Ben Carson was part of the team who separated the brains of Siamese twins

[angstlessk]

A brilliant surgeon who knows NOTHING about housing!

[handmade34]

1. "idiot savant"

I think, is the term you are looking for...

[samnsara]

2. yep that is THE ONE good thing he will be remembered for

[moriah]

14. Good? Most of these surgeries have ended in death, including the one highlighted.

Both of these poor girls died. I mean, they were grown, and it was their choice to risk their lives for this attempt at freedom from each other, but both patients dying 3 hours post-op is *not* exactly a "good" surgical outcome.

Nor is the overall track record for operations of this type he's been part of. The first attempt he made, in 1987, led to both the infant Binder twins surviving, but neither were ever able to care for themselves, one left in a persistent vegetative state. The Banda twins in 1997, also infants, were the first to both survive and have normal neurological outcomes following the procedure. Another attempted separation resulted in the death of one twin and leaving the other legally blind and mobility impaired (can't find their names or ages at the time of the procedure).

[violetpastille]

16. +1

[edhopper]

3. I have a great car mechanic

I wouldn't let him run a Govt. Agency,

[nycbos]

4. Bill Maher said it best.

[dewsgirl]

8. That was good, thank you for posting it.

[Farmer-Rick]

5. Maybe he had a brain injury after

Or a psychotic break.

He seems very unstable to me. Traitor Trump seems to attract the strangest people.

All this crazy brought to you by capitalism.......Enjoy.

[Grammy23]

6. Ben Carson was a famous neurosurgeon long before he had dreams of a life in politics.

He performed a dangerous, daring surgery on a teenager who suffered from such debilitating seizures, it was feared she would die. Her intellect was declining with nearly every seizure. Carson removed half of her brain to try to reduce the number of seizures after extensive testing suggested that might be her only hope for a longer, better quality of life. I have not followed up on that girl (since her surgery in the 1990s) but shortly after her surgery she was recovering nicely and adjusting to the loss of some of ability to use one arm and one leg. Her seizures were gone, but she faced a lengthy rehab.

Since then, who knows what might have happened to Carson? He seems a bit odd. Maybe there are mental health issues. But no matter what the problem may be, he does not have the education or experience to run a government department the size of Housing.

[Goodheart]

7. I am not convinced that takes genius talent.

It's not like rocket science.

[Docreed2003]

11. I can assure you that performing that surgery requires a level of genius

I'm not suggesting Carson is a genius outside of his medical expertise but to perform the procedures he did are waaaaaaay beyond the skills of the average neurosurgeon, much less a general surgeon such as myself. There's no textbook one can study to learn those procedures.

That being said, dudes a moron when it comes to the rest of his beliefs.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

9. It's not as though he operated alone on them.

Most neurosurgeons flat-out refused to attempt to separate them, but they simply searched until they found ones willing to do so.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to be joined like that. I can easily imagine that the risk of death seeming worthwhile.

[PJMcK]

10. Great! I have a project for Dr. Carson

He could remove the brain of someone we all know.

Oh, wait. That skull is already empty.

Oops.

[Volaris]

12. This is why I'm convinced that to operate with any level of success in congress,

One has to have a lot of different intellectual interests, instead of just a single, chosen, deep speciality.

If Carson had been picked head of neuro research for the AMA, I would applaud that choice (probably).

But really, wtf could he possibly know about public housing?

[yortsed snacilbuper]

13. idiot

[kskiska]

15. None of the twins he operated on lived normal lives afterwards.

[GoneOffShore]

17. Carson was essentially a really good mechanic.

Here's an excerpt from The Royal College of Surgeons about the title:

Why are surgeons in the UK called Mr/Miss/Ms/Mrs, rather than Dr?

In most other parts of the world all medical practitioners, physicians and surgeons alike, are referred to as Dr while in the UK surgeons are usually referred to as Mr/Miss/Ms/Mrs. This is because, from the Middle Ages physicians had to embark on formal university training to gain possession of a degree in medicine before they could enter practice. The possession of this degree, a doctorate, entitled them to the title of ‘Doctor of Medicine’ or Doctor.

The training of surgeons until the mid-19th century was different. They did not have to go to university to gain a degree; instead they usually served as an apprentice to a surgeon. Afterwards they took an examination. In London, after 1745, this was conducted by the Surgeons' Company and after 1800 by The Royal College of Surgeons. If successful they were awarded a diploma, not a degree, therefore they were unable to call themselves 'Doctor', and stayed instead with the title 'Mr'.

Outside London and in the largest cities, the surgeon served as an apprentice like many other tradesmen, but did not necessarily take any examination. Today all medical practitioners, whether physicians or surgeons have to undertake training at medical school to obtain a qualifying degree. Thereafter a further period of postgraduate study and training through junior posts is required before full consultant surgeon status is achieved. Thus the tradition of a surgeon being referred to as Mr/Miss/Ms/Mrs has continued, meaning that in effect a person starts as Mr/Miss/Ms/Mrs, becomes a Dr and then goes back to being a Mr/Miss/Ms/Mrs again!

[Stinky The Clown]

18. A friend of mine has a son who is a doctor who worked with Carson

He said, way back well before Carson retired from Johns Hopkins, he was kind of an arrogant dick and an asshole.