Alteration vs. Conservation Defined in Medicine

[frankbmd]

In defense of my profession and the bad rap being given to doctors on Net54 in recent weeks, it seems appropriate to define alteration, restoration and conservation from a medical perspective. Feel free to comment or disagree with my rather arbitrary assertions:

1. Plastic Surgeon - a surgical specialty involved in the removal of wrinkles and creases surgically. By using augmentative or reductive procedures the overall shape of the client can be altered in ways that can be difficult to detect. Skin grating can be utilized to restore traumatic losses of skin to preserve function and improve appearance. These practitioners perform activities in all three categories.

2. General Surgeon - a surgical specialty involved with restoring individuals to original health by repairing organs (conservation) or removing diseased organs (alteration). The goal is to restore the client to their previous state of health before the problem (disease) began.

3. Ophthalmologist - a specialist devoted primarily to increasing primarily eye appeal and restoration of visual acuity. This of course may require insertion a foreign body (alteration) when dealing with cataracts.

4. Dermatologist - a specialist in the treatment and restoration of "surface" issues, whether by shaving, chemical peel or laser ablation. The goal here is often to improve the subject to a better state than their original "factory" condition.

5. Orthopedics - a surgical specialty that often splints "broken" clients with casting, whether with plastic, fiberglass or plaster. These techniques may be permanent or amenable to splint removal and repair using invasive techniques of anatomic alteration.

6. Liposuction - trimming plain and simple.

7. Radiologist - PSA screeners with access only to conventional X-rays who are denied utilization of CAT, MRI and the more advanced studies. Their hands are tied because they face a stack of films to read every day that is six feet high.

8. General Practice - Ted Z an older doctor with knowledge, but lacking corruptive influences.

9. Transplantation - Organ swapping or radical alteration.

10. Rehabilitative Medicine - Soaking and or pressing designed to restore the client to original functionality.

11. HMOs - Organizations similar to auction houses who lure clients into contracts for their loyalty by offering incentives (Registry, Marketplace, Vault, Tax avoidance), often with glitzy catalogs, but in reality offer a lower level of conservation for their clients, the result of which is higher cost and questionable integrity.

There are others of course such as obstetrics, where reprints are delivered and pathology which can result in criminal indictments. Feel free to comment or supplement these definitions.