The physiological part of your body — the systems that help your heart beat, lungs breathe, stomach digest, glands drain, and nerves feel — is a complicated system that involves several hundred working parts. And, much like a beloved, well-worn car, it requires repair from time to time. Thanks to the modern miracle of laser and scope surgeries and procedures, many fixes can take place in a doctor’s office or outpatient setting. Some, though, are more complex.
Here’s a look at just a few of the physio fixes you might encounter in your medical career:
Belsey Mark V: Transthoracic hiatus hernia repair
Bischof: Longitudinal incision of spinal cord for treatment of spasticity of lower extremities
Dexamethasone suppression test: Blood test to assess adrenal gland function, measures how cortisol levels change in response to a dexamethasone injection; to diagnose Cushing’s syndrome
Eloesser window thoracostomy: To treat pleural empyema, creation of small, permanent opening in chest wall to allow long-term drainage of empyema
Fluid deprivation test: Used to diagnose diabetes insipidus, patient deprived of fluids for a prolonged period of time to determine cause of thirst
Fontan: A palliative procedure used in children with complex congenital heart defects
Frazier-Spiller: Destruction (rhizotomy) of the trigeminal nerve to relieve neuralgia
Hofmeister: Gastrectomy with portion of stomach removed and retrocolic gastrojejunostomy constructed
Overholt: Named after Dr. Richard Overholt, a thoracic surgeon who performed the first successful removal of a lung in a cancer patient, and America’s anti-smoking pioneer
Ransohoff: Making numerous cross incisions through the pulmonary pleura to relieve empyema
Sestamibi parathyroid scintigraphy: Nuclear medicine procedure to localize a parathyroid adenoma
Torkildsen: Cranial ventricular shunt procedure in patient with noncommunicating hydrocephalus
Vineberg: Implantation of the internal mammary artery into the left ventricle for relief of myocardial ischemia
