This Medical Life

In the 16th century, a curse was foretold about the Scottish MacCrimmon clan that they would cease to be the official (bag) pipers of the chiefs of the Clan MacLeod and would be forced to leave the Isle of Skye forever. The curse came true. The fingers of the men from the MacCrimmons clan became twisted and gnarled resembling a claw and they were unable to play the pipes. Throughout history, this disease has been known by many names: ‘MacCrimmons curse’, ‘Celtic Hand’ or the ‘Vikings disease’. While this is clearly a debilitating condition and many cultures believed it to be a curse, others associated it with divinity. In the 19th century, French surgeon Guillaume Dupuytren presented his now famous lecture at the Hotel Dieu where he showed 30-40 patients with what he called ‘rétraction permanente’ that that he had seen over 20 years and demonstrated successful surgery to manage it. Today we know this disease as Dupuytren contracture. Our special guests on this episode are: - Dr Paul van Minnen who is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon specialising in hand surgery and runs his own private practice ‘Grip surgery’ in Adelaide; and - Dr Sarah Shepard who is an Anatomical Pathologist at Clinpath Pathology who has specialised in bone and soft tissue pathology.Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While I amputated one man’s thigh, there lay at one time thirteen, all beseeching to be taken next… It was a strange thing to feel my clothes stiff with blood, and my arms powerless with the exertion of using the knife.” – Charles Bell, Surgeon at the Battle of Waterloo, 1815. Hippocrates said that ‘war is the only proper school for surgeons’ and, throughout history, we have become experts at battlefield medicine. From swords and spears to ballistic missiles and machine guns, the destructive power of our weapons has increased exponentially, but so has our ability to manage injuries and save lives that extend beyond the battlefield. Our special guest is Dr Dan Pronk who is a qualified General Practitioner, completed Australian SAS selection and worked with Special Forces in the Army where he served five years including four tours of Afghanistan and awarded a Commendation for Distinguished Services. He is the author of ‘Average 70kg D**khead’, ‘The Combat Doctor’, and ‘The Resilience Shield. This is the story of war and medicine.Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This Medical Life is a podcast for GPs, specialists, allied health professionals, and medical students but in this episode we share content related to the Australian Podcast Awards and talkback radio. Dr Travis Brown and Steve Davis are taking a short break so this episode is a little different. You might consider it an audio snack. It features two pieces of content. The first is the 15-minute submission created for the 2022 Australian Podcast Awards. The criteria state we could select snippets from up to five episodes, published in the previous 12 months, and compile them into one track of less than 15 minutes duration. If you have a colleague new to This Medical Life, the first half of this episode would be a good primer of the style and content we strive to produce. There is a video version of the submission at the bottom of the show notes page. The second part of this episode is of similar length, containing one of Dr Travis Brown’s regular interviews on Adelaide talkback station, FIVEaa. Host, Richard Pascoe, has Travis share some of the novel history and insights about diseases we cover on This Medical Life. What makes these interviews different is the fact that they’re for a popular audience, not our specialist, medical audience. We hope you enjoy hearing this act of outreach.Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Intestinal problems are as ancient as human’s themselves. However, the first case was only documented in the 18th century by a great Italian anatomist Giovanni Battista Morgagni, of a 20 year old man who had died with fever, abdominal pain, and bloody diarrhoea. The autopsy findings by Morgagni are consistent with what we know today as Inflammatory Bowel Disease. As time continued, so did our knowledge of these diseases. Today, Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis are as important as they are complex, and patients require complex multidisciplinary management and follow-up. That is why, for this episode, we have assembled an array of specialists to help GPs and patients in their journey. Our special guests include: Dr Vincent Ho Gastroenterologist, Senior lecturer at Western Sydney University (aka: the Gut Doctor – gutdr.com) Dr Scott Mackenzie Colorectal surgeon at Liverpool Hospital, Senior lecturer in surgery at Liverpool Hospital Dr Tristan D Rutland Pathologist, Senior lecturer at Western Sydney University This is the story of IBD.Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The sun has always been special to us. Most cultures, particularly in ancient times, worshipped it as a God to be feared. In modern society, we recognise both the potential life-affirming and life-dangers that the sun poses. In this episode, we focus on the beneficial side the sun provides to us via Vitamin D. We discuss the pros and cons of testing, treating, and managing Vitamin D in patients, and of particular concern is identifying those who are at a high risk of deficiency. Our special guest is Professor Ken Sikaris who is a chemical pathologist and Director of chemical pathology at Melbourne Pathology. This is the Story of Vitamin D.Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 19th century, a French doctor recognised a subset of patients with joint disease that didn’t fit the traditional diagnoses of gout or osteoarthritis. These patients were predominately female with affected hands and fingers, joint stiffness, and often had a low socioeconomic background (gout was traditionally associated with high socioeconomic status). Later, an English Physician noted an important distinction that these patients did not have elevated uric acid such as those with gout. This must be a different disease; he was right. It would be his son who took on this family interest and ultimately gave this disease the name we know it as today: Rheumatoid Arthritis. Our special guest for this episode is Dr Daman Langguth, an immunologist, Head of the Immunology Department at Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology and a member of the Australian Rheumatology Association. This is the story of Rheumatoid Arthritis.Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first ever recorded blood pressure was done by Stephen Hales in 1733 with a glass tube inserted into the artery of a horse. It would be well over a century for us to develop a non-invasive technique to measure blood pressure and another century to understand its significance. Today, hypertension is one of the most common conditions facing General Practitioners. However, in the pursuit of lower blood pressure, can we be causing unnecessary harm by overprescribing and/or increasing doses with little to no benefit? Is this a case where less is more (or preferable)? Our special guest is Professor Simon Dimmit who is a consultant physician in General and Cardiovascular Medicine. He is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Western Australia and an Adjunct Professor at the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle. This is the story of Hypertension.Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Streptococcus pyogenes is a critical micro-organism for every doctor to know about. It is a gram positive coccus that grows in chains and has the potential to cause significant morbidity and even mortality. It has taken us centuries to learn the significance of this infection and is a testament to modern day medicine that its complications are rare. This is the story of Streptococcus Pyogenes.Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marfan syndrome is a disease of connective tissue. Patients who have this condition often have a tall stature, long slender arms, legs and fingers but it is the connective tissue in and around organs that is the greatest risk. This is a genetic disease that was first recognised at the end of the 19th century and the gene responsible identified in the last few decades. Unfortunately, with the propensity for tall people, it may not be surprising that this condition has been unrecognised in some athletes with occasional tragic outcomes. Our special guest on this episode is Professor Graeme Suthers from Sonic Genetics Australia. This is the story of Marfan syndrome.Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are three known transmissible cancers in the mammalian world. Surprisingly, two of the three are found in Tasmanian Devils. They are called the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) and one Devil can pass this tumour to another Devil via direct contact. These DFTD’s have had a devastating impact on the Devils population and even threatened their survival. Over the last few decades, researchers have investigated these tumours and are learning how to tackle this problem. Our special guests for this episode include Dr Andrew Flies and Dr Ruth Pye from the Menzies Institute of Medical Research at the University of Tasmania. This is the story of transmissible cancer.Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.