The Magic Tonsillectomy or Armstrong's Voodoo Science?

[Jim Hargrove]

Even more so when you consider that Philben advertised that he did pediatrics only.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5842[/ATTACH]
"PRACTICE LIMITED TO PEDIATRICS"

Assuming, for the moment, that this card is genuine....

From Wikipedia:

Pediatrics (also spelled [B]paediatrics or [B]pædiatrics) is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents, and the age limit usually ranges from birth up to 18 (in some places until completion of secondary education, and until age 21 in the United States).

[/B][/B]

On Jan. 17, 1945, the date Marguerite apparently indicated Dr. Philben performed the tonsillectomy on her son, or referred it to a surgeon, Lee Harvey Oswald was five years old. He would most logically be under the care of a pediatrician. I understand some pediatricians can do minor surgery, but whether a tonsillectomy would qualify as minor, or what was allowed in Texas at that time, I don't know. The Wikipedia article also states (my emphasis):

A major difference between pediatrics and adult medicine is that children are minors and, in most jurisdictions, cannot make decisions for themselves. The issues of guardianship, privacy, legal responsibility and informed consent must always be considered in every pediatric procedure. In a sense, pediatricians often have to treat the parents and sometimes, the family, rather than just the child.

To give her consent, Marguerite should have been well informed about the procedure.

Jim