[oarabbus_]

While your general point about anecdoes makes sense, your point about the 100 people and 50 dead is completely incorrect. and ironically that example is a made up anecdote, at least Hadfield is a real example. It's well documented across many studies that a staggering number of surgeries are unnecessary.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/18/unnece...

key highlights:

"About 10% of all spinal fusions paid for by Medicare in 2011 were not necessary, either because there was no medical basis for them or because doctors did not follow standards of care by exploring non-surgical treatments"

"An estimated 7.5 million unnecessary medical and surgical procedures are performed annually with the number of unnecessary hospital stays around 8.9 million a year. One study determined that almost 29% were not necessary (Health In The 21st Century by Fransisco Contreras MD, page 212)"

"A 2011 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reviewed records for 112,000 patients who had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), a pacemaker-like device that corrects heartbeat irregularities. In 22.5% of the cases, researchers found no medical evidence to support installing the devices"

Anecdotes are great for illustrating a point and making an emotional connection which is why I brought up the story from Astronaut's Guide. But there's absolutely no doubt that a significant and unacceptable number of surgeries are unnecessary.