Surgexperiences 211: "Without struggle, there is no progress."

Good evening all!

Apologies about the lateness of this issue but fear not, my tardiness in no way reflects the quality of this round's submissions. This round's theme is one that is rather close to my heart. Surgery, for whatever reasons, is a defining act. Regardless of our respective roles in the operating room--whether it be as patient, surgeon or orderly-- it forces us to acknowledge our own mortality, our limitations and our boundaries. Though an old cliche, it is the struggle that gives shape.

Bongi at Other Things Amanzi writes about his recent experiences at a state hospital desperately short on surgeons. Despite stepping in to help at the eleventh hour, an operation that goes overtime makes one question the extent to which one's efforts are appreciated. On the flip side, we get a glimpse into what it's like when our struggles are vindicated. In the tradition of providing reflective and thoughtful posts, Bongi also writes about a patient who is left entirely to the mercy of his family. "It is such a pity then when those very people who prevented this vent their misplaced wrath on the very people who did their best with the presented material and tried to help."

Pierre-Phillip writes about Geoff Williams; the plastic surgeon who does reconstructive surgery in developing countries. Truly, it challenges our perception of the plastic surgeon. On the same note, Justin Stanton raises a provocative issue over at Surgery Lowdown; refusing cosmetic surgery to smokers. One can not help but wonder where the role of the surgeon begins and ends when it comes to intervening in a patient's lifestyle.

Steve takes us into the patient's point of view and talks about his experiences with congenital heart disease and coming out on top.

Øystein over at The Sterile Eye writes about a harrowing medical error that wouldn't have been out of place on an episode of Grey's Anatomy. Reflecting this issue's theme of progressing and grappling with challenges, he notes "Surgeons are not omnipotent deities, although they do have our lives in their hands. We should demand that they do their very best, but we cannot demand that they never do any mistakes." In this case, we find that it is the surgeons who can learn from the patient.

Ribates at Suture for a Living discusses medical method patents and in doing so, raises some very cautious questions. "... The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates voted in 1994 to oppose the practice of medical and surgical procedure patents as unethical. The patent system, to the extent "it keeps new procedures secret for long periods of time and limits free access to information that improves patient care," according to Nancy Dickey M.D. ... conflicts with the principles of the Hippocratic Oath, which calls upon physicians to share their expertise freely and to teach their colleagues for the benefit of patients source."

On the other side of the same coin, she calls on the idea of progress and innovation within surgery. Quoting one Doctor Clayman, "The question arises, at what point along the creative continuum does a minor variation on a theme become an innovation?" To what extent may surgeons be complacent with stagnancy in a field that is met with growing challenges-- whether they be political, social or ethical? Change is daunting; in itself, a challenge.

Theresa on Rural Doctoring makes a post that echoes the sentiment of being unable to see the forest for the trees. A young child is diagnosed with an advanced retinoblastinoma at the age of five, compiling on her already significant disease. A painful submission, it highlights how exclusionary and fragmented the Western approach to medicine can be.

Jeffrey over at Monash Medical Student points us in the direction of some rather disquieting news articles, including the story of an Australian woman regaining consciousness in the middle of her surgery. Kevin over at KevinMD is kind enough to link us to some eye-opening coverage of a woman found to have a pork tapeworm in her brain. ("Moral of the story: wash your hands, cook your pork.")

Saif, a pre-med student at U.C. Davis, recounts an epiphany had during his early medical rotations. "I also realized that, you don't want to be stuck in your comfort zone, because prevents you learning, changing, and gaining new perspectives... I think it takes a lot of maturity to know why one want's to become doctor. Through my rotational experiences, I'm slowly getting a handle on the reason I want to become a doctor." A favourite of mine, he seems to articulate what all newly minted medical students are wringing their hands over.

SurgeXperiences is a blog carnival about surgical blogs, wherein surgical experiences are shared. It is open to all (surgeon, nurse, anesthesia, patient, radiologist, pathologist, etc) who have a surgical blog or article to submit. The next edition of SurgeXperiences (213) will be hosted by Israel-based anesthesiologist Quietus Leo at "The Sandman" on 7 Dec, 2 weeks from now. Be sure to submit your post via this form.