Medical procedures often become a necessity to control pain and discomfort as a woman ages, and past techniques have involved incisions and a long, uncomfortable recovery time. Today, newer techniques are effective, easier and much less invasive, says Maurice Leibman, M.D., in his slim book explaining some minimally invasive procedures that provide permanent birth control for women whose families are complete, a way to stop heavy menstrual periods, and a solution for incontinence.
Leibman describes Essure, for example, as an inexpensive FDA-approved, minimally invasive permanent birth control procedure that takes just 10 minutes in the office and less than one day’s recovery time. Two other procedures that take under 10 minutes are used to minimize heavy bleeding by removing the uterine lining either with radio frequency energy or a thermal balloon technique. A leaky bladder repair involves inserting a “sling” to reposition the urethra. Leibman also briefly discusses the pros and cons of hormone therapy for menopausal women.
This short, well-written medical guidebook offers clear explanations of the various medical techniques in detail that doesn’t overwhelm. The author includes statistics where needed (although he doesn’t always cite their sources, an unfortunate oversight), explains any potential risks, disadvantages and side effects and also gives results from published data on their effectiveness. In addition, Leibman nicely employs boldface for emphasis of important facts throughout and includes appropriate medical references for his data. There are, however, some minor editing errors (including one on the cover).
In short, Leibman has written a highly credible and informative guide to new medical techniques and, to his credit, doesn’t push them on anyone. While he notes that “life is all about risk taking,” he also emphasizes: “Please do your homework, use this book to know what questions to ask, and then decide for yourself!”
Also available in hardcover and ebook.
