Indexing Title: MPADUA’s Medical Anecdotal Report [04-6]

MAR Title: Patient with Multiple Surgical Diseases

Date of Medical Observation: September 9, 2004

Narration:

After attending the post-graduate course held at the Panpacific Hotel recently, I passed by at the Emergency Room only to see a familiar face, E.J., a 49-year-old Barangay Chairman who had been my patient since last year.  I recall it from when Dr. Padolina called me in her office to endorse him, He was jaundiced then and his ultrasound report showed a stone at the common bile duct.  He was very anxious,  I have to explain to him that he needed a major operation; tears fell from his eyes saying that he was to afraid of it and nobody was there to give him moral support.  I gave him some words of encouragement and fortunately, he was able to undergo the operation with no complications.

This time around, E.J. showed me an ultrasound result of his whole abdomen.  His eyes were again teary after knowing that there was a stone on the right kidney.  I accompanied him to the Department of Radiology and tried to find an early schedule for a KUB-IVP.  It is a radiologic procedure where dye is injected intravenously so that the collecting system of both kidneys would be seen.  While at it, I told him the different modes of treatment for such condition.  I was again bombarded with questions: ‘Would the incision be the same?’, ‘How long will I be staying in the hospital?’, ‘Will it hurt more than the previous operation?’, and a whole lot more.  I tried to explain them to the best I could, and again, I gave him some words of encouragement.  I told him we still have to wait for the KUB-IVP result, and that he must pray for the stone to be small so that it would be amenable through non-surgical means of removal.  We parted knowing that I was able to relieve some of his worries.

Insight (Psychosocial / Reinforcement)

E.J. has helped me realize that patients seeking medical or surgical attention need physical as well as some form of psychological and emotional treatment.  It would be a relief to most patients knowing that their physicians can help alleviate their worries regarding their illness and its treatment.  We, as physicians, should give effort to explain the disease as well as how to treat it.  Treatment options should always be given so that they could be a part in the decision-making process of the treatment.