tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post1999380994290641609..comments2024-02-18T13:53:30.168-08:00Comments on Surgeonsblog: FocusSid Schwabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-37203143613419070992007-03-18T16:34:00.000-07:002007-03-18T16:34:00.000-07:00Thanks Dr Schwab. I'm fine. I have actually been f...Thanks Dr Schwab. I'm fine. I have actually been feeling good and feeling encouraged based on my own symptoms or lack of, post stent removal. <BR/><BR/>I think the waiting is getting to me a bit. Ha! Of course, knowing me - as much as I DO want to get this over with, when it finally does become time for the next test, I will be seriously tempted to go MIA. (I'm kidding!..or am I?)<BR/><BR/>Historically, I have been a patient who does well in the OR. If I do need to go down that road or through those doors, should I say - I know I will be well taken care of.<BR/><BR/>I don't think I can adequately articulate just how grateful I am to you for your well written posts regarding all the precautions taken to ensure the patient's safety, the skill of the surgeons and other OR staff. Intellectually,I have known this, but still reading these things as seen through your eyes and as based on your life's experience has helped immensely.<BR/><BR/>I just want you to know that for most of the time that I thought about possible impending surgery that I had put my focus on the the risk factors and then obsessed and viewed surgery from totally negative perspective. However, your informative posts have been one of the key catalysts for turning my attitude around for the better.<BR/><BR/>Who knows why those stupid little darts of fear sometimes penetrate and invade one's otherwise happy psyche?<BR/><BR/>You know your taking Trust post is still my favorite followed by your fairly recent one on going into the OR with a positive attitude. (sorry - name of that post escapes me) Surgeonsblog is most definitely one of the best blogs around and one of my top favorites. :)SeaSprayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07906503090688697222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-39932612593890212232007-03-18T13:39:00.000-07:002007-03-18T13:39:00.000-07:00seaspray: these examples are so much the exception...seaspray: these examples are so much the exception as to be not a lot more than good post fodder. In other words, in elective (meaning non-emergency) surgery, the chance of something really serious going wrong is incredibly small. Out of thousands of operations, I have only a handful of "good stories" of this kind, and none refer to your kind of situation. So keep on walkin', yes indeed you're a-walkin', but don't fret. It's only because this stuff is so exceptional that it's worth writing about!Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-12807958133411347092007-03-18T12:00:00.000-07:002007-03-18T12:00:00.000-07:00God Bless you all - really god bless you all! :)I ...God Bless you all - really god bless you all! :)<BR/><BR/>I want to bake you all some cookies, fix you a food platter and give you a hug with a nice thank you note. There you go. You are not my docs but from your writing, I feel appreciation for what you do and even more for the docs that have and will be taking care of me. So, that is my cyber gift - from me - to you. :)<BR/><BR/>However, this girl at the moment is thinking "YIKES!", and is going to her happy place now. :)<BR/><BR/>It is a beautiful sunny day (snow all around) so, I am walking, Dr. Schwab - walking, walking and walking! As always, thanks for the insights.<BR/><BR/>I do know these things and I do believe that things work out the way they are supposed to. Sometimes through a more circuitous route than originally planned, but that they go as they should.<BR/><BR/>I don't know why I felt a momentary sense of panic regarding the OR after reading the last few comments. I want to know about this stuff. Maybe because today, I woke up with this real sense that the clock is ticking, which is good because I do want answers and I want to get this all over with, one way or the other.<BR/><BR/>I was someone who had to go through some infertility tests before finally conceiving and so, as you can imagine, was thrilled that I was going to finally, have a baby. However, I remember waking up one night - totally panicked - thinking "I am going to have a b-a-b-y. It's going to hurt. What if..." of course. I wasn't going to cancel the order, nor did I want to - but just had this moment of fear.<BR/><BR/>So,I guess I am having one of those moments - first time in weeks. fresh air does wonders. :)SeaSprayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07906503090688697222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-79702625496301881652007-03-18T09:47:00.000-07:002007-03-18T09:47:00.000-07:00Yeah. I think I may have referred to it already so...Yeah. I think I may have referred to it already somewhere, but on one occasion during training, I noted the anesthesiologist had increased the tempo of his activity, following which he calmly leaned over the ether screen and said, "You guys might want to stop what you're doing and start some chest compressions..."Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-75960616753275609742007-03-18T01:50:00.000-07:002007-03-18T01:50:00.000-07:00greg, ofter in surgery there is not too much of a ...greg, ofter in surgery there is not too much of a trick to recognising when something very bad is going on. some of the signs may be the anaesthetist swearing and screaming for the defib, the bleeding suddenly stopping without you getting control, the warm moist feel of blood through your clothes running down your leg, etc. the trick then is to do the right thing calmly and quickly even if others around you are losing it. i think neurological conditions generally kill slightly slower.Bongihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12918640034313468627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-33343793873098549482007-03-18T01:41:00.000-07:002007-03-18T01:41:00.000-07:00the other day i walked past a colleague. he stopp...the other day i walked past a colleague. he stopped me and simply said "first do no harm". i knew he had gotten into deep water during an operation. he is an excellent surgeon and fortunately got himself (and the patient) out again. the point is sometimes one stops half way through an operation and thinks why the hell did i study surgery? the thought that a decision you make now may be the difference between the patient living or duying is sometimes pretty huge.<BR/><BR/>this excellent post (once again) exactly captures the essence of it.<BR/><BR/>the other thing you touched on was the post adrenal rush exhaustion. i definitely experience it, almost exactly the way you describe it. <BR/><BR/>master blogger schwab has spoken.Bongihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12918640034313468627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-91570036397989826412007-03-17T16:30:00.000-07:002007-03-17T16:30:00.000-07:00This is a great post. I truly believe that the jo...This is a great post. I truly believe that the job of performing surgery on sick/injured/mangled people is probably the single most stressful one in the world. My experience comes from the ER, and I well remember the nights I helped tired and courageous docs sew people up while wading through rivers of blood. One night I entered an exam room to help a doc who was standing there quietly holding his finger on a spot on the top an old guy's head (the guy had slipped & fallen in a kitchen). I asked the doc why he was doing that and he replied: "Because he busted an artery." I scoffed and said: "Oh come now, doctor, it's just a small lac on the top of the head---surely it couldn't be an artery..." So the doc released the pressure from his finger and the resulting pulsating stream hit the ceiling. (So I shut my silly mouth and quickly set about gathering the equipment he'd need to fix the guy's head....)Bo...https://www.blogger.com/profile/02136803397641401011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-52885533402165990632007-03-17T07:54:00.000-07:002007-03-17T07:54:00.000-07:00There are many situations in medicines like this. ...There are many situations in medicines like this. Experience teaches you to take to heart past events you've had and you've heard about so that when you are beginning to travel in dangerous territory you have mental scripts that teach how to meticulously avoid trouble, and what you are going to do if they happen. When they're not obvious like a gushing blood vessel, the trick is to recognize when something very bad is going on.<BR/><BR/>When faced with someone very sick, I ask myself, "What's the worst thing this could be?"Greg Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18422487877167541900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-66609652168293179512007-03-16T13:17:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:17:00.000-07:00Wow! Excellent and informative post and I am print...Wow! Excellent and informative post and I am printing this. Again - you are talking to me where I am at and while unnerving, I am also greatly reassured at understanding the precautions taken and the skill involved and how dedicated a surgeon is. I also remember your saying how a patient is never safer than when in the OR as everyone in there is focused on them and watching all vitals, etc.<BR/><BR/>I do believe that when that person bled out that it was their time. I don't pretend to know why it had to happen then, in the OR - or to understand the timing of anyone's departure to the other side - but, just that sometimes all you can do is your best and life just goes in another direction, literally.<BR/><BR/>Thank God for all the dedicated doctors - we need you - thank You. :)SeaSprayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07906503090688697222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-47241641821677796292007-03-16T13:03:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:03:00.000-07:00Wow. Just...wow.Wow. Just...wow.Lynn Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17494511346758361634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-27573035292129866502007-03-16T10:34:00.000-07:002007-03-16T10:34:00.000-07:00Thank you for these wonderful posts! They've helpe...Thank you for these wonderful posts! They've helped me to remember the draining, hard work involved in anything truly worth-while (from my point of view and I'm sure my surgeon's point of view). Truly admirable people persevere.<BR/><BR/>P.S. I'm trying to find out if I can re-do the essay that I failed, and I'll learn the correct MLA format if it kills me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-29103085334956472182007-03-16T08:41:00.000-07:002007-03-16T08:41:00.000-07:00While I'm sure other professions have those types ...While I'm sure other professions have those types of disaster scenarios etched in their minds, only in a few fields like medicine and surgery does it affect actual life. So few non-doctors understand the additional stresses that are added as a result.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com