In the last three years the reputation of the pioneering gynaecologist J Marion Sims has been questioned by a scandal over experimental surgery on African American slave women. Sims was attempting to find a surgical cure for vesico-vaginal fistulae - an obstetric injury resulting from bladder damage after obstructed labour. His statue was removed from Central Park, New York in 2018 in deference to the public outcry regarding his racist behaviour. A debate has raged over failures of consen...

Definition EPA's are a set of basic competencies required for professional life. They are put in place to replace mere time-related education programs and focus on the capacity of the student to perform the required tasks in their early professional career. The concept evolved in 2005. NSW Health requirements of medical schools are that they deliver medical graduates with sufficient capacities to function adequately during their intern year (which may well become 2 years in the futu...

More than 6 percent of people in first world countries have received an implantable medical device "for rebuilding body functions, achieving a better quality of life, or expanding longevity" and 1.7 million patients have been injured worldwide from 2005 to 2014. Nevertheless the innovations and continual improvements in medical devices mean that a majority of patients have received great benefit from these implants. Up to 15% of women recipients of vaginal mesh experienced vagin...

In November 2018 a 39 year old IVF patient of mine received terrible news that her Non Invasive Prenatal Test at 11 weeks was positive for Trisomy 13. Patau syndrome is associated with severe intellectual disability and a range of physical defects including heart abnormalities, cleft lip, microphthalmia, brain and spinal anomalies. Only 10% or less of such infants survive until the second year of life.  Needless to say many mothers would request a therapeutic abortion when giv...

Menstrual cups are flexible silicone or rubber cups which are applied to the upper vaginal fornices to collect menstrual blood. They are increasingly being used as a more environmentally-friendly alternative to tampons. They are intended for re-use and can last for upwards of 10 years. Whereas the monthly cost of tampons is ~$10  (before the lifting of GST soon) a menstrual cup costs between  $35-50. At a recent tutorial at WSU I found that 50% of the women students preferred...