How's that for click bait? Fake medical news is nothing new. In fact the "goat gland transplant procedure" is an actual claim “Dr.” John R. Brinkley made in the 1920s. At his hospital in Kansas he would have men choose a goat from his pasture and then would transplant the goat’s testicle into the man’s inner thigh. He also had a popular radio show where he dispensed medical advice and is credited with creating the first infomercial. The only problem was that he never went to medical school and his assertions were not backed by any scientific knowledge. His quackery was part of the impetus for the founding of the American Medical Association. When his radio show was banned by the FCC, he moved the tower to the Mexican side of the border and continued broadcasting into the US. Physicians' privileges are granted by society, and that honor should never be taken for granted or misused.

According to Mark Twain, "history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme". We should safeguard the sacredness of medical knowledge in this new era where facts are fluid and uncoupled from reality.

The entire story is humorously depicted in the documentary NUTS, available on Amazon Prime.

What’s old is new again. In the Medieval times leeches were used for bloodletting, to balance out the 4 humors (blood, phlegm, choler and black bile) and improve health. While the theory of bloodletting has gone out of favor due to it having no scientific basis, leeches are still used. Their main use is in finger reattachment surgery. When a finger is severed, and re-implanted, the arteries that go the finger are sewn back together, typically with the aid of a microscope. Veins can not be sewn back together so even though there is blood flow, there’ no way for the venous blood to exit the finger. Medical leeches can be attached to the finger with 2 goals. 1) to suck out the venous blood while the body forms new connections and 2) they secrete a mild anticoagulant to prevent the arterial blood from clotting. Thankfully, one company, BioPharm Leeches has been in business in 1812 and is available for all your blood letting needs. On an interesting note, baby leeches are raised on sheep's blood.

In the world of John Wick, the assassins have their own club where you can find them, but in London there’s a little known club, just as highly specialized, and similarly exclusive. This is where war correspondents, humanitarian workers and war surgeons hang out. It’s called the Frontline Club in Paddington. The clubhouse bar is cool, the guestrooms are affordable, and their lecture series is wonderfully thought-provoking. Interestingly, it is where Alexander Litvenenko spoke just before he was poisoned with polonium-210 and where Benazir Butto also spoke before she was assassinated. There’s even a mini museum with a collection from war zones. The most striking is a cell phone with a bullet, that was in a report’s pocket that saved their life. Notable members include Louis Theroux and Julian Assange, as well as a few Surgeons from the InterTrauma family.