You Should Choose
Your Surgeon
Surgeons are known to say, “There is no such thing as minor surgery, but there are a lot of minor surgeons!” Knowing how to secure the best surgeon for a needed operation is half the battle. This is especially true when special surgical techniques are involved. Laparoscopy is one of them.
The problem with laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery is it leaves the impression that tiny incisions mean a simple, uncomplicated way to perform an operation. Unfortunately, this is not always the case as catastrophic complications can happen. Patients can suffer injuries to the bowel, blood vessels, nerves, and reproductive organs. Operations that have resulted in trouble include hysterectomy, other gynecological procedures, removal of the gallbladder, appendix and kidney.
There’s an old saying that, “Practice makes perfect.” It applies to a plumber or a surgeon. It applies especially to laparoscopic procedures where the surgical learning curve must be extensive. Looking through a small lighted tube, while at the same time manipulating other instruments, requires well trained dexterity.
If you are lucky to know one, ask a scrub nurse to make a recommendation. Scrub nurses watch different surgeons operating day after day and they know who has skilled hands. If you later find out, the recommended doctor has the personality of Dracula, forget it. Remember, it’s the hands, not personality, that are doing the surgery.
Chewing Gum Post-Surgery
You may know that your departure home from surgery will depend upon how well surgical incisions heal and how quickly bodily functions returned to normal. But you might not know that you can possibly speed up the process by chewing gum! Surgeons always worry about the intestinal tract becoming semi paralyzed, particularly after abdominal surgery, causing troublesome bloating.
Several studies have shown that chewing gum after surgery gets the saliva flowing. This helps to stimulate gastric activity and the normal contractions of the intestine. It might get you home a day or two earlier.
Choose your surgeon like you would your plumber
Experience Matters
No one wants a plumber who has only fixed a few leaking pipes. And who wants a surgeon who has only performed a few operations? It’s the old story that “practice makes perfect”.
Studies on cataract surgery show that the more surgeons perform this operation the fewer the number of complications. For instance, surgeons who perform 50 to 250 cataract operations annually show a complication rate of one in 125 cases. For those performing more than 1,000 annually the complication rate drops to one in 1000 cases. You don’t want mistakes in your plumbing. The same holds true in surgery.
When is it prudent to
Delay Surgery?
If the diagnosis is an acute appendicitis or strangulated bowel, the sooner the surgery is performed the better. But what about a severe herniated disc in the lower back? Studies show that most patients suffering from this painful disorder normally recover without the need for surgery in six weeks.
But there are exceptions to waiting. A severely ruptured disc can cause extensive damage to the sciatic nerve. Consequently, if there is evidence of paralysis to the muscles in the leg, bladder or bowel emergency surgery is necessary to relieve the pressure and decrease the risk of permanent injury.
80 percent of North Americans experience disc problems at some time during their lives. So it’s well to remember that patience, patience, patience can save you from an operation when there is no guarantee of satisfactory results.
The Family Doctor
W. Gifford-Jones, MD has experience as a family doctor and as a surgeon. They are both important in the event you need surgery. And in some cases, your family doctor may help you avoid unnecessary procedures.
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