Some people can feel drowsy or can’t concentrate days after an operation. While it’s easy to blame the anaesthetics, the real picture is usually more complicated.
A placebo is an important tool for finding out if a treatment works or not. A dummy pill is one thing, but is it right to perform placebo surgery on someone?
A common operation to treat vaginal prolapse using an artificially grafted mesh has women needing repeat surgery due to mesh exposure, and suffering from bladder injury and urinary incontinence.
Measuring certain kinds of brain activity may help doctors track and predict how patients will react to anaesthesia before going under for surgery, our research has found.
The science behind an Italian doctor’s plans to give a man a whole new body might be advanced, but philosophers have been asking what makes a person for centuries.
In a high-pressure surgical environment, where older male consultants dominate, and there is great competition for training positions and jobs, women are vulnerable to sexual harassment.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne