden and overall quality of life.” Cambrie’s surgery is scheduled for June, and she is looking forward to a future with hopefully fewer seizures. …

1 In 10 U.S. Surgeons Quit Practice, Study Warns Of Shortage

1 In 10 U.S. Surgeons Quit Practice, Study Warns Of Shortage

Published by Sam Flores

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterFRIDAY, May 22, 2026 (HealthDay News) — American health care is experiencing a surgeon shortage, a new study says. Oral and maxillofacial surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and plastic and reconstructive surgery had the highest five-year attrition rates, researchers found. “Surgeons deliver a disproportionate amount of high severity, sensitive healthcare, which is especially critical right now in a country with an aging population,” said senior researcher Dr. Timothy Pawlik, a surgical oncologist at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. “These findings show that surgical attrition is a real problem, and that we need to address it in a nuanced and tailored way, focusing on certain subspecialties that are highest risk, and focusing on mid-level providers who are most likely to leave surgery,” Pawlik said in a news release. For the new study, researchers tracked nearly 225,000 surgeons in 19 specialties from 2013 and 2023. On average, the United States had between 154,000 and 157,000 surgeons year-to-year, researchers found. However, attrition rates started rising sharply in 2020, likely due to surgeons …

People Are Getting Plastic Surgery to Look More AI-Generated

People Are Getting Plastic Surgery to Look More AI-Generated

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Life imitates AI art. Plastic surgeons say that more patients are coming in and asking to look like an AI-generated version of themselves with cartoonishly unrealistic features, in the latest grim sign of how the tech preys on our insecurities and even shapes beauty standards. Rachel Westbay, a cosmetic dermatologist in New York, described how one woman brought in a caricature-like image with huge doll-like eyes generated by ChatGPT.  “It’s like saying I want to look like Ariel from ‘The Little Mermaid,’” Westbay told Business Insider. “I was shocked.” She called the AI aesthetic a “Bratz doll” look, with huge lips, even bigger eyes, and a chiseled jaw. AI isn’t the first digital technology to twist people’s perception of themselves and reinforce unhealthy beauty standards. Think Snapchat filters and our current influencer-driven social media environment.  But as the disturbing rise of AI psychosis shows, AI’s power to distort our thinking and feed on our insecurities is unmatched. And unlike typical …

Bonnie Tyler ‘seriously ill’ but stable in hospital following emergency surgery

Bonnie Tyler ‘seriously ill’ but stable in hospital following emergency surgery

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Bonnie Tyler, the iconic Welsh singer famous for “Total Eclipse Of The Heart”, remains in a serious but stable condition following emergency intestinal surgery last week, her spokesman has confirmed. The 74-year-old was placed in an induced coma to aid her recovery after being rushed to a hospital near her home in Faro, Portugal. On Tuesday, a representative for the Grammy-nominated star stated: “As of this morning, Bonnie remains seriously ill but stable in hospital in Faro, however her doctors are still positive that she will make a full recovery.” The family has also expressed distress over “lurid and untrue rumours” circulating, appealing for “privacy and decency at this difficult time”. News of her surgery first emerged via an Instagram post last Wednesday. The singer is scheduled to embark on a European tour later this year, marking 50 years since her 1976 breakthrough …

Bonnie Tyler update: Welsh singer had ‘severe pain’ before surgery – as she remains in coma

Bonnie Tyler update: Welsh singer had ‘severe pain’ before surgery – as she remains in coma

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Bonnie Tyler was experiencing “severe pain” in the days before the emergency surgery that has led to her being placed in a medically induced coma. The Welsh pop star, famed for her Eighties smash “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, was undergoing surgery in her current base of Portugal, with her spokesperson confirming in a statement that doctors had put her into an induced coma to “aid her recovery”. Now Tyler’s friend Liberto Mealha, a businessman based in the Algarve, has described the weeks leading up to Tyler’s current condition, with the 74-year-old singer first complaining of feeling unwell while playing a gig in London in March. “She started feeling unwell during a concert in London and went to a doctor for tests, but they didn’t detect anything there,” Mealha told The Sun. “She decided to travel to the Algarve, where she began to …

Bonnie Tyler Placed In An Induced Coma While She Recovers From Surgery

Bonnie Tyler Placed In An Induced Coma While She Recovers From Surgery

Published by Sam Flores

Bonnie Tyler on stage in 2013 Bonnie Tyler is in an induced coma after undergoing intestinal surgery. Earlier this week, it was confirmed that the chart-topping musician had been rushed to a hospital near her home in Faro, Portugal, to undergo an emergency procedure. At the time, Bonnie’s spokesperson said the operation had gone “well” and that she was “now recuperating” in hospital. The following day, the Holding Out For A Hero singer’s representatives issued a fresh statement, which read: “Bonnie has been put into an induced coma by her doctors to aid her recovery. “We know that you all wish her well and ask for privacy at this difficult time please. We will issue a further statement when we are able to.” Bonnie – whose legal name is Gaynor Hopkins – first rose to prominence in the late 1970s with the singles Lost In France and It’s A Heartache. In the years that followed, the Welsh performer became synonymous with her hits like Holding Out For A Hero, the number one single Total Eclipse …

Bonnie Tyler,, 74, ‘put into induced coma’ after emergency surgery

Bonnie Tyler,, 74, ‘put into induced coma’ after emergency surgery

Published by Daniella Wilson

Iconic 80s singer Bonnie Tyler has been placed into an induced coma after being hospitalized in Portugal.  The 74-year-old, best known for her smash-hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, was gearing up to return to the stage for several shows in May, but was admitted to the hospital for emergency intestinal surgery, her spokesperson shared on May 6, 2026.  © RedfernsBonnie Tyler performs in 2025 However, a day later, a spokesperson offered a further update, revealing that Bonnie “has been put into an induced coma by her doctors to aid her recovery”. “We know that you all wish her well and ask for privacy at this difficult time, please. We will issue a further statement when we are able to,” they concluded. Medically induced comas slow down the activity in the brain and give it a chance to rest and recover while the body heals from a traumatic experience. Bonnie’s team had previously shared on social media that “the surgery went well and she is now recuperating”. © Michael Ochs ArchivesBonnie is behind some of the …