What A Pity Common Sense Is So Uncommon

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

December 11, 1994

What does this troubled world need most at the end of 1994? We have escalating medical costs, patients dying for want of donor organs, children who never receive a simple vaccination and cancer victims dying in needless pain. I often ask myself what one ingredient could solve these problems. Invariably I reach the same conclusion. Our children face horrendous problems unless we start putting plain common sense into the Christmas stocking.

¡ This week, some medical examples of the lack of common sense. First, macho males are now succumbing to the theatrics of urological cosmetic surgeons. They are undergoing a penis lengthening operation! They would be wiser to seek psychiatric help.

¡ Dr. Melvyn Rosenstein, a Los Angeles urologist, claims to have carried out more than 2,000 of these procedures and currently has 28 clinics operating across the U.S.

¡ Now, his Men's Institute for Cosmetic Surgery, is to open in London, England. The British deserve better.

¡ Penis lengthening surgery involves making an incision above the penis and cutting the suspensory ligament from the pubic bone. It's like sawing halfway through a tree limb so it hangs a trifle lower. The penis root is then covered by skin from the front of the pubic bone.

¡ But that's not all! Dr. Rosenstein has one other trick up his sleeve. To thicken the penis he uses liposuction to obtain fatty tissue which he then injects into the shaft of the penis.

¡ The cost? It depends on whether you want the standard or the deluxe version! The basic cost is $4,725.00. Add the thickening technique and you reach into your pocket for $6,100.00.

¡ The operation requires about one hour. Dr. Rosenstein suggests another hour for recuperation and then you're free to go home. He leaves the rest to readers' imagination.

¡ British urologists are casting a jaundiced eye at this surgery. Dr. Clive Gingell, consultant urologist at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, describes the operation as "a surgical con trick". He claims the procedure will add one inch to the length of the penis.

¡ But there's another problem. The British medical establishment claims the injection of fat cells to cause enlargement won't last. They maintain the fat will be reabsorbed.‘ Maybe that will lead to another disease, "the shrinking penis syndrome". Not to mention the deflated ego when our macho male sees this happening week after week! Psychiatrists will have a field day.

¡ Women are not immune to medical follies. For years they've been allowing mostly male surgeons to implant a variety of foreign material into their breasts.

¡ I have great empathy for cancer victims who wish to restore their breasts by cosmetic surgery. Or patients who require artificial implants in order to function.

¡ For others it can be argued that if they want to use their own funds to simply have larger breasts, so be it. But if complications occur they should be willing to pay the price and not indulge in frivolous lawsuits. This increases insurance rates. Indirectly we all pay the price for their folly, which leaves fewer funds for needed care.

¡ The majority of women have been free of complications. But some now wish they had spent the money on a slow boat to China. Complications have left thousands of women worrying about their long©term health.

¡ Some experts believe breast implants can trigger rare connective©tissue diseases. However, a recent report from The Mayo Clinic throws doubt on the alleged association between this disease and silicone implants. No doubt this controversy will rage for years. ¡ One point is beyond dispute. The Almighty or the evolutionary process did not consider it prudent to place silicone in breasts. Good sense dictates that toying with nature by placing foreign materials in the body is bound to bring unexpected results to some.

¡ This Christmas let's add to the stocking the advice Lord Chesterfield gave to his son in 1748. He wrote, "Common sense (which, in truth is very uncommon) is the best sense I know of: abide by it, it will counsel you best".

¡ In addition stuff this advice in the stocking for politicians, doctors and lawyers; "One pound of learning requires 10 pounds of common sense to apply it".

¡ Next week, a happy Christmas story. Why thousands of people would not be enjoying the holiday season with family and friends if they had been born a few decades ago.

¡ But thanks to a discovery by Sandoz pharmaceutical researchers they're not only living and well, but will be journeying to Manchester, England next year for a unique event. It's the one place in the world where athletes on drugs will be welcomed with open arms. ‘

W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones

Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod