From Doctor to Patient, The Story of a Surgeon being in the other side of the scalpel.
By Dr. Hector Valenzuela
A few years back I developed a hearing loss problem due to a calcified bone in my ear canal. As most doctors do, I put off having the surgery to correct the problem because I had lots of work and surgeries that needed my care which, of course, made the best excuse to avoid surgery. I hated to admit that the real reason was I honestly was scared.
As a New Year’s resolution I stated that it was time to watch over my own health, so I started the process for my surgery. The surprise was that in order to fix my internal ear they first needed to make sure that the passage between ears and nose was permeable, and guess what? It wasn’t. It turned out that I also had a severely deviated septum with an internal bone callus blocking 90% of the airway in my left nostril. So now instead of one ear surgery, I had to first undergo a larger surgery to set everything up for the next one.
Let me just say that becoming a patient for once and facing a surgery from the other end of the scalpel has really been a turning point in my medical practice, for which I dedicate this article in the most respectful manner to all you patients. The very first thing I can remember after surgery is telling my wife that I wanted to write about this experience, maybe it is because anesthesia makes you sensitive and it releases your deepest thoughts, but there were several things l acknowledged then that happen around the time a person has surgery done, some of them funny and some
of them not so much depending on one’s perspective.
A week before surgery I was comfortably resting at home very relaxed after doing surgery for a patient with an inguinal hernia, when I had a phone call from a funeral home in Guadalajara saying that January was the discount month for doctors, and that it would really be a great idea to make arrangements now that it’s cheaper. Of course I felt completely disturbed by the fact that they called me for the first time just one week before my own surgery, is this a sign I asked myself? so decided to go the polite way and see it as a «funny» coincidence and gently thanked them for their kind offer, but I wasn’t planning to retire my scalpel just yet.
It may have just been a coincidence, but it really got me thinking what if? I
have a young beautiful wife and then only a 2-year-old daughter who deserved a mature and smart choice from me, so I decided to call an insurance agent and bought myself life insurance with funeral expenses included just in case. I did not give in to fear of death but certainly as a Surgeon I know there are no 100% risk free procedures.
Now that I think of it, it really makes me chuckle!!!
During the following days, luckily I had so many surgeries I didn’t have any time to think of my own surgery. I was operated on a Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. and earlier that same day at 9:00 a.m. I was assisting a fellow surgeon on a case of a ventral hernia repair, which only gave me enough time to come back home take a shower and drive to the hospital, which is where the real experience started.
I was asked to remove my clothes, all of them, and then young nurses came into the room to start an IV and administer the prescribed meds. l am not a shy fellow but, man, it really feels uncomfortable knowing that a bunch of strangers are going to be looking at your privates.
As usual when doctors become patients, things are complicated and it took them four attempts to find a vein, and for those who know me I am not a smaller kind of fellow, so I was ready to take the nurses needle and start the IV on myself, but just before that they finally got it so l kept my cool, so to speak.
Then my anesthesiologist who, by the way, is the one l team with on my surgeries and my surgeon who also is a friend and partner at Quality Care came in the room all smiley and greeting everyone as if there was a reason to be happy! Ha ha—not for me at least, but it was nice to see them relaxed and well rested. When they asked me if I had any questions before we started, l had all the questions in the world but couldn’t find the right way to pu them into words.
Basically it all came down to, is it going to be alright? And then I just realized, these were two professionals picked by me in whom l trusted completely, and l knew would get things done right.
When I arrived in the cold operating room in my very short and slim gown I thought at least I would get a nice buzz out of the experience, but to my disappointment I don’t even remember it. The next thing I know I woke up in the recovery room in some pain, but managing to withstand it like a champ, because of course I promised myself not to be a pain in the butt to my surgeon and complain as little as possible.
That attitude lasted as long as the remaining anesthesia I had was in me, then the real post-operative pain kicked in and I just have to say thank God for IV pain killers, and also for my second year Anesthesiology resident brother that came home to administer a couple extra shots on the following day, which was the most uncomfortable day.
I can’t complain about anything, they did a great job and l had great care before, during and after my surgery by everybody involved in it: doctors, nurses, family members and friends. And even so, having surgery is no fun and it’s made me realize a bit of what patients go through when dealing with even more severe conditions and greater invasive surgery.
I have nothing but the utmost respect for all you responsible and courageous people that make a smart call and choose to do something in favor of your health, despite the coming discomfort and changes in routine it may bring along, and amongst everything else you have my infinite gratitude for trusting your health and your precious life in my hands.
This experience just humbles me and makes me want to say really thank you from the heart to all of you who have ever allowed me to care for you as a surgeon and moreover try to cure/improve any condition that you may be going through.
