SHAM SURGERY: Surgeons’ Way to Test the Placebo Effect?
Placebos have long been used to test the effectiveness of new drugs. Experiments in which patients are randomized to receive a drug or a sugar pill (without knowing which is which) are the "gold standard" for testing pharmaceuticals. In a controversial new development, surgeons are resorting to the use of "placebo surgery" to test new procedures. In this week's Stryker's Corner, California Healthline's Jeff Stryker looks at why "sham surgery," long thought to be unethical, may be catching on.
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Stryker's Corner is a regular Monday feature in California Healthline. Columnist Jeff Stryker takes readers behind the headlines, with in-depth articles, guest editorials and interviews with California newsmakers. Click here for more on Stryker and this feature.
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The views represented in this column are those of the columnist or guest editorialist and not of California Healthline or the National Journal Group.