One of my pet peeves in the field of medicine is useless procedures in which 1) there is minimal to no clinical research backing it up and 2) there is no need for insurance to pay for said procedure so the family eventually gets stuck paying 100% of the bill for a useless intervention. I never understand the dynamics between the physician who who may / may not realize they are grifting (financial benefits can cloud thinking), a patient / family frantically searching for a cure for symptoms (for which there may be no cure while unnecessary procedures come with risks), and the possible contribution of a super placebo.
This American Academy of Pediatrics just released these guidelines regarding tongue tie surgery. They are excellent and point to a the issue for a very problematic procedure that is typically not covered insurance and which can be a temptation for a revenue stream for a medical provider.
Of note the New York Times had a recent article discussing the financial incentives of doing such a procedure. Overall, this is yucky issue with medical ethics at risk.
Phi-The-Sci: Equilateral Musings 