Ear, nose, and throat surgeons to Obama: Sometimes the tonsils have to come out, champ

Ghoulish, unethical, profit-seeking quacks would say that, though, wouldn’t they?

Let’s see what they think once they’ve got a community organizer with four years of federal policy experience riding herd on them. There’s a new sheriff in town, bloodsuckers!

In reply, the AAO-HNS stated, “We, too, are in favor of evidence-based medicine that supports quality patient care. President Obama’s statement highlights the complexity of medical decisions like this. However, the AAO-HNS is disappointed by the President’s portrayal of the decision making processes by the physicians who perform these surgeries. In many cases, tonsillectomy may be a more effective treatment, and less costly, than prolonged or repeated treatments for an infected throat.

“For the past several years, the Academy has been developing clinical guidelines based on evidence and outcomes research, including ‘Quality of Life after Tonsillectomy,’ a January 2008 supplement to the journal Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery. We are in agreement with the President’s statement that physicians, patients, and hospitals should make the decisions, based on the evidence, about what’s best for patient care.”

If you missed Slublog’s post on this subject in this morning’s Greenroom, read it now. Evidently he and his wife have one of the precious few pediatricians in America who doesn’t remove organs unnecessarily to make an extra buck. Exit question: First doctors, then cops. Which indispensable profession will Barry impugn next? I’ll give odds on firefighters at 3-1, soldiers at 5-1, and teachers at 10-1 (only because of the union pressure).

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