In others the operation works just fine, but drugs or other nonsurgical remedies may be safer or cheaper.

FORBES: Is elective surgery overdone?

Overall, 2.7 million Americans get some kind of back surgery each year, while another 21 million people with back pain use nonsurgical treatments.

FORBES: Neurosurgery

It points to a 300-patient trial published in the Lancet this year that found kyphoplasty was better than nonsurgical care for relieving spine fracture pain and improving function.

FORBES: Effectiveness

They are not--and never will be--medical facilities, but several of them have teamed up with their fellow "alternative" practitioners, acupuncturists, to offer nonsurgical "face-lifts" with, they claim, dramatic results.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Among the nearly 6.9 million cosmetic treatments performed in the United States in 2002, nonsurgical procedures outnumbered surgical procedures by more than 3-to-1, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

FORBES: Knifeless Surgery's Cutting-Edge Techniques

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration held a two-day panel of experts on the safety and efficacy of drug-coated stents, tiny devices used in a nonsurgical alternative to heart bypass operations.

FORBES: Magazine Article

"(She) is great proof of the benefits of self-monitoring in the weight loss and management process, " said Dr. Jessica Bartfield, a bariatrician at Loyola University Health System who sees both surgical and nonsurgical patients battling their weight.

CNN: Journaling helps woman lose half her body weight