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Dear Dr. Roach: How effective is premedication for dental work? Because of mitral valve surgery I had 11 years ago, I always take antibiotics before dental procedures. This past March, I did the normal protocol.

Dear Dr. Roach: This year, I had a partial knee replacement on my right knee. Everything went fine, I have full mobility and I am almost pain-free. However, my right knee is warm to the touch, so I went to the doctor who did the surgery.

Dear Dr. Roach: Would you be able to write something about sepsis? I recently spent almost a week in the hospital being treated aggressively with IV antibiotics for this.

Dear Dr. Roach: My 73-year-old husband has candida esophagitis (ongoing for about six years). He has Type 2 diabetes and has had esophageal dilatations for the past 23 years. He was a cigarette smoker but quit.

Dear Dr. Roach: I went to the emergency ward this weekend with severe chest pains and bloating. I was sure I was having a heart attack.

Wellness, not illness, is the focus of a new international journal for indigenous health launched this month by the Centre for Aboriginal Health Research at the University of Victoria.

Dear Dr. Roach: My son, 55, had groin pain and was told he needed a new hip. Since the surgery, he has been in constant pain. Many doctors say it is his back, and he might not have needed the hip surgery.

Dear Dr. Roach: I am a 70-year-old woman in reasonably good health. For the past 18 months or so, I have had a vibration or fluttering in my chest. It happens only upon awakening — in the morning, middle of the night or after a nap.

Dear Dr. Roach: Can you tell me why there is so much emphasis on small portions for diabetics or prediabetics? If you are watching carbs and are underweight, is there still a reason to limit portion sizes? C.

Dear Dr. Roach: There once was what I thought was a terrific procedure to increase blood flow to the myocardium — transmyocardial revascularization (TMR). As a heart patient with five stents, I was particularly interested in this procedure.