The Electronic Medical Record, of which I was an unequivocal supporter for many years is causing me increasing concern. The very concept of patient privacy, regarding which we pretend to be fervently committed, is now not much more than pretense. I would go so far as to say there is no longer any. When the innermost secrets of the Department of Defense, the Government and Target can be easily hacked into, getting into medical records is child's play. Every physician knows that and so does every administridiot in the Department of Health. Although the rationale behind EMR was improvement of health care, there seems to be little evidence to support that thesis, in fact suggestions have been made that the doctor - patient relationship has deteriorated as a result of the effort and concentration to input and retrieve data to and from the machine. Much of that data is not directly related to the health care of the patient. All of that data will be available forever and because of the omnipresent data-gathering applications it will be linked to applications such as facebook, linked in, inquiries that you make to medical and other health related sites on the internet, as well as sites not directly related to health, such as the increasingly ubiquitous observation cameras.
Data Brokers have a goldmine in the sale of sensitive material, regardless of the use to which it may be put. Experian is a global information services group with operations in 40 countries. Initially a credit rating company, it has now morphed into something quite different. The company collects information on people, businesses, motor vehicles
and insurance. It also collects 'lifestyle' data from on and off line
surveys. The company sells personal information and it is very likely that it sometimes includes medical data too.
The Government also likes to have as much information available on its citizens as possible, partly so that it can be aware of individuals or groups likely to cause it problems. As George Orwell said in '1984', "We know that no one ever seizes power with the idea of relinquishing it." Government will use whatever means it can to remain in power. The greatest source of power is information. Organizations like Experian are likely to proliferate greatly. Your health care history will be one of the more easily accessed sources of information.
So don't be surprised when people keep their health issues secret when they perceive that revealing them may have a deleterious effect on their job, or life in general. That reluctance to seek treatment because of fear of failure of medical confidentiality may be one of the main reasons deterring some patients from seeking help.
Sunday 29 March 2015
Tuesday 24 March 2015
Testosterone- again!
Manufacturers of prescription testosterone products must
change their drug labels to include a warning about increased risk of heart
attacks and strokes.
The change, announced today by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) addresses the use of testosterone by men whose decreased level of the hormone is due to aging. The warning requirement could erode a multi-billion-dollar market for testosterone replacement products for men whose main concerns are more lifestyle than medical.
“Based on the available evidence from studies and expert input from an FDA advisory committee meeting [on Dec. 18, 2014 ] the FDA has concluded that there is a possible increased cardiovascular risk associated with testosterone use,” the FDA announcement said.
“These studies included aging men treated with testosterone” and some reports in those studied that found an increased risk of such events, including death.
Like estrogen replacement for menopausal women, testosterone therapy does reverse some effects of hormone loss due to aging, but carries health risks.
The FDA announcement noted that testosterone is being widely prescribed as an anti-aging remedy for men.
Testosterone is FDA-approved only when low levels are due to “disorders of the testicles, pituitary gland, or brain that cause hypogonadism” and not “for no apparent reason other than aging.”
There is much hyperbole in the advertizing that needs to be curtailed and that probably will be in due course when a negative outcomes lead to litigation. In the meantime the billions will continue to roll in!
According to Medical Marketing & Media, among the more successful marketing campaigns is AbbVie’s “Low-T” campaign for AndroGel. The product had $1.37 billion in sales in the 12 months ending Oct. 31, 2013, making it the market leader.
Manufacturers offer testosterone replacement in gels, injections, implants and transdermal patches.
- See more at: http://www.hcplive.com/product-news/FDA-Warning-Testosterone-Can-Kill#sthash.00I7ZqHU.dpuf
The change, announced today by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) addresses the use of testosterone by men whose decreased level of the hormone is due to aging. The warning requirement could erode a multi-billion-dollar market for testosterone replacement products for men whose main concerns are more lifestyle than medical.
“Based on the available evidence from studies and expert input from an FDA advisory committee meeting [on Dec. 18, 2014 ] the FDA has concluded that there is a possible increased cardiovascular risk associated with testosterone use,” the FDA announcement said.
“These studies included aging men treated with testosterone” and some reports in those studied that found an increased risk of such events, including death.
Like estrogen replacement for menopausal women, testosterone therapy does reverse some effects of hormone loss due to aging, but carries health risks.
The FDA announcement noted that testosterone is being widely prescribed as an anti-aging remedy for men.
Testosterone is FDA-approved only when low levels are due to “disorders of the testicles, pituitary gland, or brain that cause hypogonadism” and not “for no apparent reason other than aging.”
There is much hyperbole in the advertizing that needs to be curtailed and that probably will be in due course when a negative outcomes lead to litigation. In the meantime the billions will continue to roll in!
According to Medical Marketing & Media, among the more successful marketing campaigns is AbbVie’s “Low-T” campaign for AndroGel. The product had $1.37 billion in sales in the 12 months ending Oct. 31, 2013, making it the market leader.
Manufacturers offer testosterone replacement in gels, injections, implants and transdermal patches.
- See more at: http://www.hcplive.com/product-news/FDA-Warning-Testosterone-Can-Kill#sthash.00I7ZqHU.dpuf
Manufacturers
of prescription testosterone products must change their drug labels to
include a warning about increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The change, announced today by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) addresses the use of testosterone by men whose decreased level of the hormone is due to aging. The warning requirement could erode a multi-billion-dollar market for testosterone replacement products for men whose main concerns are more lifestyle than medical.
“Based on the available evidence from studies and expert input from an FDA advisory committee meeting [on Dec. 18, 2014 ] the FDA has concluded that there is a possible increased cardiovascular risk associated with testosterone use,” the FDA announcement said.
“These studies included aging men treated with testosterone” and some reports in those studied that found an increased risk of such events, including death.
Like estrogen replacement for menopausal women, testosterone therapy does reverse some effects of hormone loss due to aging, but carries health risks.
The FDA announcement noted that testosterone is being widely prescribed as an anti-aging remedy for men.
Testosterone is FDA-approved only when low levels are due to “disorders of the testicles, pituitary gland, or brain that cause hypogonadism” and not “for no apparent reason other than aging.”
According to Medical Marketing & Media, among the more successful marketing campaigns is AbbVie’s “Low-T” campaign for AndroGel. The product had $1.37 billion in sales in the 12 months ending Oct. 31, 2013, making it the market leader.
Manufacturers offer testosterone replacement in gels, injections, implants and transdermal patches.
- See more at: http://www.hcplive.com/product-news/FDA-Warning-Testosterone-Can-Kill#sthash.00I7ZqHU.dpuf
The change, announced today by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) addresses the use of testosterone by men whose decreased level of the hormone is due to aging. The warning requirement could erode a multi-billion-dollar market for testosterone replacement products for men whose main concerns are more lifestyle than medical.
“Based on the available evidence from studies and expert input from an FDA advisory committee meeting [on Dec. 18, 2014 ] the FDA has concluded that there is a possible increased cardiovascular risk associated with testosterone use,” the FDA announcement said.
“These studies included aging men treated with testosterone” and some reports in those studied that found an increased risk of such events, including death.
Like estrogen replacement for menopausal women, testosterone therapy does reverse some effects of hormone loss due to aging, but carries health risks.
The FDA announcement noted that testosterone is being widely prescribed as an anti-aging remedy for men.
Testosterone is FDA-approved only when low levels are due to “disorders of the testicles, pituitary gland, or brain that cause hypogonadism” and not “for no apparent reason other than aging.”
According to Medical Marketing & Media, among the more successful marketing campaigns is AbbVie’s “Low-T” campaign for AndroGel. The product had $1.37 billion in sales in the 12 months ending Oct. 31, 2013, making it the market leader.
Manufacturers offer testosterone replacement in gels, injections, implants and transdermal patches.
- See more at: http://www.hcplive.com/product-news/FDA-Warning-Testosterone-Can-Kill#sthash.00I7ZqHU.dpuf
Manufacturers
of prescription testosterone products must change their drug labels to
include a warning about increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The change, announced today by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) addresses the use of testosterone by men whose decreased level of the hormone is due to aging. The warning requirement could erode a multi-billion-dollar market for testosterone replacement products for men whose main concerns are more lifestyle than medical.
“Based on the available evidence from studies and expert input from an FDA advisory committee meeting [on Dec. 18, 2014 ] the FDA has concluded that there is a possible increased cardiovascular risk associated with testosterone use,” the FDA announcement said.
“These studies included aging men treated with testosterone” and some reports in those studied that found an increased risk of such events, including death.
Like estrogen replacement for menopausal women, testosterone therapy does reverse some effects of hormone loss due to aging, but carries health risks.
The FDA announcement noted that testosterone is being widely prescribed as an anti-aging remedy for men.
Testosterone is FDA-approved only when low levels are due to “disorders of the testicles, pituitary gland, or brain that cause hypogonadism” and not “for no apparent reason other than aging.”
According to Medical Marketing & Media, among the more successful marketing campaigns is AbbVie’s “Low-T” campaign for AndroGel. The product had $1.37 billion in sales in the 12 months ending Oct. 31, 2013, making it the market leader.
Manufacturers offer testosterone replacement in gels, injections, implants and transdermal patches.
- See more at: http://www.hcplive.com/product-news/FDA-Warning-Testosterone-Can-Kill#sthash.00I7ZqHU.dpuf
The change, announced today by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) addresses the use of testosterone by men whose decreased level of the hormone is due to aging. The warning requirement could erode a multi-billion-dollar market for testosterone replacement products for men whose main concerns are more lifestyle than medical.
“Based on the available evidence from studies and expert input from an FDA advisory committee meeting [on Dec. 18, 2014 ] the FDA has concluded that there is a possible increased cardiovascular risk associated with testosterone use,” the FDA announcement said.
“These studies included aging men treated with testosterone” and some reports in those studied that found an increased risk of such events, including death.
Like estrogen replacement for menopausal women, testosterone therapy does reverse some effects of hormone loss due to aging, but carries health risks.
The FDA announcement noted that testosterone is being widely prescribed as an anti-aging remedy for men.
Testosterone is FDA-approved only when low levels are due to “disorders of the testicles, pituitary gland, or brain that cause hypogonadism” and not “for no apparent reason other than aging.”
According to Medical Marketing & Media, among the more successful marketing campaigns is AbbVie’s “Low-T” campaign for AndroGel. The product had $1.37 billion in sales in the 12 months ending Oct. 31, 2013, making it the market leader.
Manufacturers offer testosterone replacement in gels, injections, implants and transdermal patches.
- See more at: http://www.hcplive.com/product-news/FDA-Warning-Testosterone-Can-Kill#sthash.00I7ZqHU.dpuf
Wednesday 18 March 2015
Vaping versus Varenicline!
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that the prescription smoking cessation medicine Chantix (varenicline) / Champix in Canada can change the way people react to alcohol. In addition, rare accounts of seizures in patients treated with Chantix have been reported. Various psychiatric symptoms have also been reported. They have approved changes to the Chantix label to warn about these risks. Until patients know how Chantix affects their ability to tolerate alcohol, they should decrease the amount of alcohol they drink. Patients who have a seizure while taking Chantix should stop the medicine and seek medical attention immediately.
Millions of Americans have serious health problems caused by smoking, which can be reduced by quitting. Chantix is a prescription medicine that is FDA-approved to help adults quit smoking. In clinical trials, Chantix increased the likelihood of quitting smoking and “staying quit” for as long as 1 year compared to treatment with a placebo, an inactive treatment.
It is somewhat ironic that Chantix/ Champix is widely accepted despite its recognized dangers, while vaping, which seems to be relatively innocuous so far, is looked upon disapprovingly by many.
Could it be that the witch hunt is so much fun that anything that even looks like a cigarette should be hunted down even if it helps people to quit smoking?
Tell me what you think!
Saturday 14 March 2015
3D Printing and Health.
3D printing is a process to make a three dimensional object by
printing it. The process consists of laying down successive layers until
the complete object is created - or printed. Particles of plastic,
metal, ceramic or glass powders are fused by laser into the desired
shape. Fascinating as 3D printing is for a huge variety of engineering
and artistic endeavors, none in my opinion matches its potential for use in
medicine and healthcare.
Tissue printing is likely to be the most exciting use of 3D printing in the foreseeable future.
In 2012 a baby was born with a rare condition called tracheobronchomalacia: the tissue of one portion of his airway was so weak that it persistently collapsed. This made breathing very difficult, and it regularly blocked vital blood vessels nearby, including the aorta, triggering cardiac and pulmonary arrest. The infant was placed on a ventilator, while the medical team set about figuring out what to do. The area of weak tissue would somehow need to be repaired or replaced—a major and dangerous operation in so small a patient. The medical team constructed a replacement splint that would eventually dissolve using 3D printing. In May of 2013, in The New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers reported that the boy was thriving and that “no unforeseen problems related to the splint have arisen.
'
Surgeons in Wales used a 3-D printer to reconstruct the facial bones of a twenty-nine-year-old man named Stephen Power, who fractured his left cheekbone, eye sockets, upper jaw, and skull in a motorcycle accident. The medical team scanned Power’s skull and, based on the unbroken bones, determined what his full facial structure should be. They then printed a replica in titanium and successfully implanted it.
3D printing has been aiding doctors prepare for numerous surgeries by providing highly-detailed, patient specific models to better inform surgeons and practice before entering the operating room.
Artificial tissue has always lacked a key ingredient: blood vessels. A new 3-D printing technique seems poised to change that.
Organovo CEO, Keith Murphy, said of the new product, “Pharma companies can use our bioprinted liver tissue to weed out toxic drugs early in drug development rather than after they have failed expensive clinical trials.” One day, such products could, in addition to improving drug safety, bypass the need for animal testing in medicine research as well.
Prosthetics. Many prosthetics have been modeled using 3D printing to custom make parts that are extremely difficult to fit and manufacture by less precise methods.
Many of these processes are well demonstrated in youtube video clips. Well worth viewing to see what is going on in this cutting edge area of medicine.
Tissue printing is likely to be the most exciting use of 3D printing in the foreseeable future.
In 2012 a baby was born with a rare condition called tracheobronchomalacia: the tissue of one portion of his airway was so weak that it persistently collapsed. This made breathing very difficult, and it regularly blocked vital blood vessels nearby, including the aorta, triggering cardiac and pulmonary arrest. The infant was placed on a ventilator, while the medical team set about figuring out what to do. The area of weak tissue would somehow need to be repaired or replaced—a major and dangerous operation in so small a patient. The medical team constructed a replacement splint that would eventually dissolve using 3D printing. In May of 2013, in The New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers reported that the boy was thriving and that “no unforeseen problems related to the splint have arisen.
'
Surgeons in Wales used a 3-D printer to reconstruct the facial bones of a twenty-nine-year-old man named Stephen Power, who fractured his left cheekbone, eye sockets, upper jaw, and skull in a motorcycle accident. The medical team scanned Power’s skull and, based on the unbroken bones, determined what his full facial structure should be. They then printed a replica in titanium and successfully implanted it.
3D printing has been aiding doctors prepare for numerous surgeries by providing highly-detailed, patient specific models to better inform surgeons and practice before entering the operating room.
Artificial tissue has always lacked a key ingredient: blood vessels. A new 3-D printing technique seems poised to change that.
The range of uses for
three-dimensional printers is increasing all the time, but now
scientists are developing 3D "bioprinters" that will be able to print
out skin, cartilage, bone, and other body parts.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2011-02-3d-bio-printers-skin-body.html#jCp
The exVive3D Liver Model is not big enough to be considered an
organ, but works in the same way that a real liver might and lives for
up to 40 days or longer, making it ideal for testing the toxicity of new
medications on human liver tissue. Organovo points out that “Since 2007, 16 drugs have
been withdrawn from the market due to safety issues. It costs more than
$1 billion and takes more than 12 years to bring a drug to market.”
Current 2D liver assays can’t provide a realistic environment for
testing purposes and die in only a few days. In their retrospective
study, however, Roche and Organovo found that only the exVive was able
to identify a formerly FDA-approved drug, later removed from the market,
as toxic.Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2011-02-3d-bio-printers-skin-body.html#jCp
Organovo CEO, Keith Murphy, said of the new product, “Pharma companies can use our bioprinted liver tissue to weed out toxic drugs early in drug development rather than after they have failed expensive clinical trials.” One day, such products could, in addition to improving drug safety, bypass the need for animal testing in medicine research as well.
Prosthetics. Many prosthetics have been modeled using 3D printing to custom make parts that are extremely difficult to fit and manufacture by less precise methods.
Many of these processes are well demonstrated in youtube video clips. Well worth viewing to see what is going on in this cutting edge area of medicine.
Wednesday 11 March 2015
The Pathologist. Pt 3.
By the time we had done a half
dozen autopsies or so we had a pretty smooth working relationship. I now understood what Jim was talking
about when he mentioned the 'fast way'.
While both methods achieved the same results, the 'fast way' was a good
deal less delicate than the careful dissection carried out by Dr.
McMurray. In fact it relied more on
brute strength than skill. After Jim
used the electric saw to remove the sternum and the anterior part of the ribs,
the technique consisted of tying off all the structures at the highest possible
level before cutting them. They were also cut just above the diaphragm after
being tied off there. No fine dissection
here. I just grasped all the structures
in both hands and then with all my strength gave a mighty tug, removing all of
the structures out of the chest cavity simultaneously.
Not very elegant, but effective. We then went on to examine and section the individual organs looking for pathology.
The extra stipend made a big difference.
Even after I gave Jim his twenty - five shillings, if we did a couple
of autopsies each week, it still added up to more than my regular paltry pay and I
certainly needed anything extra I could earn.
All the money that Irene and I had saved from playing at Dublin's Paradiso nightclub, (another story for another time!) and from selling
all our possessions, including her beloved piano was almost gone.
My old friend, from my undergraduate
days, Arthur, kept in touch and we went out for coffee once in a
while to compare personal as well as professional notes.
"Thank god I have that extra few
pounds a month coming in from the autopsies.
At least that keeps us eating and pays the rent."I said. Interns wages in those days, did't even cover the exigencies and we had a new baby.
"Sounds like a good
deal," responded Arthur, "I
know we are having a really tough time at my hospital as well, because of the
current acute pathologist shortage. I've heard some of residents complaining that
they're expected to do autopsies and that they haven't faintest idea about how to go about it. Maybe you
could come over and do them and I'd assist you and we could split the
fee."
"I could sure use the extra
dough," I said, "The extra I'm earning doing these autopsies just about make it
possible for us to survive."
"Yes, you had some pretty bad luck.
But don't worry, things will get
better."
Over the next few months,
Art called me several times to come
over and do an autopsy. By this time, I was starting to consider myself a bit of an expert at the autopsy game. As so often happens when one arrives at that conclusion,
events prove otherwise.
The midnight DOA (Dead on Arrival) patient had been scheduled
for postmortem at eight the following morning.
A forty-five year old man who had collapsed at home, just before
midnight, as he was getting into bed.
Attempts to resuscitate him in the emergency department failed. Jim and I went through the usual autopsy routine
without finding any cause of death.
"There has to be a cause of
death, Doc, you've got to find something.
This is a coroner's case and there's got to be a cause of death on the death certificate, otherwise the fella
can't be buried."
"You're right, Jim, but you saw
how carefully I've looked. This type of death
from heart attack is almost always due to coronary thrombosis. I've sectioned the arteries really carefully
and can't find anything that remotely resembles a clot."
"Then we'll just have to have
the coroner come over and see what he has to suggest." Jim said.
"Yes, I suppose so," said I.
I phoned the coroner's office, and spoke
to Dr. O'Carroll, the city coroner, both a physician and a lawyer.
"Did you section those
coronaries carefully?" he asked me. "Sounds
like a classical coronary thrombosis."
"Yes, I did," said I,
"and found nothing."
"Ah, it must be there," said the
coroner. I'll be right over."
Jim and I set out all the
specimens for Dr. O'Carroll's inspection.
About a half hour later, he arrived. A distinguished, gray-haired
man in his middle fifties, he lit a cigarette, pulled on a pair of rubber
gloves started examining the specimens.
"Make sure to send away the
gastric contents to be analyzed and make sure he wasn't poisoned deliberately
or accidentally. I don't see anything
much here," he remarked as he
examined the liver, kidney and spleen.
Let's take a careful look at those
coronary arteries."
He held out his hand for the heart.
I handed him the heart with its
neatly sectioned coronary arteries.
"I've looked really carefully,
sir, and can't see any abnormality."
Dr. O'Carroll took the heart in his hand looked at it for a while, and said,
"Let
me have that scalpel for a minute. I
don't think you've sectioned the coronary arteries quite closely enough."
He took the scalpel and started to
section the arteries with closer cuts.
"Ah, here it is, see it?" he exclaimed, pointing with the bayonet tip of the scalpel, at the lumen of the
anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery.
"No sir," I said,
"I don't see anything."
"Look man, right there,"
he said, somewhat irritably, jabbing the scalpel at an area in the artery. "I'll section another area there. Now you can see it?" he demanded.
I nodded miserably, looking at the sectioned mess not sure
that I could see anything out of the ordinary and feeling quite inadequate on that account.
"Now you can put on the death
certificate acute coronary thrombosis."
He peeled off his gloves and groped
anxiously through his pockets until he found his cigarettes. He stuck one in his mouth, lit up and took a
deep drag. He smiled benevolently, as
the tobacco alkaloids crossed the blood-brain barrier and produced the desired
effects.
"Good lad, Smith," he said kindly, "I hope that this has
provided a valuable learning experience for you. You'll know what to do the next time,
eh?"
"Yes sir," I said, and
never called the chief coroner again.
Saturday 7 March 2015
Death by Prescription. Pt 5.
Death by prescription.
Finally and long overdue the Canadian Medical Association has spoken. I suspect it was urged to do so by a significant portion of its membership. This is what it said: MDs can't be forced to assist deaths. They went on to say that no physician in the country should be forced to play a role in any aspect of assisted dying against their moral or religious beliefs, including referring patients to another doctor willing to help them die. Perhaps they realize that what has kept medicine an honorable profession has mainly been the ethics, morals and philosophical principles, religious or otherwise of most physicians. The dictates of the administridiots played no role in the crafting of the Hippocratic oath.
The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons (the licensing and disciplinary body) seem to be taking a different position. It would appear that they intend to make it mandatory to participate or at least refer to someone who does. The College, unfortunately regards itself as the ultimate arbiter of all ethical issues and indeed is in that they can withdraw the license to practice medicine. However, it has a responsibility to physicians as well as patients and sometimes exceeds reasonable boundaries. Physicians are wary to protest for fear of some sort of future consequences. The College rulings on this current issue requires careful scrutiny, evaluation and discussion before implementation. They also need to be reviewed in the light of the decisions of licensing bodies in the other Canadian Provinces.
Finally and long overdue the Canadian Medical Association has spoken. I suspect it was urged to do so by a significant portion of its membership. This is what it said: MDs can't be forced to assist deaths. They went on to say that no physician in the country should be forced to play a role in any aspect of assisted dying against their moral or religious beliefs, including referring patients to another doctor willing to help them die. Perhaps they realize that what has kept medicine an honorable profession has mainly been the ethics, morals and philosophical principles, religious or otherwise of most physicians. The dictates of the administridiots played no role in the crafting of the Hippocratic oath.
The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons (the licensing and disciplinary body) seem to be taking a different position. It would appear that they intend to make it mandatory to participate or at least refer to someone who does. The College, unfortunately regards itself as the ultimate arbiter of all ethical issues and indeed is in that they can withdraw the license to practice medicine. However, it has a responsibility to physicians as well as patients and sometimes exceeds reasonable boundaries. Physicians are wary to protest for fear of some sort of future consequences. The College rulings on this current issue requires careful scrutiny, evaluation and discussion before implementation. They also need to be reviewed in the light of the decisions of licensing bodies in the other Canadian Provinces.
Tuesday 3 March 2015
The Pathologist. Pt.1.& Pt 2.*****************************
It is hard to believe that the time I am writing about was almost a half century ago. Tempus, as they say, surely does fugit. For reasons related to health I was out of sync with my graduating class and was desperately looking for an internship job.
When I showed up at Dr Pickles, the medical director's (They used to be doctors in those days!) office on Monday morning I was greeted by a pleasant smile .
"I have good news for you," he said to me "Although all the regular internship positions have been filled, there's a vacancy in pathology, that normally would have to be filled by a second year pathology resident. He cancelled out at the last minute, so we can offer that position to you for four months and that will bring you into sync with the regular rotations. It will be quite a valuable experience as well as allowing you to earn some money "
I was relieved to have a job, but a little apprehensive about my ability to do justice to a position normally occupied by a person with two years more experience than I had.
"Thank you, sir, but do you think I'll be able to manage it satisfactorily?"
"Oh don't worry about that. You'll be working directly under the supervision of Dr. McMurray, and she'll give you all the supervision you'll need. It will be a wonderful educational experience because there are no more senior residents between you and your consultant. You'll get the opportunity to do things that a junior rarely gets near."
Monday at eight-thirty I arrived at Dr. McMurray's office, ready to start work.
"Good morning," the pleasant -faced middle-aged secretary smiled. Then, in a slightly remonstrative way, added, "Dr. McMurray is down in the morgue doing an autopsy. She said that you're to go down there right away. She starts at eight sharp, you know. Don't worry though, I'm sure she will take into consideration that it's just your first day."
"Gee, I'm sorry, I thought we started at nine."I answered apologetically.
"Just take the elevator at the end of the corridor down to the basement and turn left. You'll see a big gray double door in front of you. Walk right in."
I followed the directions and saw the door.. I turned the handle and walked in. Standing at the operating table was a woman clad in operating room attire, a scalpel in her hand and so pregnant that she could barely get close enough to the corpse to do the autopsy. Unusual in those days
"I glad you could make it," she said irritably. "now get yourself gowned and gloved. I need a hand."
"I'm sorry, Doctor, I thought we started at nine. I should have checked with you. It won't happen again."
As I slipped off my jacket and tie and secured the rubber apron that protected from neck to ankle I felt like a butcher about to butcher a carcass. I pulled on a white gown, tied it up at the back and stepped up to the mortuary slab.
"Okay," said Dr. McMurray, "step up here and get another suture around the esophagus, above the one I've already secured, I can barely stretch that far, with this in front of me," she said pointing to her swollen belly.
I leaned forward, slightly nauseated from the pervasive smell of formaldehyde and still a little shaken from what was the rather bizarre picture of a very pregnant woman doing an autopsy.
"Okay, cut right here, between the two sutures, then dissect away from the posterior thoracic and abdominal wall right down to the duodenum, and then cut between the lower two ligatures that I had secured earlier. That way we can get the whole segment of bowel out, without spilling gastric content all over the peritoneal cavity. Unless, of course, you puncture the bowel wall. And, by the way, don't get a fright when Jim starts the saw going. She introduced me to the autopsy room orderly.
Jim was the operating room orderly. He nodded his head at me and smiled.
"Ah, you'll get used to all this stuff quickly enough, doctor. Just don't mind the noise." He added this as he continued a transverse scalp incision and then pulled the apron of scalp forward to cover the face and got busy with an electric bone saw.
Meanwhile, I continued the dissection carefully, anxious to avoid the humiliation of perforating the bowel, let alone the miasmic odors that would follow. The loud vibrations of the saw cutting through bone provided the background for the next half-hour, and the effluvium of bone dust was added to the other odors. Meanwhile Dr. McMurray carried on dissecting and supervising me at the same time. Following the gross dissection, Dr. McMurray showed me how to section the removed organs and place the specimens in formalin for later histological microscopic examination. We were all finished before noon.
"Do we have another to do this afternoon ?" I asked.
Dr. McMurray laughed.
"We don't kill all our patents, you know. I've assigned you to Tom Morgan, the chief laboratory technician. A good pathologist has to be able to do and to supervise everything a technician can do." I thought it would be imprudent to mention that I had no interest in becoming a pathologist.
I spent the next couple of days in the lab, learning to do tests that a computer does nowadays, in a fraction of the time.
Two days later, I showed up in the hospital
morgue bright and early, for an eight am autopsy. I made sure to be there a few minutes early,
so that Jim and I could make sure that everything would be laid out just the
way Dr. McMurray liked it. Eight o'clock
came and went, without sign or sight of Dr. McMurray. I was getting a little nervous.
"She's late," I
said, "I just hope everything is okay."
"Ah, don't be worrying,"
Jim said optimistically, "everything will be just fine."
"I hope so, I'd hate to be left
to do this on my own."
Jim grinned that leprachaun smile
that the Irish sometimes have.
"Ah sure if the worst came to
the worst, you and I could do it ourselves.
I've been hanging around these post-mortems and helping out long enough to be
able to do them myself."
There was a knock at the door,
immediately a the secretary poked her head around it.
"I'm afraid you fellows are
going to have to do the post-mortems on your own. Dr. McMurray was admitted to the hospital in
the small hours of the morning in labor, so I don't think she's going to be in
to help you out today."
With that the door slammed closed
and she was gone. I almost panicked, then I re-called Churchill's war time credo. 'keep calm and carry on!' and I determined to try to do just that. And, after all, the patient was dead before I got to him.
"We'll have to find another
pathologist right away, Jim."
"There's no other pathologist
available. There's a critical shortage
of pathologists in Dublin right now."
Jim laughed. "How do you think you,
a first year intern, got the job in the first place. That job usually goes to a senior house
officer, who's specializing in pathology.
They knew Dr.McMurray was going to be having a baby soon and I suppose
they thought that having you was better than nothing." Jim answered
unceremoniously.
That certainly sounded more realistic than my previously held belief that they had just conjured up a position
to slot me into, to help me out. What a fool I was, they were helping
themselves out, albeit with a grossly under-qualified candidate.
"Anyway Doc, don't worry, I'll
show you how to do a post-mortem. Sure, who do you think taught Dr. McMurray to
do them?" he asked modestly.
"She was just at your stage when she first came down here to
learn how to do autopsies. And there's
one piece of good news, the house officer who does or helps with an autopsy
gets a fee of five pounds and five shillings.
Not many junior interns get a deal like that. They usually give me a pound for my
help," he added, meaningfully.
"Don't worry about that,
Jim. If you can get me through that,
I'll give you twenty-five shillings. Do
you really think we could do the complete job ourselves?"
"Sure I'd teach you to do an
autopsy on my old Granny for twenty - five bob!" he laughed.
"So, if we're going to get out
of here tonight we'd better get started," I said.
"Yep, Doc, now you've got to
decide if you want to do it Dr. McMurray's way or the quick way!" Jim
said.
"Well, what's the
difference?" I asked..
"It's like this Doc, in the
long run it doesn't make any difference.
In either case, the stiff, er, I mean the corpse, ends up nicely put
together and is sewn up neatly, all ready for the undertaker. But one method
takes two hours and Dr. McMurray's method takes four or more hours. It's up to you."
"Now wait a minute, what's the
point of taking four hours when you can do the procedure in two hours? Dr. McMurray is a very practical doctor, why
would she opt to spend four hours doing a procedure that could be done in two
hours?" I asked.
Jim shrugged his shoulders.
"I
asked her the very same thing myself. What's the difference, Doc, I asked her. 'Ah Jim,' she answered, 'the difference is
the human dignity and respect that every human being is entitled to.' That's where we differed and I told her
so. You got it wrong, Doc, Jesus Christ himself is looking after the immortal soul and its dignity,
all you're looking after is an auld corpse!"
So we
agreed to disagree, and she was the doctor and all I was, was a morgue porter,
so of course, we did it her way. But we
had some grand discussions. Which way do
you want to do it, Doc?"
I knew that everything took at
least twice as long as anticipated and sometimes three times, so I had no
difficulty in making the decision.
"I want to do it the fast
way."
He
answered without hesitation.
"I can see we're going to work
just fine together. Now Doc, you just pick up this
scalpel and make a long incision, starting right up here at the sternal notch
and extending down to the xiphi-sternal joint."
I picked up the scalpel.
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