This brings me to another topic – celebrity profiles of mental illness.   Just recently TMZ reported that Growing Pains star Andrew Koenig’s family opened up about his depression.   According to statistics from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, approximately 5% of the population suffers from a mental illness, and celebrities are not immune.  Recently we’ve heard about the battle Brook Shields fought against her post-partum depression, and just last week the famous designer Alexander McQueen hanged himself after succombing to suicidal thoughts.  Several celebrities have been open about their diagnosis of bipolar disorder, including Axl Rose and Mel Gibson.  There’s a great slide show on organizedwisdom.com that presents several celebrities suffering from mental illness. 

Does this media-driven portrayal of mental illness paint a clear picture?  Maybe.  The fact that celebrities are not ashamed or afraid of opening up about their disease makes it easier for the lay public to be open about it as well.  And publicity leads to better access to treatment for the public and open mindedness helps foster better attitudes about the disease for those who suffer from it.  Does the movie industry do a good job of accurately describing the reality of mental illness?  Sometimes.  But at least it fosters discussion, and a lot of discussion can come from Shutter Island!

Basically, Murray was charged with manslaughter by the Los Angeles court system, to which he plead not guilty.  If convicted, he could serve four years in prison.   He was charged based on evidence the district attorney’s office presented that indicated Murray acted “without due caution and circumspection.”  Basically – he is charged with accidentally killing MJ by performing a medical procedure without the proper knowledge or training to do so.

Should he be charged?  Absolutely!  He had no idea what he was doing.  Anesthesiologists spend years learning to administer these drugs in controlled settings, with appropriate monitoring devices and support staff.  It cannot be done in the home, and it must not be done by those who have not undergone the proper training.  I wouldn’t go perform a heart catherization on somebody just because I could get a hold of the equipment.  Let Murray stick to cardiology, and the anesthesiologists will stick to anesthesia.

You can comment and blog all you want on Nancy Grace’s blog too.  Medical Barista’s own Double Shot has appeared on Nancy’s program several times regarding the Michael Jackson case.

As it turns out, the patient has a mutation in a liver enzyme that metabolizes medicine.  Her specific mutation causes her to metabolize medicine quicker than the average person, which they use as an explanation for why the patient wakes up from anesthesia.  Although this seems a plausible explanation, it would likely not happen in real life.  The mutation certainly does exist; however, because of the use of continuous monitoring during anesthesia care, it would become apparent to the anesthesiologist that the patient was starting to respond to the surgical stimulus long before she would be fully awake.  She would be given additional doses of analgesics, hypnotics, and muscle relaxants to make sure that she would remain anesthetized, in spite of her quick metabolism of these drugs.

Does awareness under anesthesia occur?  Yes, but exceedingly rarely.  Dr. Dhar has information on it in her book, Before the Scalpel, which you can find on amazon.com.  With all the monitoring that takes place, it is highly unlikely that an event such as the one portrayed on Grey’s Anatomy would happen.

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It appears that reality TV star Heidi Montag went under the knife to make a few improvements on her already flawless face.  She apparently had 10 plastic surgery procedures at one time!  That’s quite efficient.  She may have saved herself some recovery time and maybe some money by having to pay for only one anesthetic; however, she did not save on public criticism.

Heidi, a star of MTV’s Laguna Beach, The Hills, and other reality-esque shows, was interviewed by The Early Show on CBS.  She claims that she is not addicted to plastic surgery since she’s only had two surgery sessions in her life, despite having stacked several procedures into each session.  She also claims that plastic surgery does not contradict her belief in strong Christian values, nor is a promotion for her new album ironically titled “Superficial.”

A couple of her comments bother me.  She claimed in an interview with Access Hollywood that plastic surgery really had a negative effect on her health.  She even thought she was going to die.  She said, “I had too much demerol like Michael Jackson did.  And my breathing was five breaths per minute.”  Her doctors naturally refute this claim.  I tend to believe them.  She also claims to continue to be a role model for girls, saying that “beauty is really within.”  Please.

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