Re: Queries

[Schoenhofer <schoenho@via.at>]

At 16:08 19.02.1997 -0600, you wrote:
>> Date:          Wed, 19 Feb 97 15:03:47 -0600
>> Reply-to:      radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
>> From:          "Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@ix.netcom.com>
>> To:            Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
>> Subject:       Re: Queries
>
>> > Here's a case of where radiation phobia literally killed someone. 
>> 
>> This as another example why I am all for NOT limiting medical 
>> malpractice law suit awards. This decision, if true and there 
>> are no other factors included, based on what was presented in the 
>> Radsafe post, is totally irresponsible.> 
>
>	Maybe not.  I personally had a reason to get involved
>	when my son was born and the delivering  Physician
>	took a pelvic x-ray to help decide if a Caesarian was
>	necessary, He intimated  that he felt loath to expose
>	the foetus to this radiation, but felt the trade-off  was
>	still  in the best interest.
>
>	I subsequently talked with some people who were
>	experts in the area, and found out that exposure near
>	term is not different from early childhood exposure.
>
>	The fault lies  not with the physician, but with the
>	education process, for not giving physicians tools to
>	enable them to make logical decisions.
>
>	(Definitely my opinion.....standard disclaimer.
>
>Frank R. Borger - Physicist - Center for Radiation Therapy
>net: Frank@rover.uchicago.edu   ph: 312-791-8075 fa: 791-3697
>
>"Those who are willing to trade too much of their freedom
>for security, will end up with neither freedom nor security."
>- Benjamin Franklin
>
>------------------------------------------------------------

Frank,

Legislation in Austria exempts any exposure due to medical reasons from our
Radiation Protection Law or Radiation Protection Ordinance. I would be
surprised if this were different in other countries. I agree that
application of ionizing radiation is justified in many cases. For instance I
was quite happy about 13 years ago, when x-ray diagnostic revealed a slipped
intervertebal disk as the cause of paralysis of my left foot. I have
actually asked halfheartedly  for my exposure, the doctors told me what the
contrast was they used, but they did (could) not tell me about the exposure.
I did not and I do not mind, because the surgery done as a result of this
x-ray examination was successful. 

In the case of the question whether a child will be healthy, by choosing
between normal delivery and a Caesarian birth also x-raying might be
acceptable. My children are now 19, 17, 16 years old, but even at their time
of birth ultrasonic investigations were already state of the art.  (Let us
hope that after 20 years, ultrasonic investigations will not be condemned
the same way as ionizing radiation is condemned now.)

Franz
Schoenhofer
Habichergasse 31/7
A-1160 WIEN
AUSTRIA/EUROPE
Tel./Fax:	+43-1-4955308
Tel.:		+43-664-3380333
e-mail:		schoenho@via.at