Surgery-related problems have a significant psychological impact on the surgeon in addition to having a physical impact on the patient. It is important to stress that surgical complications are different from surgical negligence. Largely surgical complications occur even when a surgical procedure goes smoothly and sometimes it is inevitable. But one must not undervalue the emotional toll they have on the surgeon.
After studying hard for many years and having trouble sleeping, I became a doctor at a young age after finishing my medical degree (MBBS). I felt proud and successful. I entered the field of medicine, thinking that life would be great. The idea of being like a protective angel, helping and comforting those who are sick, made me feel happy and like I had a clear goal in life.
This is an inspiring story of an 85-year old man who was an epitome of courage. He was borderline diabetic and had borderline hypertension. He had cardiac and kidney problems too to compound things. Yet he put up a brave face as he was vomiting profusely and showed signs of dehydration when he came visiting me.
Sivanesan was a 70 odd years old male. A seemingly healthy old man had an episode of weight loss and on a not so fine day he collapsed all of a sudden. He was rushed to a hospital in Chennai by his family members. Thereafter a series of tests were conducted that showed a mass in the pancreatic head and jaundice by the hospital. So doctors thought it could be pancreatic cancer. Were they right? Was their diagnosis right? Let us get the whole story.
This is about a story of a man, let’s name him Natarajan, who was an alcoholic. With his regular drinking habit, the man had made his liver so bad that he had developed liver cirrhosis as a result. As a responsible surgeon, I mostly resort to gently bashing my patients who have ailments due to their drinking habits. Old habits die hard and that is what I did that day when the said patient walked in.
People think that some physicians or surgeons insist on diagnostic reports like Ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI without any reason. As a matter of fact, these modern diagnostic tools are a boon. This is a story of a young mother, aged just 29, who missed out on crucial time to get her otherwise simple gallbladder removal surgery (cholecystectomy) a complicated one.
A middle-aged man, around 55, approached me when the COVID-19 lockdown was just underway in March 2020. He was diabetic, had hypertension, conditions that are not uncommon for people of that age these days. He complained of severe abdominal pain and I diagnosed him for the presence of gallstones. I recommended him to get a gallbladder removal surgery done.
