Monday, September 08, 2008

Life of an Anaesthetist


As doctors working in OT , we do have our fair share of ups and downs. It can be really exciting or depressing at the same time . If you are a fan of ER , Grey's Anatomy or Nip and Tuck ; they are based on our lives and things that they go through are real . However , maybe too much drama and "sleep overs" being over emphasized ! We do have our normal routine days as well where it can be a bit dull and boring at times. Thats how our jobs are isn't it ?
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I gave gas to a small infant , 1 year old but is only 6 kg in weight. He suffers from Gut dismotility syndrome with failure to thrive and developmental delay; and so far intervention to his life has not been remarkable. His prognosis is bad but of course , as doctors we try to play god at times. Hoping that our manipulation would give him and his family better quality of life.
The Anaesthesia initially was stormy but we managed to secure his ariway and get his gases right. The Op done was to reverse his colostomy as it was not functioning how it was expected to be. It was uneventful except for an unexpected delay brought over from next door. Initially we wanted the little boy to be observed in PICU , but he was alright after an hour's observation in our recovery post extubation. I did reassure the mother that he would be alright ; and to ensure if his secretions are aplenty ; to be sucked out by the ward staff.
" Mafeitz... remember our kid yesterday ? " My Specialist came by to my OT the next day.
" Oh yeah.. Did he survive ? " I thought she was referring to the baby who bled like nobody's business next door.
" He died... at midnight.. irreversible bronchospasm.. "
and I said... " What ???? " and my heart just dropped.
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" Uncle.. How are you ? Ada " tong" ka ? " I asked.
Uncle looked at me and gives his thumbs up ! "Mana ada sakit ? " he ridiculed me.
Uncle Lai was this 65 year old gentleman who I just extubated and brought him to PASCA for post op observation. He underwent a major procedure to remove his bladder and "neobladder" reconstruction.Of course he lost 4 L of blood but we managed to balance his fluids intraoperatively. He was worried of the pain that he might get post operatively which I totally agreed. Post Op can be really hell if the pain control is substandard.
I inserted the epidural catheter at level T12/L1 ; and i guess it worked wonders as it was a morphineless Anaesthesia. Post Op pain ; as how he smiled and showed his thumbs up for me.
" Dr Mafeitz.. my father cakap you bagusla ; dia cakap tak sakit langsung lepas operation ! " her daughter told me ( our OT staff ) in glee..
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" boss .. I wanna post a case la from resus.. " The Urology MO approached me.
I was the SMO on call that day and happened to be at the reception.
" One 40+ year old schizo... he cut off his ear , his toe and his penis ! " he stopped for a while trying to stop his bursting laughter.. he was smiling ear to ear.. Of course , I was smiling too..
" Guess what.. he ate it all last night !! "
" WHAATT ??? Can you repeat that again ?? "
" Yup..he ate up his penis.. and now he's organless... " I was shocked but at the same time find the incident to be really bizzare ! The buzz spread around like wildfire and of course when the patient arrived in OT , it was like a VIP coming to OT !
And of course , being me.. I just had to ask him..
" You , lepas potong you punya benda aa.. u ada goreng dulu ka sebelum makan ? "
" No.. i ate it all raw.. " he told us with a non-affect expression.
( P/S I did take some pic for future reference.. don't think it is ethical to post it up on this blog ! But if you happen to see me , mintakla.. hahaha.. )

rambut sudah panjang oo....

6 comments:

mafiz said...

hehehe..if that physco patient is still around, ask for a free haircut! takda hal punya! hahahaha

Azad said...

Eventhough I found it shocking how someone could do that to themselves, but your question about "goreng" that thing first really made me laugh. Teruk la you ni. Hahahah

Anonymous said...

takpe la dr m.. no need to post that pics.

Anonymous said...

haha same case here in x-hospital :P
my patient hear a voice asking him to put a ring in his penis and his penis end up swollen and infected. landed in urology ward happily. ha ha

mafeitz said...

mafiz : dia start makan plastic la skrg.. ( update )
azad : hahaha.. tempted and i just had to..
sherene : sensitive la.. mmg takleh..
anonymous : we had bomba to help us cut 2 rings on another patient the other day !! ah ..ah..

scrubber said...

Indeed a sad 'disease', to be so convinced by voices to do things that are abnormal in this life. May Allah bless their wandering hearts and their beautiful minds.