Tahoe Gynecology

11/10/2017

To request your medical records please call or fax (530) 587-4634

02/28/2015

Tahoe Gynecology and the OB/GYN Practice of Dr. Chris Richards is now closed. Thanks to all for 26 wonderful years!

If you want a copy of your Medical Records please fax or phone (530) 587-4634.

Extraordinary Gynecology

12/04/2014

Not surprising but not accepted in U.S.


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/british-regulator-urges-home-births-over-hospitals-for-uncomplicated-pregnancies.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

Women with uncomplicated pregnancies are better off with midwives, as hospitalization increased the chances of surgical intervention and infection, guidelines suggested.

05/01/2014

Here's reassuring evidence that seafood continues to be safe in terms of fish levels of radioactivity. Science=good. Rumor=bad.
Thanks to Gayleen Hays for the link.

http://news.msn.com/us/study-finds-fukushima-radioactivity-in-tuna-off-oregon-washington

PORTLAND Ore. (Reuters) - A sample of albacore tuna caught off the shores of Oregon and Washington state have small levels of radioactivity from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, researchers said on Tuesday.

04/28/2014

This woman had an abortion at 20 weeks because the baby had anomalies that were incompatible with life outside the womb. Of course it was devastating for her. But read how she's made the best of it for herself and for others.

http://www.upworthy.com/a-woman-wants-to-tell-you-the-5-most-surprising-things-about-her-abortion?c=ufb1

Such a loaded topic, I know. But this is so worth checking out.

04/28/2014

Almost twenty years ago, our hospital administrator surveyed the medical staff, asking "what innovations will change the practice of medicine in the next decade". I replied "we'll have a Star Trek-like, handheld, diagnostic scanner." Looks like I was off by more than 10 years. But here it comes.

http://www.upworthy.com/he-got-about-199-rejection-letters-and-1-maybe-but-still-managed-to-invent-something-amazing?c=ufb1

We've been diagnosing this disease ineffectively for decades. One teenager is working to change that.

04/25/2014

This article is not very well written and covers a topic that is not at all groundbreaking. However, the news of FDA clearance for use of this HPV test as primary screening of the cervix, instead of the Pap test generated a lot of media attention yesterday.

We've known for quite a few years that HPV testing would probably suplant the Pap test as a primary cervical screening tool. The approval for this use by the FDA is just a step along the way.

The testing algorithms have already been worked out. But one problem with this new test is its greater cost.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/25/business/alternative-to-pap-test-is-approved-by-fda.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

The Food and Drug Administration approved a new primary method for detecting cervical cancer developed by the pharmaceutical company Roche.

04/24/2014

Here's an accurate assessment and summary of the evidence that dietary fats are not the villains they were thought to be (unless you are referring to manufactured trans fats). No, you still shouldn't eat a high fat diet unless you are a polar bear. But some fats are actually good for you. Please read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/26/opinion/bittman-butter-is-back.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

The real villains in our diet are sugar and ultra-processed foods.

04/24/2014

This addresses a major aggravation: that science has to complete with deliberate mis-information in the way it is presented in media and by politicians.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/the-danger-of-giving-science-and-religion-equal-weight-on-birth-control-cases

When it comes to women’s health issues like contraception and abortion, why does the press so often present opinion and fact side by side? Recent pieces in Reuters,the New York Times and SCOTUSblog, to name just a few, made an attempt at “balance” by presenting what they see as “both sides of the is…

04/18/2014

Here's an update to this topic that I've previously posted.
It appears that the risk of an unrecognized cancer in uterine fibroids could be as high as 1:350. MUCH higher than previously estimated.
I think this changes my perspective on favoring Supracervical Laparoscopic Hysterectomy with the use of power morcellator to remove the tissue. Using a retreival bag to morcellate within is cumbersome though it should reduce the risk of inadvertant spread of cells. Theoretically, lleaving the cervix intact was supposed to leave s*xual sensation better preserved. If loss of sensation is a real effect of removal of the cervix, it appears to be only in a very small percentage of women.
The go-to alternative would be Laparoscopic Total Hysterectomy (remove uterus, tubes and cervix, but not ovaries necessarily) with extraction out the va**na. Even large uteri might be extracted in this way by cutting them into smaller fragments but only after they are delivered into the va**na i.e. outside the pelvic cavity.
Then there's alternatives to surgical treatment but those methods have their own risks.
We're left, as per usual, in a grey area, neither black nor white, of having to strategize the preferred method of releiving extreme symptoms on a case-by-case basis. Another excellent reason to partner with patients and empower them with understandable information so that they and I can arrive at a course of action.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/health/fda-tells-doctors-to-stop-procedure-used-to-remove-uterine-fibroids.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

The procedure, power morcellation, can spread cancer cells, the agency said. It is performed on tens of thousands of American women a year.

04/12/2014

http://www.wired.com/2013/11/bill-gates-bill-clinton-wired/

No matter what you think of either of these two based on their former careers, read this with an open mind. They are changing the world for the better and they each know a lot about how to do that. But more importantly they each have exceptional skills they are applying to global problems and engaging many others to make contributions of capital, know-how and intelligence to solve these problems.

You want a world-class conversation about the future of global health, the vanguard of philanthropy, and the divide between ignorance and data-driven knowledge? Bring in the Bills. Gates and Clinton, that is.

04/11/2014

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD2EooMhqRI

I think this is an important topic presented in a light, fun way. We can all learn more about good communication and this video is about a topic that's difficult for many of us i.e. s*xual communication. Laci Green here explains quite comprehensively what constitutes s*xual consent and she models examples of what good consent sounds like and what non-consent is like. She makes the point well that non-consensual s*x is assault

touch my bodaaaaah. or don't. either way it's cool cuz i respect u. let's be facebook friends! http://www.facebook.com/officiallacigreen twitter - http://www...