appreciation that fetal cells do cross the placental barrier, and bizarrely,
independently exist in the host mother’s body, it is fair to say that ART
does result in a permanent cellular implant, saying nothing of the millions
of ART humans now inhabiting planet earth (perhaps even you, Dear
Reader).
UROLOGYThe inflatable penile implant is used in erectile dysfunction, but its use is
actually decreasing, as more precise surgery is perhaps contributing to a
lower incidence of surgery-associated impotence, even as the overall
number of men suffering from erectile dysfunction has increased. Even
with an aging population, the surgical volume of inflatable penile implants
is only 5,000 per year in the United States.^70
Urinary incontinence is much less common among males than females.
Operations for men include placement of an artificial silicone sphincter or
insertion of a sling implant to internally check the flow of urine. A recent
study estimates approximately 2,500 such operations every year in the
United States, which is slightly more than 1 percent of the national total of
similar operations for women.^71
OPHTHALMOLOGY:In 2014, there were 1,428,800 intraocular operations performed at
community hospitals in the United States.^72 Essentially all lens
replacement operations are performed in an ambulatory surgery setting,
even if the operation is performed in a hospital. That million-and-a-half
number is misleading, however, because many states do not require a full
accounting of non-hospital owned surgery centers. Therefore, the data
sources are incomplete, and the aggregate numbers included in NIS
calculations are a vast underestimate of the number of cataract operations.
Like almost all implant trends in the United States, the rate of
implantation of intraocular lenses has steadily increased since their
introduction. Curiously, a 1986 article predicted that the number of lens