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The doctors with a cutting edge
Posted by healthbase under discectomy india, discectomy procedure, discounted health care, doctor meeting, doctor notes, doctor opinion, doctor reservations, Dr Vijay bose, health, healthbase, Hip Resurfacing patient experience, Hip Resurfacing rehabilitation, Hip Resurfacing Surgery, hip resurfacing surgery India, hip surgery, India, medical, medical care, medical care overseas, medical complications abroad, Medical Procedures, medical tourism expert, New Delhi, orthopedic surgery, pelvis fracture, shoulder joint surgery, shoulder replacement, spinal fusion India, spinal fusion procedure, spine fusion India, spine fusion surgery, superiorsuperior medical | Tags: doctor opinion, doctor-patient relationship, Dr Deepak Agrawal, Dr Vipul Gupta, Dr. Kaushal Malhan, Dr. Vijay C. Bose, eye doctor, healthbase, heart, neurosurgery, ophthalmic surgery, orthopaedic, reconstructive surgery, Shahin Nooreyezdan, spine surgeon, Sri Ganesh, Sunil Choudhary, surgical specialities, top ten surgeon, tourism |
Following is the top ten surgeon in India, in the five most common surgical specialities: heart, orthopaedic, neurosurgery, ophthalmic surgery and reconstructive surgery from HindustanTimes article.
Dr Vipul Gupta, 41, Head, Neuro-intervention, Medanta – The Medicity
Vipul Gupta watched his 33-year-old brother die of a malignant tumour in the brain eight years ago. "We knew it was hopeless but we went all the way. He was operated on thrice, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in India and Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. That's when I realised that even when the chips are down, the family does not give up, so you have to give it your best," says the Delhi-based Gupta. He's a little embarrassed about the emotional outpouring. "Surgeons can't be emotional, it won't help the patient on the table. You have to be calm and think clearly," he says. At 41, Gupta heads neuro-intervention at Medanta – the Medicity, where he moved after doing his MBBS from Delhi's Maulana Azad Medial College in 1996 and training in neuro-radiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for three years. "I'm out-doorsy and enjoy swimming, rafting and rock-climbing. I broke my knees twice in school. The operation and forced bed-rest for six months slowed me down, forcing me to study which helped me crack the MBBS easily," he laughs.
Dr Deepak Agrawal, 40, Associate professor, Neurosurgery, AIIMS
He's the guy at the frontier, treating accident victims at the AIIMS Trauma Centre, best known for treating some of the bloodiest and most bizarre accident cases in the country. "Most accident victims we get are people with severe head or spinal injuries that are often fatal. It does get you down, but nothing can beat the high of seeing a patient everyone including your colleagues had given up on, walk into your clinic for a follow-up. That's when you know that miracles do happen," says Dr Agrawal. Agrawal did his MBBS at the University College of Medical Science in 1994 – where he met his onco-surgeon wife Swati – and his training in neurosurgery at AIIMS. "My professional high was being awarded the 'Young Neurosurgeon of the Year' Award by the American Congress of Neurosurgeons in 2008. The personal one was my daughter Ayushi, who is five," he says. His father Dr Ved Prakash was also a neurosurgeon at AIIMS, so Agrawal's becoming a surgeon was almost pre-determined. "I like to catch up on my emails before breakfast, so I begin work at 5.30 am. I leave home at 7.30, doing rounds of the ward for three hours, which is followed by surgeries that usually go on till 7. Then come the evening rounds, which finish at 9 pm. Add to this administrative work, teaching and writing and correcting research papers, and my day never seems to end," says Agrawal.
Sri Ganesh, 44, Eye surgeon and chairman, Nethradhama Hospital, Bangalore
Bangalore residents are used to seeing Dr Sri Ganesh zooming down the streets to his farm on his Suzuki Intruder, which he exchanges for his Audi Q7 or BMW 5-Series when he visits the hospitals he set up. "Both my grandmas were blinded with cataract, one because of a botched up surgery. I think seeing them faltering around the house made me decide I wanted to do all I could to help people see," says the 44-year-old. Eye surgery techniques have become much safer now. "Back then, there were no intraocular lenses (artificial lenses put inside the eye in place of the natural ones) and the failure rate of a simple cataract surgery was 30 per cent, largely due to infection. Now, less than 0.1 per cent cataract and vision-correction surgeries have complications," he says. Sri Ganesh met his wife Sumanshree at a paratrooping camp in Agra. He was 17, she was 16. "Someone stole my things and she was very sweet," he says. They married six years later, in 1990, after Sri Ganesh did his MBBS. The couple have three children, Supriya, Sushant and Skanda. Apart from running six hospitals – four in Bangalore, one in Mysore and one in Mangalore – Sri Ganesh runs a 90-bedded charitable hospital in Padmanabhanagar that does 8,000 free cataract surgeries a year.
Dr Mahipal S Sachdev, 52, Centre for Sight Group of Hospitals
Mahipal S Sachdev, eye surgeon to the rich and powerful, never invests in anything but health. "My last investment was Harshad Mehta and I burnt my fingers there," says Dr Sachdev. His investments in healthcare – time, energy and money – have shown better results. Sachdev was told he was crazy when he quit as associate professor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to join the newly-opened Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Delhi in 1996. He was 37. The skeptics got it very, very wrong. Within 15 years of that, he's running 17 eye hospitals that have become one-stop shops for eye disorders in north India. A year-long fellowship to Georgetown University in Washington DC in '89-'90 opened his eyes, literally, to the technological imaging and surgical revolution happening in the field of ophthalmology. "I realised less invasive radical surgeries were the way forward, but I needed equipment and trained staff for that. I could not get that in a government set-up. So I set up my own centre, which started in a 8×10 foot room in Safdarjang Enclave in 1996, but we've grown a little since then," he says with obvious pride. Sachdev is arguably the best person to go to for cataract and lasik surgery in India. "This is all I want to do, medicine is in my genes. My mother and brother are doctors, so is my wife Alka and daughters Ritika, 29, and Gitansha, 25," says Sachdev. Sachdev also has an unexplored, fun side to him. "I did my MBBS from AIIMS, where I was the secretary of the students' union. We were the ones who threw open Pulse, the students' festival at AIIMS, to fashion, jam sessions and music. Before that, it was a sporting event. We made it socio-cultural," he says.
Sunil Choudhary, 42, Aesthetic and Reconstructive surgeon, Max Speciality Hospital, Delhi
Quite like modern day Dr Frankensteins, attaching a hand and replacing chopped fingers with toes is all in a day's work for reconstructive surgeons. Some, like Sunil Choudhary, who head the aesthetics and reconstruction at Max Speciality Hospital, start a conversation with, "Today, I attached two toes and one finger in the right hand of a 16-year-old who'd lost his fingers in a farming accident. He'll be able to write now". This is followed by an MMS of a surgery to fix a congenital defect in which a child's skull stops expanding naturally, squeezing the brain and making it bulge out of the forehead. Unlike popular perception, silicone implants and other cosmetic procedures make up less than a third of a cosmetic surgeon's case load. "A lot of what we do is related to reconstruction after cancer surgeries and accident cases, including burns and acid attacks," he explains. Choudhary grew up in Delhi, went to school in DPS RK Puram and did his MBBS from Maulana Azad Medical College, after which he joined the training programme of the UK's National Health Service.
Dr Shahin Nooreyezdan, 49, Plastic & reconstructive surgeon, Indraprastha Apollo
He insists on giving you a business card. "I'm the only one in the world with this name, so people often get it wrong," says Dr Shahin Nooreyezdan. There is, however, a little boy called Shahin Sharma, who was called Golu before his grateful parents renamed him after the surgeon who reattached his finger. "It was deeply touching, but also strange. I guess now there's another person in the world with a very unusual name," he says. Nooreyezdan grew up in Mumbai, where he lived with his parents in a flat above Russi J Manekshaw, the granddaddy of plastic surgery in India. "Each day, I'd walk past his door on my way home from school and pass this display box with before- and after-surgery pictures, which kept changing every week. I was hooked and decided this was what I wanted to do," says the Delhi-based Nooreyezdan. He moved to London in 1996, where he worked at St Andrew's Hospital for three years and met his wife Neda, a British citizen. "When we decided to move back and I went to the Indian High Commission for a visa for my wife, the clerk there said, why are you going? You have a great future here!" he laughs. Most of his work in India is reconstruction. "Unlike other surgeons who can walk in to do the critical part of the surgery, I have to be there from the first incision to the final stitch because what I do is for everyone to see," says Nooreyezdan, who gets women as young as 19 who need reconstruction after breast cancer surgery. The deft fingers that reconstruct tissues and reattach blood vessels 1.2-1.5 mm in diameter also help him pursue his hobby: collecting and repairing antique clocks. Nooreyezdan has a collection of over 125 pendulum clocks from all over the world, including grandfather clocks from the UK, clocks from ships and railway stations. "It started when I was 17, when I noticed an old, broken, clock at an Irani dhaba. I bought it for R170, got it home and fixed it. I still do it, though I have to pay a guy to wind them up in rotation once a week," he says. He clearly knows how to wind down.
Dr Vijay C Bose, 44, Head of orthopaedic surgery, Apollo Chennai
He was part of British orthopaedic surgeon Derek McMinn's crack team that developed the 'Birmingham Hip' – a hip implant that allows people to play contact sports and twist without shouting after a hip transplant – in the late '90s. Yet what gives Dr Vijay Bose the greatest joy is recognition from his peers. "Three weeks ago, a renowned joint replacement surgeon from the US got his son to our centre for surgery. He's one of the best in the world and could have done it himself, he could have got it done by the best in his own country, but he still came to India. That's the quality India offers to the world now," says Bose. Bose, who joined Apollo Hospital in Chennai in 2000 after six years in Birmingham and Liverpool in the UK, now routinely gets so many patients from overseas that he's became the face of medical tourism in India for 60 Minutes on CBS News. "I did the first implant in Apollo in 2000 and since then, I have demonstrated the technique across 80 hospitals in India," says Bose, who did his MBBS from Madras Medical College in 1990. Apart from hip replacement, he does knee and shoulder joint reconstructions.
Dr Suraj Guruv, 36, Orthopaedic surgeon, Asian Heart Institute, Mumbai
Dr Suraj Guruv's last holiday was spent shooting wildlife at Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, but he did not break any laws. Guruv is an amateur photographer and rarely leaves home without his Nikon Digital SLR. "I'm crazy about wildlife photography," he says. When he's not shooting, Guruv is fixing damaged hips and knees using minimally invasive bone-conserving surgeries in India that make it possible for people to run, drive and work just as they did before, after hip or knee replacements. Guruv is a Mumbai boy, who grew up in Prabhadevi, went to a neighbourhood school, did his MBBS at Mumbai's Topiwala National Medical College and worked in Bombay Hospital before going to train in Singapore General Hospital. "I belong to a family of chartered accountants, my dad is one, so is my older brother. So when dad said try something else, I thought, why not?" says Guruv, who aced his entrance exam. "Even though I don't invest in the markets, I still follow financial news very closely, perhaps because that's what I've grown up hearing," he says. He returned to India because he wanted to be part of the boom in medical care that India is witnessing. "We now have medical facilities at par with any other in the world, with better care," he says.
Dr Raja Joshi, 40 Paediatric cardiac surgeon, Apollo
He's called the 'bandana guy' because he wears a bandana instead of a surgical cap while operating. Apart from his training as a paediatric heart surgeon during a five-year stint at Cleveland Clinic in the US, what defines Raja Joshi is his bandana collection. "You have to strike a chord with the kids you're treating, and a bandana with Dalmatians on it sure helps to break the ice," says the Delhi-based Joshi who, at 36, became one of the youngest surgeons in the country to set up a paediatric cardiac surgery unit in a major hospital. "My dad was in the air force, I grew up wanting to be a fighter pilot. It was after my class 10 boards that my dad told me there were other ways to earn a living," he recalls. The idea of being a heart surgeon for children came a year later, after a Doordarshan show on a hole-in-the-heart being fixed. "It was so dramatic, the lights and the surgeons in scrubs, this child being immersed in ice to bring the body temperature down. Suddenly, that was the only thing I wanted to do," says Joshi. He's had no regrets. "It's one of the few surgeries where the patients outlive the surgeons. You won't believe the number of birthday invites I get. Anyone can do adult heart surgery, paediatric is what separates the boys from the men," said Joshi. His wife Reena Joshi, 36, is a paediatric anaesthetist who's helped him introduce innovations such as letting the mother stay with the child in the operation room till he sleeps. "Taking away a baby from the mother makes anxiety levels shoot up. Keeping them together till the baby is anaesthetised improves surgery outcomes," says Joshi.
Pranav Kandachar, 37, Paediatric heart surgeon, Asian Heart Institute, Mumbai
Heart surgery is one of the cleanest surgeries there is, it's like mathematics. The result is directly related to what you do, there are few surprises," says Pranav Kandachar, the newest heart surgeon to join Asian Heart Institute's team of surgeons. "Of course, there are some conditions in which you cannot play god, but in most cases, children can lead active, normal lives after surgery," he says. After doing his MBBS from Bangalore Medical College in 1997, Kandachar worked at Sion in Mumbai, Apollo Chennai and Colombo, did a year long stint in New Zealand, returned to Bangalore to work at Shirdi Sai Baba Charitable Hospital, and joined the Asian Heart Institute, Mumbai, in January this year. "When you're training, one institute can't offer you everything. I've trained with the best," he says. Kandachar describes himself as a nature kind of guy, being big time into hydroponics, a scientific method of growing plants in water – without soil – using mineral nutrient solutions. "I have a virtual vegetable garden in my little balcony, where I grow spinach, beans, cauliflower, coriander and mint. I'm planning to grow strawberries next," he says. He's also into ornithology and is part of a nature club that goes birdwatching to sanctuaries at least once a month.
Source: HindustanTimes, April 10
Urinary Incontinence Treatment and Medical Tourism
Posted by healthbase under healthbase, incontinence treatment, Medical Tourism, sling procedure, sling procedure abroad, treatment for incontinence, urinary incontinence, urinary incontinence treatment | Tags: cheap surgery, healthbase, incontinence specialists abroad, Medical Tourism, medical tourism for incontinence surgery, medical tourism India, medical tourism Mexico, medical tourism singapore, medical tourism Thailand, sling procedure, sling procedure abroad, surgery abroad, surgery overseas, urinary incontinence |
If you suffer from leaking bladder accidents when you cough or laugh or sneeze, or if you have the urge of going to the bathroom all the time, you are not alone. Millions of people across all ages, both genders and all races are affected by this common problem that is termed urinary incontinence (UI), a loss of bladder control. The good news is that the underlying medical condition causing urinary incontinence is almost always treatable and today it is possible to get affordable treatment overseas through medical tourism.
URINARY INCONTINENCE TYPES AND TREATMENTS
Though urinary incontinence can be classified into several types, its three main types are: stress, urge and overflow.
Stress incontinence occurs during certain activities like coughing, sneezing, laughing, or exercise, and is most commonly caused by weak pelvic floor muscles.
Urge incontinence or overactive incontinence involves a sudden urge to urinate followed by instant bladder contraction and involuntary loss of urine, and occurs regardless of the amount of urine that is in the bladder.
Overflow incontinence is the constant dribbling of urine usually associated with urinating frequently and in small amounts, and may be caused by weak bladder muscles or a blocked urethra.
Depending on the cause, type and severity of urinary incontinence as well as your lifestyle, treatment approaches available to you may include weight loss, exercises, medications, bladder retraining (timed voiding), biofeedback, electrical stimulation, and if all else fails, then surgery.
Medical tourism is the act of traveling from one city to another within your country (domestic medical tourism) or to another country by crossing international borders (overseas medical tourism) to obtain medical care that is either not available or not affordable at your local provider. The popularity of medical tourism is largely due to the availability of high quality care at a highly discounted price.
Healthcare providers participating in medical tourism boast of modern facilities with state-of-the-art equipments and technologies, and surgeons who are trained or educated in the US or Europe – all this at a cost that's 60% to 90% cheaper compared to typical US hospital rates.
SURGICAL TREATMENT OF INCONTINENCE ABROAD
Several procedures are offered abroad for the surgical treatment of all types of incontinence – stress, urge, overflow, mixed, etc.
For curing stress incontinence in women, sling procedures such as Tension-free transvaginal (TVT) sling, Transobturator tape (TOT) sling and Mini-sling procedure are available overseas. Another type of procedure for stress incontinence treatment offered abroad is bladder neck suspension procedure which includes Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz procedure (MMK procedure) or a variant of it called Burch procedure.
To treat severe urge incontinence, procedures offered overseas include augmentation cystoplasty or a newer procedure called sacral nerve stimulation.
For the treatment of urinary incontinence in men, some of the procedures available abroad include artificial urinary sphincter, male sling, and urinary diversion.
MEDICAL TOURISM DESTINATIONS FOR INCONTINENCE SURGERY
Some of the most popular countries that patients from the United States travel to for urinary incontinence procedures are Mexico, India, Singapore and Thailand.
Apart from the considerably lower cost of surgery, Mexico is preferred for another obvious reason – its close proximity to the United States. This means shorter travel times and more convenience for the medical tourist.
Singapore's high quality of care along with the large concentration of internationally accredited hospitals in the country play a major role in its demand in the medical tourism market for incontinence surgery. Furthermore, English being the official language of the country makes communication with your international provider easy.
But, if you want the best value for your money then India is the answer. The medical tourism hotspot offers prices on procedures that are unbeatable. For instance, a TVT or a TOT procedure, inclusive of the hospital charges and the doctor's fees, costs approximately USD2,500*.
Also note that urinary incontinence surgery abroad typically involves a 2-3 day stay at the hospital followed by a 3-6 day of recuperation or rehab at a nearby hotel before returning home.
So, if an incontinence surgery is what your local doctor has recommended and treatment abroad is what you wish to seek, then get your local doctor's report along with any and all reports of diagnostic tests and then call upon a reputed medical tourism company such as Healthbase for a consultation with an overseas incontinence specialist of your choice.
*Note: The price mentioned is for rough planning purposes only. The actual price charged may vary based on your specific medical condition, the provider chosen, currency fluctuations or for any other reason. Transportation, hotel accommodation and food are not included in the price.
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Singapore as a Medical Tourism Destination
Posted by healthbase under dental treatment in Singapore, healthbase, Medical Tourism, medical tourism singapore, surgery in Singapore | Tags: chemotherapy in Singapore, dental treatment in Singapore, dentists in Singapore, East Shore Hospital, Gleneagles Hospitals, hair transplant in Singapore, healthbase, healthcare service in Singapore, heart surgery in Singapore, hip replacement in Singapore, kidney transplant in Singapore, knee replacement in Singapore, liver transplant in Singapore, Medical Tourism, medical tourism in Singapore, Medical Travel, Mount Elizabeth Hospital, National Heart Centre, organ transplant in Singapore, Parkway Hospitals, radiation therapy in Singapore, Raffles Hospital, surgery in Singapore, Tan Tock Seng Hospital |
Host of the first ever Youth Olympic Games, the tiny island of Singapore is also famous for many more things big and small. Claiming to be Asia's leading medical hub, Singapore has long been the choice of destination for major medical care for patients from neighbouring countries viz., Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Middle East, Indochina, Greater China, and so on. Today, even Americans, Canadians and Europeans are choosing Singapore as a medical tourism destination for healthcare that is low, price-wise and just-like-the-West, quality-wise.
SINGAPORE'S HEALTH CARE DELIVERY
There are 15 hospitals and medical centers in Singapore that have obtained the united States-based Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation. That is a large concentration of JCI accredited hospitals in one country. A JCI accreditation gives the healthcare provider the top-quality label which in turn gives the patient the peace of mind that the service received will be on par with or superior to what is available in the United States.
To appeal to patients from Europe and other Asian nations, Singapore hospitals are also looking towards European and Asian-based hospital accreditation systems. This says a lot about the quality of healthcare delivery. Not just that, hospitals in Singapore have strategic partnerships with many acclaimed overseas institutes like Harvard Medical School. Such alliances give them access to the latest cutting-edge medical technology. Also, it is common for doctors and surgeons in Singapore hospitals to have an overseas education and training.
TOP SINGAPORE HOSPITALS AND COMMON PROCEDURES
Some of the most famous hospitals in Singapore are National Heart Centre (NHC) , Parkway Hospitals (including Mount Elizabeth Hospital , Gleneagles Hospital , East Shore Hospital ), Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), and Raffles Hospital . Some of the common medical procedures sought in these hospitals are cardiac bypass surgeries , joint replacement procedures , cosmetic or plastic surgeries , cancer therapies like chemotherapy and radiation therapy , and so on. Increasingly, Singapore is becoming popular as an organ transplantation destination as well. Patients visit Singapore from all over the world for transplant surgeries such as liver transplant , kidney transplant , and hair transplant .
There are also several dental offices island-wide that offer good dental services to foreigners for cheap. A lot of tourists coming into Singapore combine vacation with a health check (preventive and wellness checkups) on the side.
SINGAPORE'S USP IN THE MEDICAL TOURISM INDUSTRY
Things that set Singapore apart from others vying for business in the medical tourism industry are:
Prosperous country: Unlike other medical tourism destinations in the world that are mostly developing countries, Singapore stands out as one of the most prosperous nations in the world with a per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
Cosmopolitan image: About a quarter of the population is composed of residents from foreign nations making the country culturally diverse. Sensitivity and respect towards people from other cultures, ethnicities and religions is, therefore, at the heart of the society. For international patients seeking medical treatment in Singapore, this is a big plus.
High service standards: High service standards in all sectors of the economy, and not just in the health care sector, give Singapore a significant advantage in the medical tourism industry.
English as an official language: You will not have to worry about learning another language or bother with interpreters because English is the most commonly spoken language in the country.
Tourism: Medical tourists traveling to Singapore often visit the several tourist attractions the country offers. In fact, tourism in Singapore is a major industry and attracts millions of tourists each year. From cultural attractions to natural and heritage conservation sites, and from adventurous activities to relaxation retreats, Singapore caters to every type of tourist.
Singapore may not be the cheapest option available to you in terms of health care but with a price differential of 60-80% (compared to US hospital rates) on major medical care, the cost savings still amount to a lot. High quality of care offered in modern facilities using state-of-the-art technology and equipments makes Singapore a top medical tourism hub.
So, if you need top class medical care but do not have the means to pay for it then get your local doctor's reports together and call upon a reputed medical tourism facilitator such as Healthbase for affordable treatment in Singapore.
Ecotourism Combines with Medical Tourism in Costa Rica
Posted by healthbase under CIMA Hospital, healthbase, Hospital Clinica Biblica, JCI, Joint Commission International, Medical Tourism, surgery in Costa Rica | Tags: affordable healthcare, CIMA Hospital, colonoscopy Costa Rica, dental treatment in Costa Rica, dentists in Costa Rica, ecotourism Costa Rica, health care in Costa Rica, healthbase, Hospital Clinica Biblica, hysterectomy Costa Rica, Medical Tourism, Medical Travel, surgery in Costa Rica |
A surgery coupled with a zip-line flight above a rainforest is probably one of the weirdest adventures you have heard of. But that is what some tourists – medical tourists – traveling to Costa Rica are doing – taking advantage of both the fun part and the not-so-fun medical part – both at an affordable price.
You may have heard about ecotourism. That is what Costa Rica is most famous for. National parks, protected areas, forest reserves, cultural heritage, and flora and fauna untouched by human intervention are what you get to experience when you travel to this most visited nation in the region. But, did you know that Costa Rica is also one of the highly sought-after medical tourism destinations in the world?
WHAT TREATMENTS TO SEEK?
Low-cost high-quality medical care in this exotic country is the reason why patients don't mind flying to Costa Rica. Former FOX 2 meteorologist from Michigan, Chris Edwards, can vouch for that. He took a trip to Costa Rica for a colonoscopy and some long-wanted dental work. So can Wanda Bough from Kansas, who had a hysterectomy procedure in Costa Rica and saved $23,000. Colonoscopy is a screening of the colon and rectum – the two main parts of the large intestine – to look for inflamed tissue, ulcers, and abnormal growths. Hysterectomy is a surgical removal of the uterus.
Be it cosmetic or plastic surgery ; or LASIK or dental treatments ; or the feel-good wellness treatments and preventive check-ups; or the more serious ones like bariatric , orthopedic and cardiac care ; international patients choose Costa Rica for all sorts of medical services .
WHAT ABOUT QUALITY?
As our medical tourists Chris and Wanda affirm, the service afforded is warm, personalized and above all top-notch in quality. Hospital Clinica Biblica and CIMA Hospital , for example, are both Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited.
What it means to you as a patient is that the same quality of health care that you receive in the USA can be expected at these hospitals in Costa Rica. The Joint Commission International (the international subsidiary of The Joint Commission that accredits US hospitals) is a non-governmental organization with head offices in the United States of America awarding accreditation to health centers around the world in accordance with the most selective international standards and thus ensuring patients will receive superior quality hospital service.
Wanda, who is a registered nurse, understands it very well as she explains in her statement, "I know how hard it is for us to pass certification visits [at our hospital in the US]." She was so impressed by her hospital in Costa Rica, she said, "You could eat off the floors there. The hospitals were spotless."
WHY COSTA RICAN HEALTHCARE SELLS?
But most of all, why Costa Rican medical care sells is because it is cheap.
$350 is all Chris paid for a colonoscopy in the capital city of San Jose. In his research, doctors in the United States had asked for anywhere between $3,250 and $9,000. Some studies show hospital costs alone to be $1,400 to $3,500 in the US. After tagging on the doctor fees, anesthesiologist fees and lab costs, the cost for a colonoscopy in the United States can be overwhelmingly high especially if you are uninsured or if the test is not covered by your insurance plan. Chris carried a health insurance plan with high deductibles so he figured the medical tourism road would be the most economical even with travel and lodging costs added on. And while he was there he also had extensive dental work done which he says cost him a third of what he thinks he would have paid in the US.
BUYERS BEWARE!
However, here is a word of caution. As with any country in the world, it is true that there are both good and poor providers in Costa Rica as well. So we recommend you do your homework well or engage a specialized medical tourism facilitator. Wanda and Chris are glad they chose the US-based Healthbase to connect them to medical and dental facilities in Costa Rica and also so they could benefit from the various concierge services offered by the company.
If you are an eco-tourist looking for affordable medical attention, then Costa Rica is a perfect destination for you. The beautiful surroundings you will get for recuperation will be an added bonus. Just remember to do your due diligence or simply hire a medical travel agent like Healthbase to save you the headache. Also, when you are in Costa Rica remember to make a bird-watching stop because the country is home to 800 species of them!
Artificial Disc Replacement Surgery with Medical Tourism
Posted by healthbase under ADR surgery, artificial disc replacement, artificial disk replacement, Medical Tourism, spine surgery india | Tags: ADR surgery, ADR surgery India, artificial disc replacement surgery, artificial disc replacement surgery India, cheap spine surgery, cheap surgery, healthbase, Medical Tourism, Medical Travel, spine centers abroad, spine hospitals abroad, spine surgeon, spine surgeons abroad, spine surgery, spine surgery India, surgery abroad, surgery overseas, top spine centers |
If you are suffering from chronic disabling neck or lower back pain and have been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease then artificial disc replacement might offer a surgical solution to curing your debilitating pain. And if you do not have health coverage to pay for this procedure, then surgery abroad might be an option for you.
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL DISC REPLACEMENT?
The Internet is loaded with information on this subject so we are not going to go deep into explaining what it is and what kind of problems it can solve. If you were to ask one of our spine surgeons on the Healthbase website , however, then you would find out whether or not ADR is a good option for you. Until then here is a gist of the main points related to the surgery.
Artificial disc replacement or ADR is a treatment for patients with severe degenerative disc disease (DDD) which is a condition that can occur in the neck or low back and cause significant pain. ADR or artificial disc replacement surgery removes the affected spinal disc (the cushion that separates your spinal bones or vertebrae and helps protect your spinal column) and replaces it with artificial parts. It's much like a hip replacement or a knee replacement surgery that replaces the worn out parts with prosthetic implants. The disk replacement surgery which is normally done through the abdomen aims to give flexibility and normal motion to the diseased spinal segment.
If the surgery is being done to treat neck pain and associated problems then it is called a cervical artificial disc replacement surgery. If, on the other hand, the surgery is to treat problems in the lower back, it is called lumbar artificial disc replacement surgery.
So that's that about ADR for now.
GETTING THE ARTIFICIAL DISC REPLACEMENT SURGERY
What is important next is where to get this surgery. We think we might be able to shed some light on that part and how to do so without going broke. Affordable artificial disc replacement spine surgery is possible due to what is known as medical tourism . If you are one of the more than 47 million uninsured Americans, have a chronic disabling back pain and are a candidate for ADR surgery then you really want to continue reading.
Today's patient is a global patient. You possibly know someone who has gone to another city or country for medical or dental care. Until recently, the types of care sought abroad have been limited to such treatments as cheap dental implants in Mexico or a face lift in Brazil . But that has changed over the last five years or so. Shopping for major medical care overseas has become a norm these days.
Yet, hopping on a flight abroad is probably the last thing you would want to do if you were suffering from chronic back pain. However, if doing so relieved you of your spinal problems without much affecting your bank balance, you might not find it as abhorrent an idea. Just for comparison purposes, expect to pay only about 20% to 40% of US hospital rates.
We do not need to delve into how the quality of care offered overseas is state-of-the-art, and is tried and tested as you can read all about that on the Healthbase website. But it is safe to keep in mind that just like in the US, there are good and not-so-good quality hospitals and doctors abroad as well. Here are a few suggestions for you if you were considering the medical tourism path of healing.
Outside of the United States, countries boasting some of the top spine centers in the world are India, Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Singapore and Turkey. Some of the more well-known spine hospitals in these countries are Apollo Hospitals, Fortis Healthcare (Wockhardt Hospitals), Barcelona Spine Center, Hospital Clinica Biblica, Parkway Hospitals, Anadolu Medical Center, etc.
Here are 5 things you must know about ADR surgery:
1. It is a treatment for degenerative disc disease of the spine and is an alternative to spinal fusion surgery.
2. Lumbar disc replacement is more challenging to perform than cervical ADR.
3. If cost is a concern, then you should consider medical tourism as a practical solution to cost-effective spine surgeries.
4. Some of the top spine hospitals in the world are in India, Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Singapore and Turkey.
5. If medical tourism seems like an uncharted territory to you, you wish to save time and you do not want to end up in a mediocre facility then engage the services of a specialized medical travel facilitator like Healthbase that can connect you with an overseas provider while also extending several other valuable concierge services.
Talk to a spine surgeon abroad for FREE
Medical Tourism in India for Hip Resurfacing Surgery
Posted by healthbase under health care abroad, Hip Replacement, Hip Resurfacing, Hip Resurfacing Abroad, Hip Resurfacing India, Hip Resurfacing Overseas, Hip Resurfacing patient experience, Hip Resurfacing Surgery, hip resurfacing surgery India, hip surgeon, hip surgery, Medical Tourism, Medical Travel, total hip replacement, Wockhardt Hospitals | Tags: abroad, Canada, health care, health care provider, healthbase, hip resurfacing abroad, hip resurfacing India, hip resurfacing overseas, hip resurfacing procedure, Hip Resurfacing Surgery, hip resurfacing surgery India, hip surgeon, hip surgery, India, medical care, Medical Tourism, medical tourism facilitator, Medical Travel, surgery abroad, surgery overseas, total hip replacement, UK, US, USA, Wockhardt Hospitals |
If you have heard of medical tourism then you know it is the phenomenon that can buy you top-notch medical care at rock bottom prices with virtually zero waiting times. And you are probably also aware that India is one of the most popular medical travel destinations. What is great about India is you can get not only high quality care for low price but also certain unique treatments that not many other nations in the world offer, especially if you also factor in the unbeatable price. In the article below we talk about hip resurfacing surgery in India – a unique medical breakthrough technique for the treatment of hip pathology.
THE NEED FOR HIP RESURFACING
Your hip is a ball and socket joint. Both the ball and socket are covered by a protective layer of cartilage which makes the joint smooth and hip movements swift.
Any condition that damages this cartilage leads to pain, dysfunction and eventually arthritis. Injury, infection, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and bone dysplasias are some reasons that can cause damage to this cartilage thereby necessitating a hip resurfacing surgery.
Traditionally, such issues have been addressed by a total hip replacement (THR) which is a surgery to replace the hip joint by a prosthetic implant. A THR removes part of your healthy bone so the implant can be fixed deeply into the femoral bone. Patients also have certain movement restrictions following a THR surgery.
By contrast, resurfacing, which is a less invasive bone-preserving technology, replaces only the worn, diseased and damaged surfaces of the hip joint, and places an all-metal "ball and socket" implant in the hip joint. Resurfacing allows return to normal and sporting activities post-surgery, reduces the risk of dislocation and makes revision easy (if at all needed).
These reasons make hip resurfacing more favourable over hip replacement in certain specific cases. The anatomy and bio-mechanics after resurfacing mimic a normal hip very closely making it an ideal choice for young or more active patients with non-inflammatory degenerative hip joint disease.
HOW IS A HIP RESURFACING SURGERY PERFORMED?
Birmingham hip resurfacing implant (Image source: Smith & Nephew)
After separating the femur or thigh bone from the hip socket, your surgeon reshapes the head of the femur. Next, the diseased bone and cartilage are removed from the hip socket.
Then, the implant, which comprises of two parts – the metal shell component for the hip socket, and the metal ball component with a short stem for the thigh bone, is placed.
First, the metal shell implant is firmly pressed onto the hip socket. After this the surgeon drills a hole in the femur (so the stem of the femur implant can be fitted into it), fills the metal ball component with bone cement, and fits the ball on top of the thigh bone with its stem into the drilled hole.
Finally, the femur with its new metal head and the hip socket with its new metal shell are put together to form a new resurfaced ball and socket hip joint that looks and functions like a normal hip.
HIP RESUFACING SURGERY AND INDIA
In India, hip surgeons have been practicing the hip resurfacing procedure for over a decade while orthopaedic surgeons in most of the rest of the world are still new to this procedure.
In the United States, for instance, where this procedure is still not commonly performed, FDA approved the first hip resurfacing system only in 2006. It is no wonder then that surgeons in India are much more experienced in this procedure than their counterparts in America.
Today, the majority of hip resurfacing operations are performed in India on Indian as well as foreign patients. Each year thousands of hip resurfacing medical tourists from all across the globe head to India to not only be in safe hands but also enjoy a tremendous amount of savings.
You can find top hip resurfacing hospitals in India that are Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited. Additionally, several of the best Indian orthopaedic doctors are also either educated or trained internationally.
Taj Mahal, India
Hip resurfacing costs about USD8000 in India . This is so less compared to what U.S. hospitals charge for the same kind of service and quality that you can bring a companion along, spend on sightseeing and still save thousands of dollars.
OVERSEAS PATIENT TO INDIA FOR HIP RESURFACING
Richard, who hails from California, USA, had been suffering from osteoarthritis in his hips for a long time but was unable to get surgery in the United States, earlier because of unavailability of the procedure in the country and later because of the extravagant price tag it came at.
Facilitated by Healthbase, Richard had both his hips resurfaced through bilateral hip resurfacing surgery at Wockhardt Hospitals (now Fortis Hospital) in Mumbai, India, 3 years ago.
Richard after his surgery in India (Image source: Healthbase Online Inc., http://www.healthbase.com)
Being an avid sportsperson that he was, barely 12 weeks after his hip surgeries, Richard returned to snorkelling in the sunny Southern Californian beaches. In the past, Richard had problems walking from his car to his front door.
MEDICAL TRAVEL TIPS FOR HIP RESURFACING PATIENTS
Here are the top 5 things every medical tourist needs to do or remember for a successful medical travel trip:
Verify the credentials of the foreign doctor treating you.
Don't let cost be the driving factor; focus on quality.
Keep your local doctor in the loop.
Don't keep your trip too short; allow time for recuperation as well as sightseeing.
Engage the services of a medical travel facilitator like Healthbase. These are specialized medical travel agents that connect you with the hospital of your choice while providing all or some other valuable concierge services like detailed information about various procedures, detailed hospital profiles and surgeon profiles, medical records transfer, free surgery quote, pre- and post-consultation with the overseas hospital, feedback and testimonials from previous patients, medical and dental loan financing, passport and visa acquisition, airport pick-up and drop-off, hospital escort, tickets, travel insurance, hotel booking, sightseeing services in the destination country, etc.


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Opinion editorial
Nigeria: Niger Delta rebel camp busted
Codewit Correspondent November 22, 2010
The Nigerian army has arrested a rebel gang leader and more than 50 of his followers believed to be behind the kidnapping of 19 people in the oil-producing Niger Delta.
The military said Obese Kuna and his gang had been detained after a shootout in an operation that lasted eight hours when its troops encircled a camp in southern Nigeria's main oil producing region on Friday.
"The military has him and 51 of his boys and is presently transferring the criminals to Port Harcourt in military-escorted gunboats," Timothy Antigha, a spokesman for the military taskforce which polices the Niger Delta, said.
The hostages, two Americans, two Frenchmen, two Indonesians, one Canadian and 12 Nigerians, were freed late on Wednesday after being held by Kuna at a camp in Rivers state.
Military crackdown
The armed forces have said they have taken over several rebel camps in the Niger Delta, the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry, and that they will carry out more raids to capture gang members.
Mend is believed to have splintered,
particularly over the amnesty [EPA]
Unrest in the Niger delta risks undermining the credibility of Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria's president, in the run-up to elections next April. Jonathan is the first head of state from the oil region and brokered an amnesty with rebels last year.
Key field commanders of the main rebel group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), which claims to be fighting for a fairer distribution of oil revenue, accepted the amnesty.
However, many observers say the amnesty has failed to address underlying issues of poverty and unemployment in the Niger Delta. Rebel leaders given stipends in exchange for turning in their weapons would eventually be replaced by others, they warned.
Mend divisions
Patrick Wilmot, a political commentator on African affairs, told Al Jazeera that while some within Mend accepted the amnesty "in good faith", others wanted to continue with "their kidnapping and gun-running".
"The militants now are divided and split, some have accepted the government's offer of amnesty, others said they did but they were secretly organising the rearmament of the movement in their camps."
But the rebels were always factionalised and new leaders have started to emerge, including Obese, a former Dagogo gang member. The military wants to ensure such figures cannot gain a foothold by re-establishing camps in the creeks.
Mend also claimed in a statement on Friday that its fighters had ambushed a convoy of Nigerian army gunboats and killed a number of soldiers, but Antigha said he was not aware of such an attack.
Previous campaigns by Mend fighters have cost Nigeria's oil production, currently averaging around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd), as much as $1bn a month in lost revenues.
Mend has threatened further attacks but security experts believe a repeat of such a devastating level of unrest is unlikely at this stage, the amnesty and the arrest of several key rebel leaders having damaged the group.
It remains impossible to guard oil facilities fully against sabotage and piracy.
Oil infrastructure in the delta, a network of thousands of shallow creeks opening into the Gulf of Guinea, is extremely exposed with thousands of kilometres of pipeline passing through remote terrain.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Codewit Correspondent
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1Geology
3Biodiversity
Crocker Mountains
(Redirected from Crocker Range)
Crocker Mountains as seen from Ranau–Tamparuli Road.
Mount Kinabalu
4,095 m (13,435 ft)
5°45′N 116°30′E / 5.750°N 116.500°E / 5.750; 116.500Coordinates: 5°45′N 116°30′E / 5.750°N 116.500°E / 5.750; 116.500
Native name
Banjaran Crocker (Malay)
Map showing location of Crocker Mountain range within Malaysia.
West Coast Division
Beaufort, Keningau, Papar, Penampang, Ranau, Tambunan, Tenom and Tuaran
Crocker Mountains (Malay: Banjaran Crocker) is a mountain range in West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia that separates the west and east coast of Sabah. At an average height of 1,800 metres (5,906 ft), it is the highest mountain range in the state named after the British administrator in North Borneo, William Maunder Crocker.[1][2][3]
Geology[edit]
The mountain range is made up of uplifted and folded sedimentary rocks consisted of weathered soft sandstones and shales.[4][5] The highest point is Mount Kinabalu at 4,095 metres (13,435 ft) .[6][7] Most of the park boundary lies above 300 metres (984 ft) with its lowlands used for cash crops and paddy field.[7] On the eastern side of the mountain range resides the Tambunan Valley at 800 metres (2,625 ft) which are mainly terraced paddy fields and groves of bamboos border the north-eastern part of the protected park.[7] The park area is important as a water catchment to supply water into various river in the west coast and interior districts of Sabah including Papar River, Kimanis River, Bongawan River, Membakut River, Padas River and Melalap River that flow west to the park while the Pegalan River, Pampang River, Apin-Apin River, Tendulu River, Melalap River, Liawan River and Tikalod River flow the opposite direction.[7]
The area surrounding Mount Kinabalu has been a state park since 1964 and was the country's first World Heritage Site.[8] Part of the mountain range has been gazetted for protection as Crocker Mountains National Park since 1984.[9] Through the Bornean Biodiversity and Ecosystems Conservation Programme (BBEC), a technical co-operation existed between the government of Sabah and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to innovate Community Use Zone (CUZ) concept as a management option to address the issues concerning indigenous communities living and utilising resources within the protected areas.[10] Mount Kinabalu, one of the highest mountains in Southeast Asia, is a part of this mountain range. In 2014, the range was recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, becoming the second Malaysian site to be designated, after Chini Lake in the Malay Peninsula of Pahang.[11][12][13]
Biodiversity[edit]
The Crocker Mountains Forest Reserve area has a wide range of flora and fauna diversity and having the highest diversity of nocturnal insects in all the 20 forest reserves surveyed within the Heart of Borneo area in Sabah and recorded a number of endemic species.[14][15][16]
Map of the mountain range.
The mountain range shrouded by natural fog.
The mountain range as seen from Ranau District.
View of the mountain range from Ranau–Tamparuli Road.
The mountain range as seen from Ling San Pagoda in Tuaran District.
^ James Blaine Kitzmiller (1982). Anopheline Names: Their Derivations and Histories. Entomological Society of America. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-938522-17-1.
^ Frederick Halsey Sheldon; Robert G. Moyle; Jody Kennard (2001). Ornithology of Sabah: history, gazetteer, annotated checklist, and bibliography. American Ornithologists' Union. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-891276-24-8.
^ Frédéric Durand; Richard Curtis (28 February 2014). Maps of Malaysia and Borneo: Discovery, Statehood and Progress. Editions Didier Millet. p. 180. ISBN 978-967-10617-3-2.
^ F. Tongkul; H. Benedick; F. K. Chang (2006). "Geology of slopes in the Crocker Mountains, Sabah, Malaysia" (PDF). Nepal Geological Society. 34 (34): 73–80. doi:10.3126/jngs.v34i0.31881. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019 – via Geology Program, School of Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
^ Muhammad Aqeel Ashraf; Radziah Othman; Che Fauziah Ishak (22 September 2017). Soils of Malaysia. CRC Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-351-99857-4.
^ "Class VI Virgin Jungle Reserve (VJR) [Infrastructure]". Government of Sabah. 2 April 2005. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
^ a b c d "Crocker Mountains [Data Zone MY020]". BirdLife International. 2003. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
^ Yassin Miki; Daring Laban; Nasrulhakim Maidin; Tengku Zainal Adlin; Maklarin Lakim (19 November 2014). "Crocker Mountains Park: Community Use Zone (CUZ)" (PDF). Sabah Parks: 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via Satoyama Initiative, Ministry of the Environment (Japan).
^ "Protected Areas of Sabah". Sabah Parks. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
^ Ludi Apin; Yassin Miki (15 November 2013). "Community Use Zone of Crocker Mountains National Park, Sabah, Malaysia" (PDF). Sabah Parks. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via Ministry of the Environment (Japan).
^ "Sabah's Crocker Mountains recognised as biosphere reserve by Unesco". Bernama. The Malay Mail. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
^ Muguntan Vanar (17 June 2014). "Sabah's Crocker Mountains approved as biosphere reserve under Unesco". The Star. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
^ "Crocker Mountains". Man and the Biosphere Programme, UNESCO. 2014. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
^ Cite error: The named reference Crocker Moutanins data was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Arthur Y. C. Chung; Steven Bosuang; Richard Majapun; Reuben Nilus (15 October 2016). "Diversity and Geographical Ranges of Insects in Crocker Mountains Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia". Journal of Tropical Biology & Conservation. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
^ Monica Suleiman; Dunstan Polus Masundang; Hiroyuki Akiyama (11 October 2017). "The Mosses of Crocker Mountains Park, Malaysian Borneo". PhytoKeys (88): 71–107. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.88.14674. PMC 5672137. PMID 29118647.
Media related to Crocker Mountain Range at Wikimedia Commons
Physical geography of Sabah
Coastal features
Agal
Cowie
Darvel
Kimanis
Labuk
Marudu
Padas
Paitan
Sepanggar
Schomburgk
Tambak
Tip of Borneo
List of islands
disputed Spratly Islands
Mantanani
Peninjau
Siput
Bengkoka
Karambunai
Klias
Semporna
Balabac
Interior and water features
Agop Batu Tulug
Gomantong
Alab
Danum
Kaingaran
Lumarku
Silam
Tambuyukon
Trusmadi
Mountain ranges
Main rivers
Kinabatangan
Kolopis
Tuaran
Kibunut
Liwagu
Pegalan
Kundasang
Volcanic fields
Bombalai
Kadamaian
Maliau
Takob Akob
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crocker_Mountains&oldid=1131654201"
Crocker Range
Mountain ranges of Malaysia
Landforms of Sabah
Biosphere reserves of Malaysia
Pages with broken reference names
EngvarB from May 2019
Use dmy dates from May 2019
Articles containing Malay (macrolanguage)-language text


Hong Kong's gubernatorial elections are expected to be the most open in a decade after public outrage over political meddling drove the legislature to reform the system last month.
Up for grabs is the right to stand for office and to hold the job of governor after outgoing chief executive Leung Chun-ying announced he would resign at the end of the year. He said he would keep his current role as Hong Kong's security chief until a successor has been elected.
The longtime former policeman made his plans known after lawmakers voted against forming a panel to vet candidates for the top job.
The move — following long-standing worries that Beijing is encroaching on local autonomy — was praised by critics who accused the Beijing-backed government of scaremongering and interference. Beijing's move had been widely criticized as the latest in a string of reforms that have entrenched the autonomy of the semiautonomous region.
Some new laws and measures also include political exclusion for those standing for the nomination committee that chooses the two-year-term gubernatorial candidates. A Hong Kong lawmaker had proposed the measure that earned widespread support when it was approved.
Prime Minister Li Keqiang said the reforms would help clarify Hong Kong's current political situation, according to Xinhua, the state news agency.
Polling stations opened Thursday, with counting expected in the middle of the next week. The nine-member committee will screen all candidates and require them to keep the oath of office in a written form.
Hong Kongers can vote for candidates on the island of Sanya with the island of Zhuhai in China. Ballots are not only paper but can be read on special mobile devices, as well as in public spaces, according to the local elections bureau.
Associated Press writer Didi Tang contributed to this report.
Categories sport Tags boxing, nobel prizes, showtime
What do celebs and scientists think about Christmas parties?


2.2. An HTTP Transaction
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is used to fetch most documents on the Web. It is formally specified in RFC 2616, but this section explains everything you need to know to use LWP.
HTTP is a server/client protocol: the server has the file, and the client wants it. In regular web surfing, the client is a web browser such as Mozilla or Internet Explorer. The URL for a document identifies the server, which the browser contacts and requests the document from. The server returns either in error ("file not found") or success (in which case the document is attached).
Example 2-1 contains a sample request from a client.
Example 2-1. An HTTP request
GET /daily/2001/01/05/1.html HTTP/1.1
Host: www.suck.com
User-Agent: Super Duper Browser 14.6
[blank line]
A successful response is given in Example 2-2.
Example 2-2. A successful HTTP response
[and then 24,204 bytes of HTML code]
A response indicating failure is given in Example 2-3.
Example 2-3. An unsuccessful HTTP response
<html><head><title>Not Found</title></head><body>
Sorry, the object you requested was not found.
</body><html>
[and then the server closes the connection]
2.2.1. Request
An HTTP request has three parts: the request line, the headers, and the body of the request (normally used to pass form parameters).
The request line says what the client wants to do (the method), what it wants to do it to (the path), and what protocol it's speaking. Although the HTTP standard defines several methods, the most common are GET and POST. The path is part of the URL being requested (in Example 2-1 the path is /daily/2001/01/05/1.html). The protocol version is generally HTTP/1.1.
Each header line consists of a key and a value (for example, User-Agent: SuperDuperBrowser/14.6). In versions of HTTP previous to 1.1, header lines were optional. In HTTP 1.1, the Host: header must be present, to name the server to which the browser is talking. This is the "server" part of the URL being requested (e.g., www.suck.com). The headers are terminated with a blank line, which must be present regardless of whether there are any headers.
The optional message body can contain arbitrary data. If a body is sent, the request's Content-Type and Content-Length headers help the server decode the data. GET queries don't have any attached data, so this area is blank (that is, nothing is sent by the browser). For our purposes, only POST queries use this third part of the HTTP request.
The following are the most useful headers sent in an HTTP request.
Host: www.youthere.int
This mandatory header line tells the server the hostname from the URL being requested. It may sound odd to be telling a server its own name, but this header line was added in HTTP 1.1 to deal with cases where a single HTTP server answers requests for several different hostnames.
User-Agent: Thing/1.23 details...
This optional header line identifies the make and model of this browser (virtual or otherwise). For an interactive browser, it's usually something like Mozilla/4.76 [en] (Win98; U) or Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.12; Mac_PowerPC). By default, LWP sends a User-Agent header of libwww-perl/5.64 (or whatever your exact LWP version is).
Referer: http://www.thingamabob.int/stuff.html
This optional header line tells the remote server the URL of the page that contained a link to the page being requested.
"Referrer" would be a more correct English spelling of the word, but "Referer" got frozen into the spec years ago. Maybe the blame lies on a UK (or Irish, Indian, etc) person mistakenly assuming that "referer" would be a correct US spelling, the way that UK "traveller" does become "traveler" in the US. Admittedly, it is a confusing enough issue.
Accept-Language: en-US, en, es, de
This optional header line tells the remote server the natural languages in which the user would prefer to see content, using language tags. For example, the above list means the user would prefer content in U.S. English, or (in order of decreasing preference) any kind of English, Spanish, or German. (Appendix D, "Language Tags" lists the most common language tags.) Many browsers do not send this header, and those that do usually send the default header appropriate to the version of the browser that the user installed. For example, if the browser is Netscape with a Spanish-language interface, it would probably send Accept-Language: es, unless the user has dutifully gone through the browser's preferences menus to specify other languages.
"www.youthere.int"? Yes, there's an ".int" TLD. It's for international treaty organizations (like the World Health Organization or NATO), which means that it will likely be permanently free of clever (or even non-acronymic) domain names. So I use it extensively as my suffix for nonsense hostnames throughout this book.
But little did I know when I wrote the book, that RFC 2606 had already reserved example.com/.net/.org for just the purpose of having an example domain name for use in, well, books about the Web, and other such documentation.
2.2.2. Response
The server's response also has three parts: the status line, some headers, and an optional body.
The status line states which protocol the server is speaking, then gives a numeric status code and a short message. For example, "HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found." The numeric status codes are grouped—200-299 are success, 400-499 are permanent failures, and so on. A full list of HTTP status codes is given in Appendix B, "HTTP Status Codes".
The header lines let the server send additional information about the response. For example, if authentication is required, the server uses headers to indicate the type of authentication. The most common header—almost always present for both successful and unsuccessful requests—is Content-Type, which helps the browser interpret the body. Headers are terminated with a blank line, which must be present even if no headers are sent.
Many responses contain a Content-Length line that specifies the length, in bytes, of the body. However, this line is rarely present on dynamically generated pages, and because you never know which pages are dynamically generated, you can't rely on that header line being there.
(Other, rarer header lines are used for specifying that the content has moved to a given URL, or that the server wants the browser to send HTTP cookies, and so on; however, these things are generally handled for you automatically by LWP.)
The body of the response follows the blank line and can be any arbitrary data. In the case of a typical web request, this is the HTML document to be displayed. If an error occurs, the message body doesn't contain the document that was requested but usually consists of a server-generated error message (generally in HTML, but sometimes not) explaining the error.


Soundtracks of Television: 'Black Bird'
By Q.V. Hough on July 9, 2022
The Black Bird soundtrack includes music by Guns N' Roses, Soundgarden and Crash Test Dummies. This info article contains spoilers and song details for Dennis Lehane's 2022 Apple TV+ miniseries. Visit the Soundtracks of Television section for more Vague Visages music guides.
Black Bird stars Taron Egerton as Jim Keene, a drug dealer who receives a 10-year sentence during the 90s. Paul Walter Hauser co-stars as Larry Hall, a suspected serial killer who manipulates investigators. The storyline follows Jim as he relocates to a high-security prison and secretly works with the FBI on a murder case. Composer Mogwai (ZeroZeroZero) scored the Apple TV+ miniseries; music supervisor Mary Ramos (All the Old Knives) handled the featured needle-drops. Here's every song in Black Bird, an adaptation of James Keene's 2010 novel In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption.
Black Bird Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 1 "Pilot"
"Mr. Brownstone" by Guns N' Roses (00:03): The Black Bird soundtrack song scores a November 1996 sequence. Jim counts money behind a home bar area. He watches a football game with friends.
"Don't Let Him Go" by REO Speedwagon (00:11): Jim meets Rochelle (Cecilia Leal). The track continues during a transition sequence. Jim and Rochelle have sex.
"Fell on Black Days" by Soundgarden (00:37): Jim navigates a prison area. He gives a copy of Hustler magazine to an inmate. Jim works out during a montage.
"Demon Host" by Timber Timbre (00:48): The Black Bird soundtrack song accompanies a road scene. Brian Miller (Greg Kinnear) drives a vehicle. The music fades as he arrives at an Indiana police station.
"In Spite of Me" by Morphine (00:56): Jim reads Larry's FBI profile. The music scores the episode's final moments and end credits.
Read More at VV — Soundtracks of Television: 'The Terminal List'
Black Bird Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 2 "We Are Coming, Father Abraham"
"Dogs of Lust" by The The (00:02): The Black Bird soundtrack song plays during the opening sequence. Tricia Reitler (Rachel Looney) walks outdoors at her campus. The music fades as a van follows the young woman.
"We Are Coming, Father Abraham" by James S. Gibbons (00:41): Larry rides in Brian's vehicle. He gets upset and nervously sings the war-themed tune. Brian says, "Take it easy, all right?"
"The Sign" by Ace of Base (00:52): Brooke Miller (Avery Echelard) listens to music with headphones on. Bill says, "How can you do homework like that?" Brooks replies with "I just can."
"Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies (00:59): The track scores the end credits.
Read More at VV — Soundtracks of Television: 'The Old Man'
Black Bird Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 3 "Hand to Mouth"
"Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger (00:43): The Black Bird soundtrack song plays during a bar sequence. Brian enjoys a drink with Lauren. They talk about Larry's behavior and motivations.
"Battleflag (Lo-Fidelity Allstars Remix)" by Pigeonhead (00:58): A prison montage begins. Jim returns to his cell block. The track continues during the end credits.
Read More at VV — Soundtracks of Television: 'The Longest Night'
Black Bird Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 4 "WhatsHerName"
"Possession (Rabbit in the Moon Mix)" by Sarah McLachlan (00:054): Larry asks Jimmy a question about women. The Black Bird soundtrack song scores a flashback sequence. Jimmy visits a night club and hooks up with a young woman.
"When I Was Young" by The Animals (01:00:00): Larry thinks about getting out of prison. The track scores the end credits.
Read More at VV — Soundtracks of Television: 'Resident Evil'
Black Bird Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 5 "The Place I Lie"
"Run Around" by Blues Traveler (00:12): The Black Bird soundtrack song plays during a driving sequence. Brian cruises around with Lauren. They investigate a murder linked to Larry.
"Be My Friend Tonight" by John Prine (00:29): Brian and Lauren enter a bait shop. The track plays on the radio. John Dickey Hansen (Bill Martin Williams) recalls working with Larry.
Read More at VV — Soundtracks of Television: 'Surface'
Black Bird Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 6 "You Promised"
"Lucky Man" by The Verve (00:59): Jimmy flirts with a female flight attendant. He looks out a window and breathes heavy. The Black Bird soundtrack song scores the epilogue and end credits.
Q.V. Hough (@QVHough) is Vague Visages' founding editor.
Categories: 2020s, Apple TV+ Originals, Crime, Drama, Soundtracks of Television, Streaming Originals, Thriller
Tagged as: Apple TV+, Black Bird, Crime, Dennis Lehane, Drama, Q.V. Hough, Thriller
Know the Cast: 'Black Bird'
Review: Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes' 'The Janes'


Iowa grad sets the scene for the biggest events and TV shows
Millions of people have seen art director Lucas Ingram's work at marquee events such as the Tony Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and four Super Bowl halftime shows—and most recently on a new television series.
Emily Nelson
Courtesy of Lucas Ingram
Lucas Ingram missed his spring 2016 commencement ceremony, but he had a good reason: he was already working at his dream job. After two years of interning at the Tony Awards, he was the assistant art director for Broadway's biggest night.
"I started out really fast and really strong," Ingram says. "When people ask me about my dream job, I say I sort of did it four years ago. Now I'm going from there and seeing what happens."
The New York City resident has amassed an impressive résumé since earning an MFA in design from the University of Iowa Department of Theatre Arts, working on the Democratic National Convention, MTV Video Music Awards, four Super Bowl halftime shows, and most recently the new CW television series Katy Keene and an upcoming Michelle Buteau comedy special for Netflix.
"Iowa just felt like such a family, like a place I could learn and grow at."
Lucas Ingram
University of Iowa theatre arts alumnus
Ingram grew up in Philadelphia and New York. After graduating with an undergraduate degree in theater, he attended a University Resident Theatre Association (URTA) recruiting event, during which he had interviews with 15 schools in one day. He says they all started to blur together, but one in particular stood out.
"I remembered how easy it was to talk to Bryon Winn (professor and director of theatre at Iowa) and how much I felt like I could learn from him," Ingram says. "I visited two schools. Iowa just felt like such a family, like a place I could learn and grow at."
Ingram says he appreciated the variety of experiences he got at Iowa, including working on new plays, which he hadn't had the opportunity to do before. He worked on 24 shows in his three years at Iowa.
"I drove myself kind of insane, but it was great because I got to learn and try new things," Ingram says.
One show that really stands out as a learning experience was 2015's Good Kids, directed by Alan MacVey, professor of directing and action and director of the UI Division of Performing Arts.
"It was on that show that I really cemented my ability to talk through my choices and justify my decisions," Ingram says. "And I felt I really had to elevate myself to work with someone who is so experienced and respected in the theater community. He helped me grow in ways that I hadn't known I needed to grow."
During the fall of 2019, Ingram started work on the new CW television series "Katy Keene," for which he drew about a third of the scenery, including this part of Lacy's department store.
All that experience showed up in Ingram's portfolio. He says Iowa's design program puts large focus on portfolios and finding the best way for students to present their work, including one to two portfolio reviews each semester.
Ingram joined a design union for the entertainment industry about five months after graduation. He says it takes most people a couple of years.
"I used the portfolio skills I had built at Iowa to build what I've been told is one of the larger portfolios they'd seen, and it's because I was able to create so much documentation and explanation," Ingram says.
After graduation and moving to New York, Ingram followed up his work on the Tony Awards with a position as assistant art director for the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
He then jumped to the MTV Video Music Awards, drawing scenery for performances by musicians such as Beyoncé and Ariana Grande.
"It was fun to work with a lot of huge-name artists, especially being right out of grad school," Ingram says.
MFA in design at Iowa
The University of Iowa Department of Theatre Arts' MFA in design is an intensive three-year program dedicated to the education of students who are adept at techniques and methods for creating new works and who aspire to be the artistic visionaries of the future. Whatever a student's background—theater, art, architecture, fashion, or other fields—the program aims to develop artists who will work as professional designers for the performing arts.
Over the years, he has worked on, among other things, the Kennedy Center Honors, CMA Country Christmas, and Good Morning America.
Ingram also has worked on the Super Bowl halftime show for the past four years. As assistant art director, he is responsible for scenery that moves on the field during the show. This year, that included the cages in which children, including Jennifer Lopez's daughter Emme Maribel Muñiz, sang "Let's Get Loud" and "Born in the USA."
"I was responsible for making those pieces look great as they moved into place and was ready for them to be on camera," Ingram says. "It's a lot of on-the-ground running. Periodically during that show, I had to run the length of the football field. It's my most athletic week of the year. But it's a lot of fun and a great experience."
During the fall of 2019, Ingram started work on the new CW television series Katy Keene.
"It's a new direction I'm trying to take: more calm and consistent work instead of six to eight weeks on a live event," Ingram says.
During six months of work on the first season, Ingram says he drew about a third of the scenery for the show. He quickly realized some differences in working on a television show vs. a one-time event.
"For a lot of one-off events, you draw something, it appears, and that's it," Ingram says. "This was spending six months with the set I drew in the first week or so. Pretty much every week there was something we had to change or add or fix or solve. There was a lot of time spent refining the little details, the little intricacies."
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Ingram started college as an engineering major, and he was able to put some of those early skills to use.
"I spent a lot of time figuring out interesting engineering problems," Ingram says. "We had to have a working revolving door built into the set, so we worked with a revolving door company to get one to us and figure out how to install it. It was slightly different from what I normally do, which is draw the idea and send it to someone else to figure out how to build it."
Ingram is set to get to work on the second season of Katy Keene this summer, and while many people who go into TV move to Los Angeles, Ingram has no plans to do that.
"I'm in love with New York," Ingram says. "Also, New York has had a growing television world in the last five to 10 years, and it's only going to grow from here."
His significant other is also based in New York: Hayley Ryan graduated from Iowa with an MFA in theater design in 2018 and works in costume design for Broadway and television. She also recently finished working on the film version of In the Heights with Cathy Parrott, who graduated with a bachelor of arts from Iowa in 2001.
Ingram urges students thinking about theater design to try everything and take advantage of the variety of classes that Iowa offers.
"Do every program that strikes your fancy," Ingram says. "My focus in undergrad and grad school was lighting design. But scenic design was something I was always interested in, so I tried to learn everything I could. And it's now what my entire career is. Always take learning opportunities in other realms because you never know where it's going to take you.
"I never really thought about television before I came to Iowa," Ingram says. "I had really been thinking about only theater and doing things on a much smaller scale than I do now, so this is my wildest hopes and dreams come true."
Visit the Lucas Ingram Design website to learn more about the Iowa grad and his work.


Part of HuffPost Education. ©2021 Verizon Media. All rights reserved.
David H Bailey, Contributor
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (retired) and University of California, Davis
Jonathan M. Borwein, Contributor
Laureate Professor of Mathematics, University of Newcastle, Australia
Algebra Is Essential in a 21st Century Economy
08/01/2012 11:20 am ET Updated Oct 01, 2012
A few days ago, Andrew Hacker, an author and former professor of political science at Queens College in New York City, created quite a stir with a New York Times op-ed entitled Is Algebra Necessary?, in which he argues that it is no longer necessary to expect the vast majority of K-12 students to study algebra, geometry or calculus.
Hacker argues that the teaching of mathematics takes a toll beginning with students in junior high or middle school. "Algebra is an onerous stumbling block for all kinds of students," ranging from the disadvantaged to the affluent. Hacker acknowledges that basic "quantitative literacy" is important for everyone, but he asserts that "there's no evidence that being able to prove (x2 + y2)2 = (x2 - y2)2 + (2xy)2 leads to more credible political opinions or social analysis." He further argues that even in jobs that require science-technology-engineering-math (STEM) credentials, considerable training occurs after hiring, and (by implication) mathematics training in school is not that important. He concludes:
Think of math as a huge boulder we make everyone pull, without assessing what all this pain achieves. So why require it, without alternatives or exceptions? Thus far I haven't found a compelling answer.
Hacker's article has already attracted several persuasive responses, including, for example, an op-ed on the Scientific American website. Some other responses include blogs by Rob Knop, Daniel Willingham and RiShawn Biddle.
Deficiencies of K-12 education
The present authors (DHB from USA, and JMB from Australia) fully acknowledge that there are many problems with present-day K-12 mathematics education worldwide, not the least of which is the relatively poor training of teachers. As William Schmidt and Curtis McKnight note in their book Inequality for All, only 35% to 40% of the 7th and 8th grade teachers they surveyed in Michigan and Ohio had either a major or minor in mathematics, and only half of teachers in the 9th and 10th grade.
Other nations outside the U.S. are not standing still. Finland for example, has ranked at (or near) the top of the OECD nations in educational performance for more than ten straight years, due in large part to its strict requirements for teacher training (all teachers must have at least a masters degree). See also our recent articles School maths is failing children and Yes, there's a numeracy crisis -- so what's the solution? in the Conversation. Along this line, in Australia the New South Wales provincial government has just ruled that all aspiring teachers must specifically study mathematics and science, and further must meet minimum entry scores to even qualify for educational programs at state-operated universities.
Why pick on mathematics?
One fallacy in Hacker's reasoning is clear: Why single out mathematics? Yes, a knowledge of calculus may or may not help one negotiate through traffic or connect one's computer to the Internet, but the same could be said for many other disciplines. How does knowing whom Hamlet killed accidentally help one be a better consumer? Does knowing the history of the Spanish-American War help one complete one's tax return? Many other examples could be listed.
Why algebra is necessary
With regards to Hacker's article, while we agree with many of his specific points, we respectfully disagree that one can be a well-functioning adult in the 21st century world without at least the rudiments of algebra. Consider a very common, simple question: You bought an item at a store, and although you didn't keep the receipt, a charge of $173.15 was posted to your credit card account. The sales tax (or VAT) rate is 8.25%. What was the pre-sales-tax price of the item? With algebra, it is easy: x + 0.0825x = x(1 + 0.0825) = 173.15, so x = 173.15/1.0825 = 159.95. How can you possibly solve such a problem without at least a rudimentary mastery of algebra? As another example, if you get a 20% pay cut, followed by a 20% pay increase, will you be better off, worse off, or the same? (Answer: worse off).
We also agree with Hacker that specific topics taught in a typical K-12 mathematics curriculum need to be rethought in a 21st century economy. Detailed calculus-based graphing techniques (which can now be done better by computer) could give way to a greater emphasis on "discrete mathematics," including aspects of probability and statistics, which might better be termed "reasoning and reckoning."
But a basic facility with algebra is essential to do justice to such material, even at the high school level. And then there is the indisputable fact that a good facility for algebra, geometry and yes even calculus is absolutely essential for that subset of students who aspire to careers in STEM fields. Yes, it is true that even those who major in STEM fields in college and/or graduate school still have significant skills to learn once on the job. But without a strong background in the topics that Hacker derides, they will be hopelessly lost.
Mathematics for minorities
As mentioned above, one of Hacker's points is, in effect, that the requirements for algebra and the like serve as an "onerous stumbling block" for disadvantaged students. But we argue the opposite: a system that "tracks" students into mathematically less challenging courses early in junior or middle school, or even in high school, runs a very serious risk of derailing talented young minds from disadvantaged environments. One of us (DHB) has a daughter with several years experience teaching at a very disadvantaged high school in Southern California. She agrees that a "tracking" scheme of the sort implicitly proposed by Hacker would lose a large number of poor black and Hispanic students -- these students need "more opportunities in later grades than other students."
Yes, many disadvantaged students score less well than others, but in many cases this may be due to the fact that they lived in a foster home, or in no home at all, for a year or two. And "dumbing down" the program does not do these students a favor either -- it only places them further behind and deeper in discouragement at the prospect of ever catching up with their more privileged peers. But with dedicated teachers, numerous such students from this daughter's high school and others in the area have gone on to major and excel in mathematics, science and engineering. Some have even received scholarships to institutions such as Stanford University and U.C. Berkeley. None of this would have happened if Hacker's proposed changes had been implemented.
It's a personal matter
Finally, we must add a personal note. DHB still recalls that his fifth grade teacher reported to his parents that he was a "good B student," and even after he exhibited significant precocity in mathematics, was told in the ninth grade by a well-meaning school counselor that "he didn't really have the aptitude" to be a professional mathematician. If DHB had taken this advice, this article would never have been written!
Similarly, JMB recalls the terror of the British eleven-plus test that he took at the tender age of 10, which would irrevocably decide whether he would be assigned to a precollege track or a vocational track. Introduced as part of the well-intended Butler educational reforms after WW2, the eleven-plus had the effect of consigning 75% of students to a non-academic stream, thereby determining much of their future life. JMB did pass the exam, but what if he had a bad day (say due to a toothache or recent family trauma)? Again, this article would never have been written! Incidentally, his wife, who has a hard time with numbers, thrived mathematically after algebra was introduced in high school.
While we generally agree with Hacker that significant improvements must be made, dumbing down the curriculum, or tracking students at an early age into college-prep or non-college-prep mathematics is not the answer. Hacker may well be right that only 5% of the workforce needs rigorous STEM training, but there is no way to know which 5%. We also know that making all mathematics seem applicable has been a pedagogical disaster. In the 1990s the Dutch did just that (as part of a larger battles over Realistic Mathematics Education): mathematics was to balance checkbooks and understand mortgages. No wonder the university mathematics cohort was cut by two thirds when such miseducated students reached college. To misquote Peggy Lee, "if that is all there is then keep on dancing."
Mathematics really does matter in the 21st century, and better mathematics teaching is desperately needed. Our decision-makers need to acknowledge that some things that need to be fixed are costly. There are no quick smarter-and-cheaper alternatives to investing in training and in paying specialist teachers better.