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Surgery

Having rushed to hospital with 'stabbing' abdominal pain, Lianne was given a pamphlet on drug addiction

Lianne Williams is one of the many women with endometriosis who has had to fight to have medical professionals take her symptoms seriously. Clinics dedicated to treating the condition are becoming more common, but are they working?
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Lianne with Orlando on her knee

Calls for greater access to free weight-loss surgery

While obesity is a complex issue, doctors say greater access to free weight-loss surgery is one way of preventing illness and improving lives.
ABC News Current
Duration: 2 minutes 33 seconds

You can't put a price on health – but in Nick's case, it was almost $23,000

Nick Ham lost about half his body weight after spending more than $20,000 on bariatric surgery -- much of it paid for by his dad, who withdrew from his superannuation on compassionate grounds.
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Nick Ham before and after weight-loss surgery.

Beautiful people are better liked, richer and more successful. Two philosophers explain why

Human preoccupation with beauty has a long history, but these experts say something new is at play. 
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A pop art illustration of a woman wearing sunglasses, with thumbs up emojis in the glass.

analysis:With two of the most senior royals out of action due to their health, don't expect a grand return from Harry

It's rare for the British royals to release details of private health matters, so when statements from Kensington Palace and then Buckingham Palace came in quick succession this week, it caused quite a media storm, writes Juliet Rieden. 
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A close up image of Kate, Princess of Wales, wearing a large green hat.

A significant increase in death rates on roads around the country has experts worried

For much of the past four decades, Australia made steady progress on the road toll. But as the nation emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, car crashes started to increase.
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Black hatchback that's been rear-ended and missing its boot.

Jimmy Barnes up and about as he recovers from open heart surgery

The 67-year-old has been moved out of the ICU and is walking around after having open heart surgery for a bacterial infection last week.
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A man stands smiling while wearing a hospital gown.

Cosmetic Surgery Standards introduced to protect patients

Patients undergoing cosmetic surgery will be protected by new national standards. Cosmetic surgery providers will need to undergo accreditation and be licensed.
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ABC News Current
Duration: 2 minutes 8 seconds

New rules proposed as woman says she wasn't informed about risks of cosmetic surgery

Facilities and services providing cosmetic surgery will be forced to comply with new national standards released today as part of a suite of crackdowns on the industry by regulators.
A young white woman with long dark hair sitting on a couch with a beagle

Data shows elective surgery wait times ballooning to record highs

The Australian Medical Association says hospitals are being placed under strain by more emergency surgery, displacing elective patients.
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ABC News Current
Duration: 4 minutes 19 seconds

New father among an estimated 125,000 to benefit if gender-affirming surgery is added to Medicare

Max put his dreams of paying for gender-affirming top surgery on hold when he became a father, but an application by the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons to add it to the Medicare Benefits Schedule could change that.
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A mum and dad hold their baby and smile for the camera at a first birthday

analysis:One woman's cosmetic surgery 'hell' points to a national problem

Rowah Kaddour still has nightmares about the putrid smell of rotting skin emanating from her abdomen after undergoing cosmetic surgery that went horribly wrong, writes Adele Ferguson.
Two surgeons wearing protective clothing undertake an operation.

After her mother died, Marni received 'devastating' news about her unborn twins. Now they 'amaze her every day'

After seven years trying for a family, Marni Cochrane was more than halfway through her first pregnancy with identical twin girls when they were diagnosed with a rare and potentially life-threatening medical condition.
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A woman lying on the floor with her twin baby girls on either side

South Australian mother with rare blood type saved after heart surgery

A South Australian mother with a rare blood type has thanked the public and medical staff who made it possible for her to undergo heart surgery.
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 28 seconds

Court overrules Jehovah's Witness parents to allow blood transfusion for seriously ill toddler

Health officials have won a court order authorising them to give a transfusion to a Jehovah's Witness toddler whose parents, due to their religious beliefs, did not consent to the use of blood.
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Bag of blood from transfusion.

When patients started dying at a regional hospital, one nurse risked it all to blow the whistle

The brown brick hospital on the main drag into Bundaberg is an unassuming building, but many locals are still traumatised by what went on here when Jayant Patel, aka Dr Death, was director of surgery.
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A nurse smiling in a hospital room.

How eating a bacon-and-egg roll left 9yo girl needing life-saving surgery — and it could happen to anyone

A Newcastle woman whose daughter spent a month in hospital after having life-saving surgery is urging people to be aware of the hidden danger a common cleaning tool can pose.
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A woman and her daughter in a hospital bed

Menasheh had open heart surgery at just 16 days old. Apart from a scar, you'd never know

Menasheh was born almost eight weeks premature, weighing just 1,524g — the tiniest baby ever to undergo open heart surgery at the Queensland Children's Hospital.
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Baby Menasheh is connected to tubes as he lays in a cot

Belinda could barely walk, but was told to lose weight for life-changing knee replacement surgery

Obesity experts and patient groups are concerned an over-reliance on body mass index (BMI) is leading to some people being abandoned by the health system and denied life-changing surgery or treatment.
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A woman wearing shorts and a T-shirt standing in front of a fence with a pensive expression.

Health regulator to target injectable cosmetic treatments

Australia's medical regulator says it is cracking down on cosmetic procedures such as botox and fillers, after a series of complaints about botched procedures.
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 52 seconds

Health regulator to target injectable treatments

Australia's health regulator says it will be expanding its crackdown on cosmetic surgery to include Botox and other injectables.
ABC News Current
Duration: 4 minutes 48 seconds

Cosmetic surgery crackdown now targeting fillers, botox and other procedures

Australia's medical regulator says it is cracking down on cosmetic procedures such as botox and fillers, but those living with the long-term impacts of botched procedures say the focus has come too late.
A woman lies back in a chair smiling, while someone injects her forehead with a syringe.

Mum's 'flat and fabulous beauty' captured in photo after life-saving mastectomy

After undergoing surgery that was life-saving but also life-changing, Alice Colgrave agreed to a photo shoot that made her see herself in a new, powerful and positive light.
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An older woman in her 40s and a young teenage girl smile and pose for the camera.

'We wanted to share our love with a child': Mum with spina bifida undergoes multiple surgeries for parenthood dream

Almost immediately after an emergency C-section, Adrianna Contoleon was in theatre again — this time for brain surgery. 
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a woman in a hospital bed overcome with emotion as she holds her newborn

Workplace flexibility key to bringing female surgeons to rural areas

Only one in five general surgeons in Australia is a woman, but a study shows flexible working conditions are a huge drawcard to practice in rural areas.
ABC News Current
Duration: 3 minutes 13 seconds