Surgeon shortage linked to burst appendices

NEW YORK, June 15:� Living in an area with few general surgeons may make people with appendicitis more likely to turn into ruptured appendix cases by the time they get to surgery, according to new research. "The study shows that access to surgical care, especially general surgical care, is important and low access can have real impacts that affect peoples' health," coauthor Thomas Ricketts of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill told Reuters Health by email. (agencies)^^^^^