University of Texas Health Science Center - IATRO Yearbook (Houston, TX)

Page 64 text:

The Prince of Rock They call him “His Roy- al Badness’—and that’s meant as a compliment. At once erotic and messianic, Prince (right) is che most ex- citing, and enigmatic, rock idol of the ’80s. Page 72 Michael Jackson (Right) Madonna Phil Collins

Page 63 text:

A Tale of Two Hearts Signs appear upbeat for a pair of famous patients. hen William Schroeder was wheeled by the intensive-care unit at Humana Hospital in Louisville one evening last week, he did what appeared to be a classic double take. Through a glass window he had spied Murray P. Haydon, snoozing amid the beeping and flashing electronic monitors and tethered by eight-foot tubes to the 323-pound Utahdrive air-compressor unit that operates the Jarvik-7 mechanical heart. “Bill,” Margaret Schroeder ex- plained to her somewhat bewildered hus- band, “that’s another member of the club.” Haydon, a 58-year-old assembly-line worker at the Louisville Ford plant, had joined a very exclusive club indeed when, on Sunday, Feb. 17, he became the third person to receive a permanent artificial heart. He had suffered from severe congestive heart failure caused by cardiomyopathy, a dete- rioration of the heart muscle. Eventually he stopped responding to diuretics and digital- is, and by the time he was accepted as the second patient in Humana’s much-publi- cized artificial-heart program, he had only a few weeks to live. Still, Haydon was the healthiest of any- one to get the Jarvik-7 mechanical heart so far. The first, Dr. Barney B. Clark, had respiratory and other problems that led toa series of crises before he died after 112 days. Schroeder was in better health than Clark when he got his artificial heart last Nov. 25, but he had diabetes, advanced arteriosclero- sis and had undergone earlier coronary- bypass surgery that left scar tissue, thus complicating the operation. Haydon’s relatively stable condition could prove crucial—not only for his own chances of recovery, but for Humana’s arti- ficial-heart program. Clark suffered sei- zures and Schroeder has had a serious stroke, both problems quite possibly attrib- utable to the artificial heart. Should Hay- ie ; Ma E D i C i N E : oF ey an OY oe Passing time in New York’ Malpractice Insurers Are Ill atients aren’t the only sick things some New York doctors are worrying about these days. The New York-based Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Co. (MLMIC), which insures 35 percent of the state’s phy- sicians against malpractice claims, may be on its last legs; a dramatic rise in malprac- tice suits has left the company short at least $750 million to pay future claims. To stave off MLMIC’s failure, state regulators have authorized a 55 percent rate hike, boosting the average doctor’s 1985 premium to $16,000. If that doesn’t ease MLMIC’s problems, the state’s insurance department may have to take the company over. MLMIC is only the latest insurer ’ out of bed in the current malprget’ But more and more of the af€ MEDICI NE AIDS: A Growing ‘Pandemic’? nies are mutuals like MLM?“ doctors whom they ins” so-called “bedpan r percent of the ir ance market. ida, Mich‘ ward ir failv- TY reasonable rates, since many mutuals had relatively low expenses and weren’t in busi- ness to show a profit. As they netted higher- than-expected returns on their investment portfolios, moreover, some mutuals began to pay dividends and cut premiums. But growth in the number and size of malpractice claims has taken off again in recent years, and it has made the earlier crisis seem like a minor headache. All mal- practice carriers have faced rising losses, but as a result of certain practices, the mu- s Central Park: An inevitable explosion in the elderly population ETHAN HOFFMAN—ARCHIVE

Page 65 text:

Ghostbusters in action ‘Miami Vice’: Cool, hip and expensively stylish “A new-wave ‘Alice in Wonderland’.” —Carrie Rickey, Boston Herald DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN ROSANNA AIDAN ARQUETTE QUINN and MADONNA It's a life so outrageous it takes two women to live it. : AN ORION PICTURFS RELEASE PG 13 Exclusive Houston Engagement! Friday's Showtimes: (4:45 @ $2.50), 7:15, 9:45 TOP FILMS ylvester Stallone’s Rambo held on to its No. 1 rating as the top movie box office hit last week, with the thriller grossing $9.2 million. Many observers account for the movie’s popularity by linking the he- roic exploits of John Rambo and the relentless viclence of the story with the current political temper of the country. Here are the top 10 movies at the box office over the weekend, with weekend gross, total gross and number of weeks in release: 1 Rambo: First Blood II, $9.2 e million, $85 million, 4 weeks. 2 Goonies, $8.4 million, 22 mil- e lion, 2 weeks. 3 Fletch, $5.6 million, $24.4 mil- e lion, 3 weeks. 4 Prizzi’s Honor, $4.2 million, 1 e week. 5 A View toa Kill, $3.4 millica, «J. $35.9 million, 4 weeks. 6 Brewster’s Millions, $2.8 mil- » lion, $2$ million, 4 weeks. 7 D.A.R.Y.L., $2.6 million, 1 e week. 8 Perfect, $2.5 million, $6.1 mil- e lion, 2 weeks. QO. Secret Admirer, $2.4 million, 1 week. 10. Beverly Hills Cop, $1 mil- lion, $223 milJion, 28 weeks. 61