Surgery

After years of suffering from chronically inflamed and infected sinuses, I finally decided I'd had enough. I chose to do what 500,000 other Americans do every year - have sinus surgery. It wasn't an easy decision. I had to balance my need for a fix against my fear of surgery and research that raised questions about the procedure. I was miserable. My sinuses, those supposedly hollow spaces around the nose, had become clogged by scar tissue and the build-up of thickened mucus from decades of infections and inflammation.

Everyone expected Phillip Phillips to win "American Idol" — except Phillips himself. Shortly after cleaning the confetti out of his hair, the folksy guitar-strumming crooner who bested vocal powerhouse Jessica Sanchez on Wednesday still seemed surprised that he'd actually won the whole shebang. "I can't really feel anything," Phillips said sitting on a couch in his backstage dressing room with his legs casually crossed. The 21-year-old from Leesburg, Ga., received the winning share of the record-high 132 million viewer votes cast after Tuesday's final showdown with the...

With his carefully tended hair, tight trousers and perfect harmonies, Robin Gibb, along with his brothers Maurice and Barry, defined the disco era. As part of the Bee Gees — short for the Brothers Gibb — they created dance floor classics like "Stayin Alive," ''Jive Talkin'," and "Night Fever" that can still get crowds onto a dance floor. The catchy songs, with their falsetto vocals and relentless beat, are familiar pop culture mainstays. There are more than 6,000 cover versions of the Bee Gees hits, and they are still heard on dance floors and at wedding receptions, birthday...

Texans star receiver Andre Johnson said Monday that he will be out for three to four weeks after arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The 30-year-old Johnson sat out Houston's first organized team practice, two weeks after the procedure. "Right now, everything is just focusing on making sure everything is right before I get back out here," Johnson said. "Nothing to panic about. " The five-time Pro Bowl selection was inactive for nine regular-season games last year with injuries to both hamstrings.

Former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi has been diagnosed with cancer in his tongue and lymph nodes, his family confirmed Friday, a disease that can be fatal if not detected early. DiMasi, a onetime political power now serving eight years in a Kentucky prison for corruption, was diagnosed last month after he discovered a suspicious growth, a family friend said. It's unclear where DiMasi will be treated, but there is a prison medical facility specializing in cancer treatment in North Carolina.

Knee replacement surgeries at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center soon could be handled by a specialized operating room team as the result of a data-sharing project among health systems throughout the U.S. aimed at improving health care and lowering costs. The Lebanon hospital is among the founding members of a collaborative created in 2010 to analyze a range of high-volume, high-cost medical procedures and conditions and quickly spreading the word about which approaches result in the best outcomes and the lowest costs.

Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green will return to Georgetown University this weekend to collect his diploma at graduation ceremonies after earning a degree in English with a minor in theology. Green left Georgetown in 2007 after leading the Hoyas to the Final Four as a junior. He says it was important to his parents that he complete the necessary work to get his degree. Green missed the 2011-12 NBA season with a heart condition. He had surgery in January to repair an aeortic aneurysm that was discovered by the Celtics medical staff during a...

A condemned killer's fight to receive surgery for agonizing hip pain pushed Kentucky officials into an uncomfortable debate over security, politics and even the possibility of inviting scorn from Fox News pundits. Emails and memos obtained by The Associated Press show corrections officials struggling for a year to reconcile their duty to provide medical care with the political ramifications of spending tens of thousands of dollars for surgery on a man they plan to execute. A key problem would turn out to be security issues that led several hospitals to balk at treating inmate Robert...

Jeff Stewart, 43, a house painter and former high school and college athlete, remembers the exact moment his hip gave out: Valentine's Day 2006. "I bent down to paint something low. When I got up, my hip never stopped hurting until I woke up from surgery in January 2007," he said. The pain, due to an anatomical abnormality made worse by years of wear and tear, was so bad that sometimes all he could do was lie on his recliner and watch TV: "When you are in so much pain, your life is reduced to that.

Jeff Green was resting comfortably at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio after having surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm Monday. His agent, David Falk, said Green's surgery was "100 percent successful" and he should be able to return to the NBA next season. "The doctor said he would have an easier return than if he came back from an ACL [injury]," said Falk. Green's condition was discovered during a team physical before training camp. After the diagnosis, the Celtics rescinded their qualifying offer to Green of $9 million, making him an unrestricted free agent.

GIFT OF SIGHT: David and Kara Miller of Sudbury first met 13-year-old Ricardo Gei Khaub when they volunteered with their sons at Community Hope School in Katutura, Namibia — sister school to Veritas Christian Academy in Wayland — for two weeks in March 2011. Then a sixth-grader, Ricardo's congenital keratoconus was already so advanced that to read he had to have his eyes an inch from the page. When the Millers learned that Ricardo would be traveling to the United States for a sight-saving operation, they offered to host him during his recovery.

Hockey Russia and Slovakia will meet in the World Championship final Sunday in Helsinki for the first time since the Slovaks won their only title a decade ago against the Russians. After Evgeni Malkin scored a hat trick to lead Russia to a 6-2 rout of host Finland, Slovak forward Miroslav Satan scored twice to help beat the Czech Republic, 3-1, in the second semifinal. Malkin, the NHL regular-season scoring king for the Penguins, scored twice in the first period against defending champ Finland and completed the hat trick in the second period . . . Flyers All-Star forward Claude Giroux ...

Surgeon Edward J. Reardon has been appointed as Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton's new chief of surgery. Reardon has worked at the hospital since 1978 and attended medical school at Tufts University School of Medicine before completing postdoctoral training at Maine Medical Center, St. Elizabeth's Hospital, and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a news release said. "Over his tenure here, Dr. Reardon has earned the respect of many of his surgical colleagues," Joseph Morrissey, president at BID-Milton, said in a prepared statement.

Knee replacement surgeries at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center soon could be handled by a specialized operating room team as the result of a data-sharing project among health systems throughout the U.S. aimed at improving health care and lowering costs. The Lebanon hospital is among the founding members of a collaborative created in 2010 to analyze a range of high-volume, high-cost medical procedures and conditions and quickly spreading the word about which approaches result in the best outcomes and the lowest costs.

A condemned killer's fight to receive surgery for agonizing hip pain pushed Kentucky officials into an uncomfortable debate over security, politics and even the possibility of inviting scorn from Fox News pundits. Emails and memos obtained by The Associated Press show corrections officials struggling for a year to reconcile their duty to provide medical care with the political ramifications of spending tens of thousands of dollars for surgery on a man they plan to execute. A key problem would turn out to be security issues that led several hospitals to...

Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green will return to Georgetown University this weekend to collect his diploma at graduation ceremonies after earning a degree in English with a minor in theology. Green left Georgetown in 2007 after leading the Hoyas to the Final Four as a junior. He says it was important to his parents that he complete the necessary work to get his degree. Green missed the 2011-12 NBA season with a heart condition. He had surgery in January to repair an aeortic aneurysm that was discovered by the Celtics medical staff during a...

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs shortstop Nomar Garciaparra plans to have surgery on his injured groin tomorrow in Philadelphia and hopes to play again this season. The procedure does not involve reattaching a ruptured tendon. It will involve cleaning up other tissue around the groin. "It's going to be a minor procedure," said Garciaparra. "When you do something like this, it's not just the tendon, there's other tissues that often get damaged when you have something this extreme. " The surgery will be performed by Dr. William C. Meyers.

Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury said Wednesday that he does not need surgery on his partially dislocated right shoulder and will return this season. But Ellsbury does not to know when that return might be. "We're icing, doing a lot of icing to get the swelling out," he said. "Once the swelling [subsides], I can start getting into exercises and that sort of thing with the shoulder. As far as the timeline, we don't have one right now. " Ellsbury had not spoken to reporters since he was injured while trying to break up a double play Friday against the Rays.

"Modern Family" star Sarah Hyland has had a kidney transplant after a lifetime of pain and fatigue. The 21-year-old actress, who plays big-eyed teenager Haley Dunphy on the hit ABC comedy, told ABC's "Good Morning America" for a report aired Monday that she had the surgery in April, At age 9, she was diagnosed with abnormal kidney development. The condition often left her exhausted or in pain. But as her health grew worse, she began seeking an organ donor. Her father, actor Edward James Hyland, was a match.

Derrick Rose had surgery Saturday on a torn knee ligament, and the Chicago Bulls said they will give an update early next week on the recovery of their star point guard. The team said in a statement the operation was "successful" but gave no timetable for his return. Rose tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee late during a playoff-opening win over Philadelphia on April 28. He came to a jump stop in the lane and his leg bucked, with the 76ers' Spencer Hawes and Lavoy Allen rotating toward him. He still went up again and passed to Carlos Boozer in...