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Why So Much Of The Health Care We Deliver Is Unnecessary - And What We Can Do About It

In the late 19th century, Dr. William Halsted, a pioneer of modern surgical techniques, performed ultra-radical mastectomies for women with breast cancer. The procedure, soon named after him, involved the surgeon removing not only the breast itself but also surrounding musculature and the associated lymphatic system.

Halsted believed, and taught generations of medical students, that the more radical the procedure, the higher the likelihood of survival. And so this approach remained the standard of care for decades – despite his never proving that this mutilating procedure lowered mortality.

Today we know he was wrong...

Recent reviews of clinical outcomes have…

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