Knee Surgery: Reconstruction of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament

By Dr. Stefan Tarlow

ACL Reconstruction: An Overview

The knee is stabilized by the ACL. It is often torn because of the location of the ligament and the fact that external forces are often exerted on it by activities causing damage. Each individual makes the choice of how to treat damage to the ACL.

The choice is based on factors such as the extent of damage to the rest of the knee structure, the knees stability, the activity level and age of the patient. If the patient will be able to return to the pre-injury activity level, surgery is usually recommended.

ACL reconstruction will stabilize the knee. This prevents further damage to the articular cartilage and the menisci (cartilage cushions). Surgery helps in preventing premature deterioration of the knee.

Across the board, ACL reconstruction surgery is performed arthroscopically. Personally, I believe that an autograft-tissue graft that comes from the patient is the best thing to use. The alternative is an allograft. This is a graft harvested from a cadaver.

However, I believe these are subject to problems in the long term. Indeed, recent research has shown that patients under the age of 24 who receive an allograft and then participate in an aggressive rehabilitation program are 10-25% more likely to have a high failure rate.

Click here to learn more about knee arthroscopy.

My preference is to use a Patellar Tendon Autograft combined with interference screw fixation when dealing with patients under thirty years of age who do not have any underlying patellofemoral disease. I also prefer Hamstring Autograft (semitendinosis and gracilis combined) using rigid extra-articular fixation (Rapid Loc or Toggle Loc) on the femur along with a Washer Loc on the tibia.

In a patient under age 25, I will only use an allograft if the patient promises not to engage in aggressive, competitive sports for at least a year after surgery. A full year will give the allograft time to heal. I am also willing to use allografts if I have more than one ligament to reconstruct.

The knee is stabilized and stress is kept at a minimum across the knee joint by the ACL.

In addition, excessive forward movement of the lower bone of the leg (tibia) in relation to the thigh bone (femur) is prevented by the ACL.

Excessive knee rotation is also kept under control by the ACL.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Stefan Tarlow, a leading Phoenix Knee Doctor. - 23211

About the Author:

Dr. Tarlow is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon with over 20 years specializing in knee surgery. He opened his own clinic, Advanced Knee Care, with a focus on specialty patient care. Click here to learn more about Dr. Tarlow, Phoenix knee surgeries and Phoenix Knee Arthroscopy.

Fund Managers can become farmers-Jim Rogers

By Jim Faber

Jim Rogers was recently interviewed by The Economic Times. Among the topics covered include the recent rally in stocks, the widening deficit and his recent comments on Sri Lanka. In this interview, Jim Rogers touches on a couple of commodities that he believes will do well in this economy. As investors push oil and gold, Jim Rogers is looking at other commodities such as Silver, Cotton and Natural Gas.

If US unemployment touches the 10%-mark, it would further impact retail sales. How bad could this be for Asia?

Central banks all over the world have printed huge amounts of money, and the real economy is not strong enough for all this money to be absorbed so, its going into stocks and real assets such as commodities. Its a mistake what they are doing. Its giving short-term pleasure, but theres long-term pain as we are going to have much higher inflation, much higher interest rates and a worse economy down the road.

The American bond market is already beginning to go down dramatically as people realise that the American government has to sell huge amount of bonds, and secondly, there is going to be inflation, serious inflation, as it was always in the past when you had governments printing huge amounts of money.

Stocks are rising even as fiscal deficit is widening. Somewhere it has to snap

If US unemployment touches the 10%-mark, it would further impact retail sales. How bad could this be for Asia?

Stocks are rising even as fiscal deficit is widening. Somewhere it has to snap

They are doing many of the same mistakes now. Whats different this time is that we are printing huge amounts of money which they did not print at that time. So, we are going to have inflation this time.

Central banks all over the world have printed huge amounts of money, and the real economy is not strong enough for all this money to be absorbed so, its going into stocks and real assets such as commodities. Its a mistake what they are doing. Its giving short-term pleasure, but theres long-term pain as we are going to have much higher inflation, much higher interest rates and a worse economy down the road.

The American bond market is already beginning to go down dramatically as people realise that the American government has to sell huge amount of bonds, and secondly, there is going to be inflation, serious inflation, as it was always in the past when you had governments printing huge amounts of money.

What do you do? No politically-elected government can afford so much pain, unemployment and hardships

Its going to snap. Later this year, next year, we are going to have currency problems, maybe even a currency crisis. I dont know with which currency " maybe with the pound sterling, maybe with the US dollar, who knows. It maybe with something none of us have at the moment. When you have a currency crisis, stocks will be affected, many things will be affected. It is not sound, whats happening out there in the world.

In the 1930s, we had a huge stock market bubble which popped. And then politicians started making many mistakes. They became protectionist. They made solvent banks take over insolvent banks and then both banks failed in the end.

Throughout history, if you go to a place after the war ends you usually find everything as very cheap, everyone is demoralised, people are just depressed and there are enormous opportunities if you have energy.

I was trying to make a point that if anyone wants to invest in this particular part of the world, the best place would be Sri Lanka. Because it looks like the 30-year war is coming to an end.

And rarely do they produce. Its not the first time that the Congress party has been in the power. If they mean it, Indias going to be one of the greatest development stories in the next 20 years. But I dont know if they mean it.

If the pain comes in 2010, 2011 or 2012, there will be nobody he can blame. Especially, if things go bad later, the opposition will say, wait a minute, 2009 looked good. The next guy is going to say you did it But you are right. Its very difficult for an elected government. You have a newly-elected government in India. Whenever you have a new government they can take some of the pain.

And rarely do they produce. Its not the first time that the Congress party has been in the power. If they mean it, Indias going to be one of the greatest development stories in the next 20 years. But I dont know if they mean it. - 23211

About the Author:

All Things Jim Rogers is a Jim Rogers Blog dedicated to tracking the latest Jim Rogers videos and interviews for the general public to enjoy.

What Does It Take To Qualify For A Health Insurance?

By Susan Reynolds

You can save a lot of money with health insurance policies. You will not need to pay those expensive hospital and medical bills. All such expenses will be handled by your policy. It is important to get approved for the policy before you can hope to take all these advantages. If you are in good health, you can very easily get enrolled for a health insurance policy. On the other hand, if you are not keeping well with your health, you would find it difficult to avail this facility.

Younger and healthy crop pf people find it very easy to qualify for an insurance policy. Accordingly, older and ailing people will have to work hard to find a policy for themselves. Furthermore, a full coverage of insurance is also not provided to the older people.

Your job is another aspect that gets evaluated for the approval. A school teacher has better chances to get his policy approved as against a cab driver. The school teacher puts lesser stress on himself and lives a healthier and fitter life in comparison to the cab driver, who is over stressed with his job. Insurance companies take all such details into consideration, and approve the policy that they can earn profits from, than a policy that will lead to loses. If you are into smoking or drinking, you have lesser chances of approval. People who suffer from AIDS, Cancer etc have nearly no chances of approval.

Your area of living is also a matter of concern to the insurance companies. They prefer you to live in areas that are free of pollution. Pollution can get you ill and eventually get the companies to pay for the treatment. Therefore if you live in areas that have any smoke industries around, you could be denied of the policy. However, if you live in a healthy surrounding, you would earn good points to get the approval.

Your age also determines the approval or denial of your policy. If you are young, you have every chance of having your policy approved. However, if you are ageing, you are more prone to diseases and would therefore not be a good business prospect for the insurance companies.

Your gender may also be considered by a few companies. Women are believed to live fitter and healthier than men. This leads to women living longer than men.

Marital status is another point that is considered by some companies. Married men are believed to live a healthier life than any married women. Such facts are given importance by the insurance companies, and help them decide accordingly about the approval or denial of a health insurance policy application.

The mentioned points are known as risk factors. You need to make sure that you score low at these risk factors, to get an approval. A high score would indicate that you are not the right candidate for approval. - 23211

About the Author:

Susan Reynolds is a content coordinator for a leading South African Insurance Provider that specialises in Health Insurance Policies.

Life Insurance - The Risk Assessment

By Graham McKenzie

So many people apply for life insurance policies, but only a few of them get approved for the same. It is certainly not the easiest of jobs to get a life insurance policy. You may have enough money to pay the premiums, but it does not make you eligible for the policy. Your application for a life insurance will be assessed and analyzed. In other words, a thorough underwriting would be done on the application. Underwriting consists of the risk analysis to approve the application, and the decision on appropriate premium amounts to be paid by the individual.

Underwriters are therefore hired by most of the insurance companies that help in underwriting the applications. The insurance companies are on a look out for the profit and hence the risk assessment. There are a total of three steps included in the process of underwriting, namely examine the application, decision to insure or not, determine the premium. Let us discuss these steps one by one.

The first step involves the examination of the application. Here maximum details about the applicant are collected. The application includes a list of fields that the applicant needs to fill up, such as the marital status, sex, type of living area, age, and current health status and so on. All these parameters are taken deep into consideration.

The application examination is then followed up with decision making. The applicant is given a score for all these parameters. These parameters are called risk factors by the insurance companies. A high score on the risk factors leads to the rejection of the application, and a low score will see the applicant get an approval. Each risk factor is important and has its own meaning. However, many people believe that the insurance companies give utmost importance to the age and health of the individual. If the individual is young and healthy, the chances for approval are very high. On the other hand, an old aged individual who has a few health problems may experience a denial. The living environment of the individual is also given huge importance. If the applicant lives in an unhygienic environment, he or she is believed to suffer health problems. At the same time, an individual living in a clean and healthy environment would indicate a good health for the individual. The gender of the applicant can also make a difference at times. Women are regarded as healthier individuals compared to the men. This is because women tend to take lesser tensions and depressions. Interestingly, the same holds opposite for married people. In other words, a married man is expected to live a healthier life as compared to a married woman. All these factors play an important role while the decision making. Living habits of an individual also make a significant difference. A smoker or drinker will find it hard to get the approval.

The above discussed risk factors not only help in deciding about the approval or denial of the application, but also the premium amounts to be paid. If the application is approved, the next step if underwriting is to measure the correct premium amounts. Younger and fitter individuals are likely to pay lesser premium amounts, as compared to the older and ailing individuals. - 23211

About the Author:

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover website.

Why a Disability Lawyer Should Be Your Top Priority

By Pants McAdams

You are surgeon and become inflicted with a disease making it impossible to perform surgeries ever again. You are still able to work in the office as a medical doctor, but your days of surgery are over. You decide that you need to file a disability claim seeing how you have become disabled from your life's work. The insurance company decides to deny your claim stating that your are still physically able to work therefore are not rendered disabled. What should you do? Should you listen to the insurance company and take their decision as final? I think not. You are unable to keep your standard of life. You need help fighting the insurance company. This is where a disability lawyer can help you.

A disability lawyer can help you to file an appeal against your insurance company and fight for you to make sure that you get the health benefits you deserve. You have spent your entire life learning to be a surgeon and all of a sudden you are unable to perform surgeries due to a disease. This constitutes a disability to maintain the income and lifestyle that you have grown accustomed to. You deserve benefits from the insurance company you have been paying so long to protect you.

If the appeal that your disability lawyer files seems to go no where, they begin to prepare for a lawsuit. They will gather any and all evidence necessary to prove that you are disabled and should be given health benefits. They will also prepare you for any problems or situations that may arise. They will fight for you every step of the way to make sure that you get what you deserve and that the insurance company keeps their end of the policy.

Its been proven that individuals that utilize a disability lawyer have a 600% greater success rate in their disability claims. Don't let insurance companies get away with taking your premiums and not pay out when you need them to.

Its sad that insurance has become such a one way street. Don't let them take advantage of you, get the help you need from a disability lawyer and let them get you the settlement you deserve. - 23211

About the Author:

Pants McAdams is a professional author who specializes in disability lawyer and insurance claim help.