{"id":19941,"date":"2022-10-31T13:36:21","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T18:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/?p=19941"},"modified":"2023-03-06T15:33:16","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T20:33:16","slug":"what-makes-for-a-medical-miracle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-makes-for-a-medical-miracle\/","title":{"rendered":"What Makes for a \u2018Medical Miracle\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of what doctors do isn\u2019t miraculous; it\u2019s science. Evidence-based scientific inquiry developed the life-saving interventions that medical providers use every day, from antibiotics to chemotherapy to the simple power of washing your hands.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even so, many healthcare professionals describe patients whose recovery seems to defy the odds. In a nationwide survey of more than one thousand physicians, 75 percent <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> that they believe miracles can occur.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost doctors, if they\u2019re old, will have seen something they can\u2019t explain,\u201d says <\/span>Dr. Jacalyn Duffin<\/span><\/a>, a hematologist and medical historian in Ontario, Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fact that science can\u2019t neatly explain such incredible events makes them difficult to research or even to talk about, especially for physicians steeped in the importance of concrete data. There are plenty of complicating factors to consider, but the currently unexplained may simply be waiting for the right frame of reference. We break down what truly makes for a medical \u201cmiracle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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    \n
  1. \n

    There\u2019s so much more to discover.<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    To many providers, medical miracles are events we just don\u2019t have the science to understand yet. This doesn\u2019t just apply to dramatic instances of full recovery. There\u2019s a lot about the body we can\u2019t explain, even on a basic level: Researchers still don\u2019t know exactly <\/span>why we yawn<\/span><\/a> or why <\/span>most of us are right-handed<\/span><\/a>, for instance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    During the Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries, researchers and philosophers built up the foundation for modern Western scientific study. Today, we understand, for example, how the human genome works; we can conduct neonatal surgery using advanced medical technology. So much medical knowledge and technology seems within our grasp. Even so, we\u2019re still getting to the bottom of how even basic medicines we rely on <\/span>like penicillin and the pain reliever acetaminophen<\/span><\/a>, make us feel better.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Recent studies<\/span><\/a> estimate that today, the totality of medical knowledge doubles every 73 days. What incredible discoveries and life-altering breakthroughs will we break open in the next 100 years?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
      \n
    1. \n

      Some patients just defy the odds.<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Certain illnesses, like ovarian or pancreatic cancer, often have grim prognoses. However, some patients are exceptions, even with contrary evidence. <\/span>Dr. Heather Viamonte<\/span><\/a>, a pediatric cardiac intensivist at Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta, views these cases as \u201cmedical miracles.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      In 2021, as Viamonte was working in the pediatric ICU, a healthy, active 17-year-old named Jenna arrived with life-threatening blood clots in her heart.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Viamonte\u2019s team quickly turned to an emergency intervention called <\/span>ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation)<\/span><\/a>, a form of life support. While ECMO doesn\u2019t treat lung or heart failure, it can perform the work of the heart and lungs temporarily, which allows these organs to take a break.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Even if they could keep Jenna alive, Viamonte and her team predicted that the loss of blood flow to Jenna\u2019s brain would likely result in permanent neurological damage. Though it\u2019s an extremely advanced device, the survival rate for those put on an ECMO machine <\/span>remains low<\/span><\/a>. In <\/span>one recent study<\/span><\/a> of adults placed on ECMO, 65 percent had neurological complications following the treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Jenna remained on the ECMO machine for two days. When she regained consciousness, Viamonte couldn\u2019t believe it: Jenna didn\u2019t show any signs of neurological damage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      \u201cI\u2019ve only witnessed a few true miracles in my medical career,\u201d Viamonte says, \u201cand this was definitely one of them.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
        \n
      1. \n

        Complementary therapies may have more to offer us.<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Integrative medicine<\/span><\/a>, which aligns Western-style medical treatment with modalities like acupuncture, herbal medicine and homeopathy, has become more popular in recent years. So-called <\/span>alternative medicine<\/span><\/a> is never supposed to substitute for conventional medical care, but it can complement it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Nearly 40 percent of Americans<\/span><\/a> use some form of integrative medicine, but not all alternative treatments are equally helpful. While there\u2019s <\/span>scientific proof <\/span><\/a>that practices like meditation can lower blood pressure and strengthen the immune system, there\u2019s no <\/span>“clear or robust evidence”<\/span><\/a> supporting practices like homeopathy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Dr. Jeffrey Rediger<\/span><\/a>, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, has studied medical miracles for years. In addition to his medical training, he also holds a master of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has seen what he calls the profound, even \u201cmiraculous\u201d impact meditation can have on human health.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        In 2020, he <\/span>published a book<\/span><\/a> on \u201cspontaneous healing,\u201d which the <\/span>Washington Post,<\/span><\/i> in a <\/span>favorable review<\/span><\/a>, called \u201ca sharp critique of Western medicine: its blind spots, its resistance to change and its very structure.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        \u201cAs a doctor, I\u2019m [skeptical about certain methods of treatment],\u201d Rediger says. \u201cBut I\u2019m also humble enough to know that there are some things we just don\u2019t understand yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n

        Ready to book a doctor\u2019s appointment? Visit\u00a0Zocdoc.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Providers on witnessing medical recoveries they couldn\u2019t quite explain. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":19942,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[227],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","reviewer-dr-nassim-assefi"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Makes for a \u2018Medical Miracle\u2019? - Guides<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Providers on witnessing medical recoveries they couldn\u2019t quite explain.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-makes-for-a-medical-miracle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Makes for a \u2018Medical Miracle\u2019? 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