Grand Rounds, vol. 3 no. 22

Hi everyone, and welcome to Grand Rounds, vol. 3 no. 22.

The Oscars are this Sunday, and -- since I know we all look forward to this yearly 4-hour marathon of farcical self-absorption -- this edition of Grand Rounds will be themed according to movies nominated for awards this year.

However, I have been informed that a fair number of GR's readers are not from the US and are unfamiliar with our peculiar brand of navel gazing. Thus, let me summarize what happens during the Academy Awards:

-- The American public (and a fair number of other people) will participate in the World Cup of cattiness. Commentary on who looks like a tramp on the red carpet will flow freely.
-- Several awards will be handed out. These awards will not be based on merit. Rather names will be selected from a bingo drum by a trained chimp.
-- Women with BMIs of approximately 12 will wax poetic about how much they love their agent, but will forget to mention their Mom. Crying will ensue.
-- Some yo-yo who gets paid more per film than the gross national product of Paraguay will go on a huge rant about something not at all related to movie production, acting, etc. He or she will be removed bodily from the stage when the music interrupts them to signal that their ranting time is over.
-- The entire thing will take about a thousand years longer than necessary. Of course, they never give the award for Best Picture out until the end.
-- There is a reasonable possibility that the winners of all the awards this year will be British, making the Oscars a sorry repeat of the BAFTA.

That is pretty much it. I don't know why I watch it, but I just can't help myself.

Down to business. Posts for this edition have been grouped according to movie themes. The images are from those films nominated for Best Picture (click on them for information).

The Prestige -or- Tales O' the Surgeon

Surgeonsblog describes the feeling of performing liver surgery in -- let us say -- interesting terms.

Odysseys of George describes with a number of pictures a surgery for an umbilical hernia (this is not for the squeamish).

Inside Surgery gives step by step instructions for performing an above the knee amputation; hopefully this is not something you are trying at home. (Am I a horrible person for wanting to put that story under the movie heading Happy Feet? Yeah, I kind of am.)

The Prestige is up for awards in Cinematography and Art Direction.

The Pursuit of Happyness (Notes on Treatment are Included)

Henry's Webiocosm has a fabulous description of how to treat Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo with (no kidding) a claymation instructional video -- so awesome!

Cyndy King tells us about what support groups there are out there for individuals with cancer.

Deb Serani tells you how to diagnose Panic Disorder (and John Mayer).

Will Smith was nominated for Best Actor for his role in The Pursuit of Happyness.

Children of Men (or Rather Women)

Ken Troffater describes a moving story about a woman who gives birth to a baby with a genetic abnormality and how he helped her deal with that event.

Liana from Med Valley High contemplates including obstetrics in her family medicine practice in Canada.

ScienceRoll has an excellent summary of Pompe disease -- a glycogen storage disease that afflicts infants.

Children of Men is up for awards in Achievement in Cinematography, Achievement in Film Editing, and Adapted Screenplay.

Pan's Labyrinth (and Other Issues of Ethics)

Orac explores the inherent conflict between the desire of terminally ill patients to receive experimental drugs and the need of the FDA to ensure that those drugs are safe and effective.

Health Business Blog explores the absurdity of direct advertising to patients via free movies about diseases such as Crohn's (he has some interesting suggestions of his own for possible movie titles).

A pediatric oncologist at Blog, MD discusses becoming truly emotionally involved with his patients while he participated in a charity event.

Pan's Labyrinth is up for many awards among them Art Direction, Best Foreign Language Film, and Original Screenplay.

Monster House - or - In What Way Is Politics Not Like a House that Devours Children?

The Anxiety, Addiction and Depression Treatments blog charts the progress through the Senate of an expansion to the federal mental health parity law.

Monster House is up for Best Animated Feature Film.

The Illusionist -or- Physician/Scientists Correct Some Hooey

Doc Around the Clock discusses how changes in diagnosis standards may have contributed to the observed rise in autism.

Abel Pharmboy makes clear that Dichloroacetate is an unproven medication for cancer treatment.

Doc in the Machine gives some personal examples for how peer review can go horribly wrong.

The Illusionist was nominated for Achievement in Cinematography.

Babel (Hospital Politics and Misunderstandings)

Steve Pashley speculates about why managers and clinicians might be at odds in Britain's National Health Service.

Universal Health describes the horrible experience of apologizing for other people's poor treatment of a patient.

Emergiblog reminisces about how the old days were better in the ER -- sounds like it isn't just nostalgia too.

Babel has been nominated for many awards among them Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza), and Achievement in Directing.

Apocalypto (and Other Infectious Diseases)

Code Blog describes treating -- successfully -- a patient with tetanus.

Apocalypto has been nominated for Achievement in Makeup, Achievement in Sound Editing, Achievement in Sound Mixing.

Dreamgirls (As a Male Med Student Dreams Are As Close As You Get to Girls)

Vitum Medicinus describes a ride-along with a paramedic where he helps to resuscitate someone.

Dreamgirls is up for several awards among them Best Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy) and Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson).

So that is all my friends. I hope you enjoyed this edition. I am sorry that I couldn't put every post that was submitted in, but there were just too many.

Anyway, feel free to put your Academy Award predictions in the comments. For Best Picture I think The Departed should get it, but Babel will probably win.