The important lesson

         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.”