Come surgery, we started to divide our patients on the first day of our posting. So everyone would have about 3 to 4 patients from the start of the posting. But surgical ward, the turnover is very fast. Averagely, one patient would stay in the ward for 3 days. There are some exceptional case however, such as terminally ill cancer patient who would be kept in the ward for a while. And those who are assigned to the patient would have to follow up the patient for a long time. Sadly, I've got one in hand.
And so, she was in the ward for a month before her surgery, of which I was following her up for 3 weeks. She had polyps in the guts, so that leads to the chronic diarrhoea. Lost a lot of weight, pretty malnourished with very low albumin levels, and pretty anemic as well. Once her weight improved, and the albumin levels was restored, she was finally pushed into the operation theater.
But the 3 weeks I see her, I never actually examined her physically. Which, well it was my bad. I had NO IDEA that the polyps turned malignant! I thought the findings would be normal. Nothing in the case notes mentioned about any findings, and the histology report did not mention any malignancy change too! And I thought they were just to resect the colon because of the prolonged diarrhoea! My bad my bad. T.T
It was only during the second time when I presented the case to another consultant, the one who is in-charged of her, that I was asked to examine her, and lo and behold, there was a mass in the abdomen!
The same day, she went for operation. And the tumor was removed. The gut was pulled out into 2 bags outside of the body. Further plans of joining the two ends would only be carried out when she's better.
Never had I, in my entire medical school, follow up a patient so closely. Had it not been for the consultant, I would not even know what had become of her...
Aww... so touched. *sniff sniff*
Monday, February 21, 2011
On My Peutz Jeghers Syndrome Patient
Medieliciously written by Medie007
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2 Jujus:
well, i guess you will slowly build up relationship with your patients in the future, no??
When I woke up from my emergency operation at the then SJMC, I loved my Indian surgeon instantly as I felt that he had done a fantastic job and saved my life. My name was written in their SJMC records for being the first case in their history. That was more than 10 years ago and still remember him vividly. Your patients will remember all your kind words and smiles till eternity. So keep smiling!!
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