Indexing Title: NALUDINOs Medical Anecdotal Report [07-09]
MAR Title: A difficult operation
Date of Medical Observation: October 2007
Narration:
A woman in her 60’s consulted and was diagnosed to have a hepatic mass. The patient was scheduled to undergo left lobe hepatectomy. It is going to be a difficult operation. We were able to schedule the patient for operation despite some obstacles. We had to prepare the patient well. We had to prepare ourselves.
When the day of the operation finally arrived, I had mixed feelings. A part of me was excited, this was going to be a first for me. This is the first time I’ve seen and assisted in such an operation. Yet another part of me was afraid. Afraid of what we’ll find. Afraid of what could go wrong.
When we did open the abdomen, we saw a very big liver mass. Still, we continued with the operation. We dissected carefully. Progress was slow. When we were finally able to see the full extent of the mass, we were overwhelmed. My fears were now coming true.
What happened next will forever remain in me. One thing led to another. The patient deteriorated in front of us. No matter how much we tried, we were not able to reverse the patient’s condition.
Insights (Physical, Psychosocial, Ethical) (Discovery, Stimulus, Reinforcements):
Murphy’s law states that, “if something can go wrong, it will go wrong.” Are we prepared to accept that statement word for word? Is there something we can do to prevent Murphy’s law from fulfilling itself? I believe we can.
Preparation is the key. We must prepare ourselves adequately. By doing so, If something will go wrong, we will be able to correct it. At the least, we must be able to recognize the possible complications and institute the appropriate intervention.
In the practice of medicine, we must be able to use our knowledge to improve the lives of our patients. If something goes wrong and our well thought of interventions fail to arrest the deterioration, our culpability is somewhat mitigated or possibly erased.