Dec

13

Since the Chair mentioned Dr. Shinya three times in the past 24 hours, (as a humble omnivore) I fell compelled to point out that the counting here doesn't pass the "smell" test. Given the subject matter, failing the smell test is serious, indeed!

Chair wrote: "dr. shinya would also recommend based on his personal completion and examination of 400,000 colonoscopies with dietary data on each eliminating all dairy, and meat from diet…" He also pointed to the wiki link.

Wiki actually reports that Dr. Shinya has performed approximately 300,000 colonoscopies and, since his breakthrough in 1971, has performed a colonoscopies every 20 minutes.

Let's do the math:

1. Dr. Shinya is now 75 years old. He performs 3 procedures per hour for 8 hours per day (no lunch or rest), five days per week, 52 weeks per year. That's 24 procedures per day; 120 procedures per week; 6,240 procedures per year. This is improbable, but let's continue the arithmetic.

2. Let's assume that he has never taken a vacation; never gotten stuck in traffic; never played a round of golf; never taken a sick day; never given a speech; never done anything at all except perform colonoscopies FOR THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS. I feel sorry for his family, yet even so, that is "only" 237,120 procedures.

The only way one can get to 300,000+ procedures would be to assume that he is performing colonoscopies for 365/7/24….and if this is true, it raises even more serious concerns about his judgement.

I am skeptical about taking advice on ANY matter from a person who has spent the last 38 years looking into peoples' colons to the exclusion of every other activity. The saying goes, "To a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Dr. Shinya takes this aphorism to a deeper level.

Jim Lackey adds:

From medical student forums online: 

"Hi theremy, chief resident said in private practice he'd be able to do 35-40 Gas/colons a day easy on a 9-5 list with an efficient OR setup. Has anyone seen this being done. He said when hes's done with his residency he could pull in 15-20Gs a day doing just gas colons. sounded a little outlandish.

thanx."

"A single person can do 30 -40 scopes per day. I am telling you…..a majority of scopes are screening scopes, and take 5 minutes……the next pt is in and you can easily do 5-7 cases per hour. I have seen this. It is a very busy day, and do not forget, like a surgeon, GI doctors do not scope every day. Usually only 1-2 days per week. 25-30 is very easy to do in a well functioning private practice. Get out in the real world, out of academia, and you will see this for yourselves..Breaking upwards of 40 scopes requires lots of committment and a very good functioning clinic….But 30 is easy for a good colonoscopist……"

"As an anesthetist, I am joining a private group this summer which covers a GI group. 30-40 colonoscopies is indeed very doable. More than a few groups I interviewed at were involved in this, as it is very lucrative for anesthesia as well the GI docs. These places are very efficient, and need to have a very good phase II recovery protocol in place. Some GI docs still sedate themselves, using an opioid plus a benzo. However, it takes time to titrate to effect safely, and recovery may be up to a few hours in older patients. The centers doing 30-40 cases per room per day uses an anesthesia staff, and use, for the most part propofol only. 50-100mg of propofol iv, is sufficient for most colonoscopies with no other meds given. A good colonoscopist is done in less than 10 minutes, often 5 from the time the scope goes in. The anesthesia bill is separate from the GI docs bill, so once the GI doc sees how efficient this is, how much happier the patients are, and mostly how much cash they are raking in, they love having anesthesia handle the seadtion. It can be a very nice way to offset non-insured patients and can boost an anesthesia practice's income tremendously. Typical reimbursement is 500-1100 in the greater NYC area."

It's "possible" and more likely he's the Henry Ford of the procedure. Hades, you can show up to one country, hit one hospital, and have thousands waiting for the scope. He was the innovator. But the mean seems to be about 775per year a week and 16 per week per Dr. who scopes 2 days a week…for profit. In the US of A.

So I see what you're saying– a local Dr group barely can do so. The only reason I believe it was in the Military you can line up 3,000 men and a few Docs and medics can perform assembly line of so many procedures in less than a full day– it's wild…and if youve ever seen a mash unit… a full blown surgery unit in the middle of the desert…then you know it can be done. Luckily I only needed stitches, but the level and the ability is amazing. Doctors are trained to work 24-36 hour shifts so pulling 5-12's and supervising a team…. Think "chief surgeon" not local private practice.

Victor Niederhoffer writes:

To my credit the last time I visited with Dr. Shinya, I subjected him to a withering cross examination to verify the 400,000 colonoscopies he claims in his books. He gave me a enumeration, and then dismissed me with "I have to see patients. I can't waste my time with people who don't understand medicine." I have always found that the worse the bed side manner of a competent Dr., the better he is at curing. I believe this the case with Shinya.

Rocky Humbert writes:

I have no personal knowledge of Dr. Shinya — but these sorts of claims are eerily similar to the sorts of results reported by Madoff.

Even Shinya's response to Vic's cross examination is reminiscent of Madoff's response to the SEC field investigators.

Consistent, remarkable, implausible performance/results that defy logic or reason … and which improbably persists for years…should cause one to raise one's antenna. This is true in every field of endeavor. (And I'm an optimist!)

Nigel Davies writes:

I read Dr Shinya's 'Enzyme Factor' but found Dr. Servan-Schreiber's 'Anti-Cancer' much better and more thorough on many levels. As a clinical professor of psychiatry who was diagnosed with brain cancer, he undertook extensive investigations of cancer mechanisms and how food/lifestyle can prevent it developing. All of us have cancer cells in our bodies but this disease tends to develop in favourable 'terrain'.

Please note that I've not been diagnosed. But a quick look at the odds makes a convincing case to adopt certain measures in the interest of attempting an extended life span. This is very chess btw; Nimzovitsch, prophylaxis and forcing them to take carry you off to the netherworld kicking and screaming.


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