Communication is the center pillar of a successful surgical
practice. Long years in medical school and hospital practice make surgeons
accustomed to the blood and pus. It is easy to explain the possible
complications of a disease to a medical student. But only a surgeon can
understand the chance of collateral damages associated with a surgery in a
difficult situation.
Some days ago my professor was called in to gynecology
operating room. They had opened a patient for a large ovarian cyst. The patient
had history of four abdominal surgeries. The gynecologist made a rent in the
rectum while separating the adhesions in the pelvis. There was bowel contents
were released to the peritoneal cavity. Considering the nature of injury and
comorbidities, my professor advised a covering colostomy after repairing the
rent. Now the difficult part was to get things explained to the relatives. They
will never understand how difficult it is, to operate in an abdomen with adhesions;
they will never realize how easy it is, to get bowel injury while separating
adhesions, even with utmost care. But my professor handled the situation very
smartly. He met the relatives and explained them, that the tumor was adhered to
the rectum. The options left were to leave the part of tumor or remove the
tumor completely with a part of rectum, for which a covering colostomy is
required. The relatives were happy to agree to do the colostomy.
This incident is a story about my professor in medical
school. He did a thyroid surgery; unfortunately the recurrent laryngeal nerve
got damaged on one side. He could identify it on the table itself. He went to
the relatives and explained about the patient condition. He said “I was in a
difficult situation during the surgery, I had to choose between the life and
voice of the patient. I asked God. He told me, life is more important than voice.
So I had to do it that way. So patient may have some change in the voice, but
thank Him for giving back the life.”