Dental Care
A GUIDE FOR PEOPLE WITH POLIO OR POST POLIO SYNDROME (PPS)Introduction“Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth”, wrote Pam Ayres in her famous poem. Good oral health and hygiene are not just about being...
View ArticleAnesthesia and colonoscopy
Selma H. Calmes MD, Retired Anesthesiologist Many polio patients fear anesthesia. Multiple surgeries in childhood were common for those who had polio and anesthesia care then was not as sophisticated...
View ArticleAnesthesia
Modern anesthesia has become extremely safe, but many survivors fear it because of reports of problems during and after anesthesia. Potential problems include a greater sensitivity to the paralyzing...
View ArticleFacing Surgery/Decreasing Fears
Mickie McGraw, Ventilator-Assisted Living, Volume 29, Number 4 Over the past ten years, I have faced several surgeries including gall bladder removal, a mastectomy and kidney stone removal. As a person...
View ArticleBreast Reduction Surgery?
Post-Polio Health, Volume 28, Number 3, Summer 2012 Ask Dr. Maynard Frederick M. Maynard, MDQuestion: I had polio in 1948, and I am now 65. Adapting was less difficult due to the helpful information...
View ArticleFrightened of Cortisone and Surgery
Post-Polio Health, Volume 29, Number 2, Spring 2013 Ask Dr. Maynard Frederick M. Maynard, MDQuestion: Several years ago my right ankle muscles gave out after a cortisone shot. I wear a brace to steady...
View ArticleRotator Cuff Surgery
Post-Polio Health, Volume 27, Number 3, Summer 2011 Ask Dr. Maynard Frederick M. Maynard, MDQuestion: I have a severe rotator cuff tear and an orthopedic surgeon has recommended a shoulder replacement...
View ArticleCortisone? Surgery?
Post-Polio Health, Volume 29, Number 2, Spring 2013 Ask Dr. Maynard Frederick M. Maynard, MDQuestion: Several years ago my right ankle muscles gave out after a cortisone shot. I wear a brace to steady...
View ArticleMore on the Mayo Clinic Study of Anesthesia in Post-Polio Patients
Selma H. Calmes, MD, anesthesiologist (retired), Olive View/UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, Californiaread more
View ArticleQuestion: What to do about a bursa?
In mid-August 2016, I bumped my right elbow on the bar of my wheelchair, and it hurt a lot for a few days. But it wasn’t till late September that I developed a bursa. The nurse practitioner at our...
View ArticleAnesthesia Specifics for PPS
Selma Calmes, MD, (ret) anesthesiologist1. Post-polio patients are nearly always very sensitive to sedative meds, and emergence can be prolonged. This is probably due to central neuronal changes,...
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