Dr. Ralph J Doerr M.D.

When a piece of tissue or an organ protrudes from its normal position, the condition is called a hernia. An abdominal hernia occurs when a piece of bowel protrudes through a weak area of the abdominal walls. Muscle and tissue layers form the abdominal walls. Weak spots may arise from these layers,...

What is a lipoma?Lipoma is the most common benign tissue tumor that occurs in almost 1 percent of the population. A lipoma consists of mature fat cells. Typically, a lipoma is enclosed by a thin fibrous capsule. Usually, lipomas develop superficially under the skin, but they can also occur anywhere...

Stomach ulcers are painful lesions that are found in the lining of your stomach or small intestine. They are the most visible sign of peptic ulcer disease. Your stomach and small intestine are lined by a layer of mucus-producing cells. The mucus produced by these cells protect the lining of your...

What Really Is Appendicitis?To understand the term appendicitis, you need first to understand what the appendix is. The appendix is a small structure that is finger-shaped and located in the abdomen in connection with the large intestines. More specifically, this structure is found on lower right...

Sleep apnea is a very common but serious sleeping disorder, wherein your breathing gets briefly interrupted while you sleep. Breathing might stop or become very shallow with pauses while you are sleeping. It can last from a few seconds to several minutes and usually recurs through the night. Since...

Spinal stenosis is a condition where two spinal vertebrae separated by an intervertebral disc come closer as the disc wears off due to osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or trauma. When this happens, the spinal nerve that runs between them becomes compressed causing pain to the individual. The...