The’ sixth sense’

You must have heard  story of some old doctor who could just by looking at a person or by just feeling the pulse of the patient could diagnose his or her medical condition.I have heard of it.Is it possible?Or just another Indian story of mystic and magic.Even I used to think.
My brother Dr Shamsher Dwivedee who is a neurologist by profession was at my place.He is known in his circle as an excellent clinician who hardly prescribes any investigations.His students have so many time told me his stories when he used to make a clinicial diagnosis on examinaton with hardly a test or two for which any other routine consultant would have prescribed many more to come to the same diagnosis.That is his clinical sense.Last week he was at my place in Gurgaon.A men came to meet him for some official work.After sorting out the work,suddenly my brother asked him,”so you drink alcohol every day.Isn’t it?’ That guy was taken by surprise and after few seconds admitted that since last 5 to 6 months he was drinking every day.Then bombarded my brother,you are about to spoil your liver and in no time you will be bed ridden,Go get a scan done and that will show a fatty liver.Poor thing he went for a scan that very day and it did show fatty liver and haepatomegaly.
I was surprised.I asked him,bhayia,did you know he drinks so much.He said ,no.Then I asked did he smell of the alcohol because to me he looked quite sobre and I couldn’t smell any alcohol.My Bhayia said……….nope,he didn’t smell of alcohol either.I said then what?He smiled and said that is clinical sense what people misunderstand as the sixth sense.He said that after observing patients for years you can judge and observe the various features,body habitus which gives the dcotor a clue.
He told me story of British doctor Dr Brain,who on looking at a lady advised Laparotomy.On laparotomy ovarian cancers were detected and Dr Brain had thought her to be a patient of paraneoplastic syndrome.
For a while we talked about the progress the science of medicine and how much it has developed ,but with development of the science of medicine the arts of medicine is dying away.The clinical sense is the arts of medicine.

Dr Shamsher Dwivedee awarding an ISCR award winner

Last month a couple came to me.that lady was having some vague breast pain.I examined……axillary breast tissue.Asked her if she could be pregnant.Both of them looked at me surprisingly.Not possible.Have not even missed my periods.Had sex only once or twice.just not possible.I still advised to have a urine pregnancy test if she missed her periods.Within 10days they were back……….UPT was +VE………………Clinical sense 🙂 They went for a TOP though !!

Complication part 3

Not long back…….may be One and a half years back I conducted a very straight forward vaginal delivery of a lady at around midnight.She had a previous caesarean section.It was a baby boy after a daughter.The couple was really happy.The family was complete and it was a vaginal delivery after previous caesarean section.I congratulated them and they thanked me.I left the lady to catch my sleep.After may be 2 hours I got a call from Dr Sweta,Our registrar on call.The patient was bleeding heavily and the medicines for stopping PPH ( post partum bleeding) were not working on her.I rushed to the hospital.She was bleeding in fact.Uterus was well contracted on abdominal examination.So had the scar of caesarean given way?I did an internal check up and found the scar to be intact.The lower segment and the portion below previous scar felt very floppy with a fibrous ring where previous scar was.This floppy lower segment wasn’t contracting.I did bimanual compression which didn’t work.Syntocinon,ergometrine,carboprost………all in vain.Tried to put a Foley’s  Cather inside the uterus.Tried to put roller gauze.Nothing worked.the floppy lower segment continued to bleed.Patient’s husband and her family who were rejoicing in the room were called and informed of this sudden unexpected complication.My team had ordered for blood products.I got the Lady shifted to the OT.Dr Priya immediately intubated her anticipating her to collapse.By then I had taken consent from her husband to operate on her to stop the bleeding.I did an internal iliac artery ligation.It seemed that the bleeding was decreasing in amount and I decided not to perform a hysterectomy ( removal of uterus).Got her shifted to the ICU. It seemed like early DIC was setting in.

Mumtaz mahal who died of PPH

It was difficult for me to perform the surgery,keep the patient’s family informed and keep their morale up as well.I was tired,stressed and sleepy.In between the patient’s husband wished to me to comment if shifting her to Max saket was a good idea as it is a bigger hospital.I told him that I think I can manage her equally safely in Max Gurgaon provided he had the faith and trust and also that I would never let my personal ego come in between his wife’s life and proper care.He agreed to stay with me.(Later on he did confess that he was under tremendous pressure from his family members to get her shifted to Max Saket under some older Gynaecologist,but he went ahead with his gut feeling).  After 2 hours of sleep I went and assessed her.Still her dressing was getting wet.Her Haemoglobin had again fallen down though her clotting profile was improving.There wasn’t any active vaginal bleeding but I wasn’t sure whether she had stopped to bleed or was still bleeding inside.I had done my best and only measure which I could have taken was to remove her uterus.I wasn’t sure whether that was necessary or not.I involved another Gynaecologist to give her opinion as personally I believe when under so much stress one’s judgment can be blunted.Even that Gynaecologist wasn’t sure whether this patient needed observation for some more time or a hysterectomy.A falling Hb wasn’t letting me relax and yes I was afraid that I might loose the patient if frank DIC sets in.Ultimately I decided to remove her uterus and within 24 hours she was taken second time in the OT ,this time for removal of the uterus.I swear I was mentally and physically tired.Felt like had had not slept for days altogether.Every hour i was talking to the patient’s husband.I requested Dr Shalabh  to sit in the OT waiting lounge,just in case I felt too tired and drained to come and help me for the hysterectomy.(The reason I have mentioned this fact is to tell you how drained and  vulnerable a doctor feels in such situations.No one wants to loose one’s patient.Normally I don’t need a Surgeon to support me for my surgeries,but yes here I needed that mental support).Surgery went well…….her bleeding stopped.She recovered from her early DIC.A strong lady herself she didn’t end up in post traumatic stress………I did.It took me a while to forget that bloody night.In this blog itself I have mentioned this incident before…….It was scary.I am thankful to the whole family who showed trust in me,stayed at Max Gurgaon and gave me the opportunity to take care of her.

World Incontinence week

From 18th to 24 th june,we are celebrating world continence week.If you visit me at max hospital gurgaon for incontinence related issues ,your consultation and evaluation will be free.
Do you have any of these conditions

You can get rid of your diapers in 15 minutes!!

  • Leak When You Cough, Sneeze, Laugh, Jump Or Lift Something Heavy?
  • Limit Your Social Activities Due To Urinary Problems?
  • Get Up At Night To Pass Urine More Than Once?
  • Know This Problem Can Be Solved With Medical Treatment?

.If on evaluation you are found to be fit for a 15 minutes life changing surgery (TVTO) you would get 20% discounted surgery on the occasion of world continence week

complication -Part 2

I was the registrar on call at my UK hospital.There was this third time pregnant Lady in the antenatal ward who was escorted by the midwife to the labour room.She had a bad CTG suggestive of foetal distress.I offered her an instrumental delivery as she was already fully dilated.She declined.She wished to have a caesarean instead.No amount of convincing worked.So here she was under GA and baby was out in no time…..healthy baby girl.I started closing the uterus.Even with easiest of pace it never takes me more than 20  minutes to complete a caesarean section and here I was still closing the first layer of uterus and 1st layer was still Little wet with blood.There was a small ooze which I was not able to stop.The protocol in UK is to call the consultant if expected blood loss has already been more than 1000 mls in a caesarean.It was much less than that but a bleed like this should have been controlled by couple of figure of eight stitches I reasoned to myself.No harm in calling the on call consultant.I tried to reserve my call for help for dire emergencies,so consultants used to beat their super prompt arrival on such occasions.When my consultant arrived in not more than 10 minutes ,he was surprised to see me call him for such a small ooze.And he was relieved as well that it won’t take him much time to fix it and he can go back home and sleep peacefully.Almost 2 hours past by and still the bleeder was bleeding.The uterus had started to become atonic.Her blood pressure was going low.I could see the sweat drops glistening on my bosses forehead.He asked me to call the senior most consultant and when he didn’t pick the phone at 3 am in the night,he asked me to call the second senior most consultant.The senior consultant arrived but by that time the uterus was boggy,patient was in DIC(disseminated Intravascular coagulation) and was bleeding from all over.I don’t know how but superior and inferior mesentric arteries were also bleeding.
Her BP showed a measly 15 mmHG.My heart sank.I imagined this case to get a mention in the forthcoming edition of ‘why mothers die’?

Then the senior most consultant talked to the patients husband and decided to proceed for caesarean hysterectomy.By this time she had already receive approx 35units of PRBC apart from other blood products.She was still bleeding.I remembered such a case which had happened in a famous corporate hospital of Delhi where a politician’s wife operated by renowned gynaecologists of India(Mumbai) had ended in DIC and then the vascular surgeon had saved her.So,I suggested to call the vascular surgeon and my boss agreed.That lady was slowly taken care off.In between I performed 2 instrumental delivery as well 🙂 while my bosses kept on struggling.It was the longest caesarean I have ever been washed for……9 hours.The patient survived.My name didn’t become a part of confedential in inquiry,but it was a close save.I was shaken for 12 hours as I had to come back for another night on call and didn’t have the luxury to destress my self.
The patient had post traumatic stress disorder for some time.But was discharged on day 5th of the caesarean with a healthy baby but minus her uterus.For a week I kept on explaining everyone ,consultants,midwives and colleagues that it wasn’t my fault.It wasn’t actually no ones.In hind sight a consultant told me why didn’t you give her an option of forceps under general anaesthesia rather than a caesarean.
Anyways after a week,I was asked to present this case in front of the department and was declared ‘not guilty’.

When things go wrong……..complications as you call them!!

To err is human and to forgive is Divine….so goes the saying.This is an apt saying but unfortunately,I am a doctor,I can cause error but will I get forgiveness so easily……….?May be not.It is the nature of my job.I am dealing with the most precious creation of the world ‘,the human life’ and thus my margin of error is very limited.
Now I wish to let the ghosts of Aamir Khan and his Satyamev Jayte to get buried in it’s grave ……..enough of it……whether he says sorry to IMA ore not,whether the people think that all doctors are unethical,I need to rest this issue in peace for the sake of my peace.I love my profession,operating fibroids, endometriosis,polyps,removing uterus ,delivering babies and much more.I need to perform my work with full concentration or I might harm you.A pilot’s job is very crucial……deals with so many lives but still they have an auto pilot.We have nothing like an auto surgeon.
Few days back one of our registrar’s went to take a preoperative consent from a Lady for some surgery(not my patient so don’t know it in great detail).The Lady’s husband asked the young doctor whether she was taking this consent to cover the incompetency of the operating Gynaecologist.She was taken aback…….It is a medico legal requirement after all.
In all fairness to my patients I would say that none ……..not a single patient of mine has shown any distrust towards the doctors.And I am greatful to you.
In my career spanning almost 13 years post PG,I have had my shares of complications…….not many ………..I can count them on my finger tips and in fact  remember all of them to write all the details about it.

One such incident took place around 3 years back.A lady with previous 3 caesareans and very big cysts on both ovaries presented to me.She had adenomyosis as well.Her CA 125 was elevated ( the ovarian cancer marker).She went to various hospitals and decided to get operated by me.Herself a qualified professional,her husband is also a well connected person.So we decided on removing the uterus and both ovaries,send it for frozen section to rule out any evidence of cancer and if any evidence of cancer to proceed for lymph node removal and staging.While removing I realized that her uterus was badly stuck with the bladder due to the previous caesareans.And despite my all gentleness I had inadvertently opened her bladder.My assistant Dr Deepa M,actually was quite shocked.But these things do happen when you are performing a complicated surgery.What is important is to identify it and to rectify it.I completed the whole surgery,frozen section suggested a benign condition.I repaired her bladder and post surgery informed the patient of her bladder getting accidentally opened.In post op periods her intestine took longer than normal to come out of the effect of surgery and she developed paralytic ileus.She had apparently a tendency for post op paralytic ileus,as she told me that she had a similar problem after each of her caesareans.She had Catheter in her bladder for about a week.In the meantime her ileus got better as well.3 years later she is fine with no problems at all.
When she left the hospital after about a week she left as a happy patient.But that was her who had ‘forgiven’ me.What would have you done.Done the same or declared me an incompetent surgeon who did a complication and covered it with the blanket of consents?Just think for a while and let me know your opinion.

The other side of Mr Rai’s and Mr Aamir Khan’s story…….The concerned Nephrologist’s version of the story

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/comment/comment/why-i-think-doctors-are-right-to-strike-7807616.html

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/comment/comment/why-i-think-doctors-are-right-to-strike-7807616.html#.T8hbtXHthWw.blogger

We unethical Indian doctors

For a second let us agree for the sake of argument that  the Indian doctors are a bunch of unethical,money sucking,blood sucking monsters.As per the study Conducted by revered Mr Aamir Khan none of us deserve to be on the list of MCI including Dr Devi Shetty and Dr Puneet Bedi and all who were present in that episode oF Satyamev Jayate.Then ‘tera kya hoga kaliya’?Common man for whom Satyavadi harishcandra Aamir Khan jee maharaj is fighting for…….can you afford to go to UK to get your treatment done.Where the health system is so over burdened that there is a huge waiting list for every disease.Aamir khan can go to get his fillers and botox done to UK,USA or where ever he wants to go He can afford it as one thumka of his is worth a crore.He can purchase a womb for his wife.Can the aam adami do that?
My Point is you don’t have any option but to deal with us Indian doctors.No system is full proof not even UK system( I know the loop holes of that system as well and can tell it publicly if needed………How doctors behave in an unethical manner there……..when doctors take sick leave when they are not actually sick…..very benign example……have many more to speak about).Indian Medical system is just a reflection of our society which has both good and bad professionals every where.

AARDYA SATYAMEV JAYATE

Don’t get scared……..Don’t feel insecure…………..Don’t look at your doctor with suspicion………..they are not alike.It is for your own good as it isn’t a very pleasant situation to be in when you have handed over your own health to someone whom you can’t trust.It isn’t as bad as Aamir Khan made it sound.He has to sell his serial…………..but a patient doctor relationship is very delicate relationship and if only he had tried to project the correct PICTURE to the public it would have been better for the public, as you realize at the end of the day you have to trust the Indian doctor.If all of us are sacked from where will Indian healthcare import doctors?We are no UK,USA or Australia where doctors from third world countries will come to work with such bad salaries .HAVE FAITH!!

Forgot to bring my purse

Just an incident…….I leave the interpretation on you.Last Monday since morning I got frequent calls from one Mr Tiwari.He wished to see me at my clinic and not at Max Hospital.There are many such patients who prefer the clinic to the hospital.Usually my appointments for Monday and Friday the two evenings when I am at my clinic at Arjung Marg is full by two days in advance.As he showed real urgency I agreed for a 7.00 PM appointment for his 39 weeks + Pregnant wife.He called me at 7.00 Pm to confirm if I was at my clinic.He told me he would be slightly late .I asked him to come on time as I don’t have a AC in the waiting area and I don’t wish the patients who come on time to keep on waiting in heat because someone else was not on time.He told me…..he can’t promise that he would be on time.Then he reached at 8.15 PM.then he told me that his wife was about to deliver with EDC on 25 th may.He was visiting Elchemist Hospital.Gynaecologist there had suggested a caesarean for a cord around the neck of the  baby.As many a ladies working at his office had delivered under me he was there to get a second opinion as he realized that’ I was the best gynaecologist around'(His words).Then he told me that he would like to get the delivery done at Artemis hospital but the opinion will be mineAs I was a busy doctor I obviously won’t have time to conduct normal delivery of his wife.Crrraapp…….Finally he said after 30 mnts of consultation,so  I have to pay you the fees as well.I don’t have the purse.What do I do?I said there is an ATM near by and he said I haven’t brought the purse.It sounded cheap to create scene ,so I said ok come tomorrow anytime and make the payment at my home.Some one would be there.
Till date he hasn’t turned up with that RS 600 and still Doctors are called money minded :-)).I feel conned and cheated.So how will I treat the next patient?Naturally will ask for the fees first and then proceed with the consultation.Sad part is majority of the patients are not like him.They don’t con and thus coz of an occasional  patient not so fair experience don’t wish to loose faith in patients,but that is the other side of the story.A doctors perspective!!
When Heard Aamir Khan on Satymaev Jayata……got compelled to write this post.And When you put an allegation on a doctor that the doctor wasn’t qualified enough,why don’t you check in the first place.It is quite easy to do.Just ask the persons qualification preoperatively,check online the significance of those degrees………..If you can do these researches when things go wrong why not use caution preoperatively? Saw just a part of it……..someone did a renal transplant and Pancreatic transplant together.Well there has to be a reason for pancreatic transplant.These two surgeries are not like a delivery or hysterectomy……they are major major surgeries.Really naive on the patients part if they are educated and still don’t do their homework properly.And 8 Lakhs for such kind of surgery and the hospital expenses and the blood involved is actually very cheap……….I saw the jaws of the audience drop down on hearing an expense of 8 Lakhs……….When you listen an Aaamir Khan or a Salman khan or a Sharukh khan getting crores for shaking their legs( A frivolous activity in my opinion),even then is your expression the same?????Do you ever realize how much a doctor has slogged to reach where that person is.Do you realize that they were the toppers of their batches who spent years studying and then getting trained to deal with such a critical thing as human life.Have you ever thought why those doctors who behave in slightly ‘unethical’ manner do so?Do you know how much medical care costs in USA or European Countries?Do you know what are the consultation charges of private practitioners there?
I would certainly not wish my son to be a doctor……A talent should not go waste………..He should be in a industry where he doesn’t have to spend more than 10 to 12 years  to study,survive on meagre stipends ,be in such a high strung profession and still all the time run the risk of being called money minded,greedy,unethical.Not fair at all!! We do run the risk of having substandard doctors in future…….if that is how our society behaves……..because of Litigations Australia has shortage of local doctors.In UK local doctors prefer to become a GP and leave their main stream as a specialist.

Recurrent Pregnancy Loss clinic

Miscarriages and Pregnancy losses are painful. Recurrent pregnancy loss means shattered hopes and desperation. At Max Hospital ,Gurgaon  I shall be starting a delegated clinics on all Wednesdays between 4 to 6 PM  for couples who have suffered recurrent Pregnancy losses. With an evidence based approach, sophisticated Lab and a compassionate attitude I hope to fulfil your dreams of a healthy pregnancy.
Who should visit us?
If you have suffered two or more miscarriages
If you had a miscarriage at more than 12 weeks
If there has been a stillbirth i.e death of the baby inside the uterus.
Following a clinic review and appropriate investigation the management of each couple is individualised depending on the cause of their pregnancy losses. The chances  of a successful pregnancy with these measures is ~70%. 
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