Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 32

32. An Incision!?

“Can’t you treat it with antibiotics instead of surgery?”

“Antibiotics?”

“Yes, I saw on the internet that you can monitor it while using antibiotics.”

For a moment, Tae-kyung almost sighed deeply without realizing it.

‘That darn internet is the problem.’

It’s often because of that internet that conversations with patients become difficult like this.

Patients seem to believe what non-experts write, especially if it’s the answer they want to hear.

I understand the patient’s desperate feelings, but most of those articles are different from the truth.

Of course, the mother is pregnant and may have a strong aversion to surgery, so it can’t be helped.

“What you read is different from the truth.”

“But I definitely saw an article someone wrote on the internet.”

“You can postpone appendicitis a little with antibiotics, but that’s only in certain situations. And it’s postponing, not a cure. Surgery will be needed someday.”

“Then, is there a problem for the fetus… I mean, for our Blessing?”

Tae-kyung decided to postpone the fetal issue for later and talk about something else first to the mother who was mentally struggling.

“What you’re most worried about is the fetus right now.”

“That’s right. I’m worried about our Blessing…”

“Honey, let’s listen to the doctor first. Okay?”

The husband next to her patted his wife to calm her down.

“Please tell us, doctor.”

“First, I’ll explain the surgery itself. Currently, the mother’s appendix is pushed upward due to the fetus in the womb. Therefore, since we don’t know the exact location, we will make an incision as small as possible…”

“An, an incision!?”

Before Tae-kyung could finish speaking, the mother’s eyes widened as she asked back.

The sound was so loud that Tae-kyung and Eui-jin flinched.

“You must be very surprised. The reason for the incision is…”

“No. Sob! Our Blessing, sob… I saw on the internet that an incision can cause a miscarriage.”

“Honey, it’s hard on you if you keep crying.”

“Sob! I don’t know. I can’t have an incision. If our Blessing is in danger, I… I won’t have surgery.”

I’ve dealt with countless patients, but due to the nature of surgery, there aren’t many cases of dealing with pregnant women.

In particular, pregnant women are very sensitive for the sake of their children, so every word must be spoken carefully.

‘How desperate must she be.’

Moreover, since that mother has had the child after 10 years of repeated miscarriages, her heart must be even more desperate.

However, I couldn’t continue to watch this situation with the mother’s current condition, so I had to make a decision.

“It doesn’t mean that the child will have a miscarriage, but I’m telling you that there is a possibility.”

“Sob! I don’t want to. If our Blessing gets hurt during the surgery… No. I can’t do it. Sob!”

“It’s hard on you if you keep crying.”

Eui-jin comforted the mother as she began to cry even more.

“Excuse me, shall we go outside for a moment?”

“Yes, doctor.”

In the meantime, Tae-kyung went outside with the husband.

* * *

“Hello?”

Lee Chan-hee, who came to work, greeted the staff at the reception desk.

“Hello. Dr. Lee, you seem to be in a good mood today.”

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping for the past few days, but I slept soundly last night.”

“Yeah. I feel good on the days I sleep well too.”

“There weren’t many patients in the ER, so there weren’t any special events, right?”

“There weren’t any big events until a little while ago, but one just happened.”

“Really? Did a serious patient come in?”

“An OP (surgery) patient came in.”

“OP?”

Lee Chan-hee raised his voice and asked back at the word OP.

“Yes. It’s an appendicitis patient, and she’s pregnant.”

“An appendicitis pregnant patient, it won’t be easy to get consent.”

“That’s right. A little while ago, Dr. Kim went to Dr. Jung’s office to explain the surgery, but the patient kept crying and there was a loud noise.”

“She must be feeling uneasy because she’s pregnant. Are they doing it laparoscopically [using small incisions and a camera]?”

“No. They’re doing it with an incision.”

“With an incision? How many weeks is she?”

“24 weeks.”

“Ah… then it would be difficult to do it laparoscopically because the fetus is also big.”

“Dr. Lee, didn’t you sleep well? You don’t look good.”

Nurse Lim Jung-sook, who came out of the emergency room, asked Lee Chan-hee.

“No. Dr. Lee slept well today.”

“But why do you look so serious?”

“I just told him about the pregnant OP. So I think he’s worried.”

“Is that so?”

Nurse Lim Jung-sook and her colleague were worried about Lee Chan-hee’s fear of the operating room.

“Yes? Oh, no.”

“Even though she’s pregnant, there will be a lot to pay attention to during the surgery. And the patient hasn’t even taken common morning sickness medicine because it’s her first pregnancy in 10 years.”

“Really? Ah, women with the name of mother are strong and great.”

“She also stayed away from her underlying disease medication and only thought about the baby.”

“Dr. Lee? Will you be okay as an assistant?”

“How about Dr. Choi going in? He’s coming to the hospital from today.”

“That’s right. Dr. Choi was there.”

Lee Chan-hee didn’t say anything during the conversation.

* * *

“You must have been very surprised.”

“No. I work at a pharmaceutical company, so I often meet doctors for work.”

“You’re a pharmaceutical company employee?”

“Yes, among them, there were very few people who spoke with consideration like you. Thank you.”

A pharmaceutical company employee. What a perfect timing.

‘Ha! Thank goodness.’

Since he’s a pharmaceutical company employee, he has more medical knowledge than the average person, so it’s easier to talk to him.

Tae-kyung, grateful for the unexpected favor, thought he should quickly get consent in this gap.

“Actually, the mother needs to have surgery now, and as I said before, she will have an incision after general anesthesia. There is also a possibility of miscarriage.”

“What is the probability?”

“I can’t know the exact probability, but according to domestic papers, it’s less than 1%.”

“Is that so? That’s a relief.”

“But in my experience, these probabilistic figures may not be very meaningful.”

“What do you mean?”

“Regardless of the probability of side effects that I tell the guardians, it is 100% for the person who has it.”

“Ah… that’s right.”

“Furthermore, the patient has asthma, so there is a possibility of side effects related to general anesthesia. If the result of the side effect is a life, especially a conceived fetus, I can’t reassure you no matter how low the probability is.”

The husband closed his mouth for a moment at the heavy conversation. His expression, which had been maintaining composure unlike his wife, also became serious.

It’s a natural reaction.

How precious and valuable the child must be, the guardian’s head will be complicated. But still, the patient and guardian must be told honestly.

It is the doctor’s job to convey not only what he can say, but also what he must convey.

“I want to make you feel comfortable, but as a medical professional, there is nothing as irresponsible as false reassurance.”

“I understand what you’re saying.”

The guardian, who had been silent with a heavy heart, opened his mouth.

“Actually, before coming here, I went to the hospital introduced by my wife’s obstetrician. The doctor there also said that surgery was necessary, but I came here just in case.”

The husband had brought his wife to the emergency room several times after she became pregnant.

Each time, he had a good impression of the medical staff, so he came to our hospital.

“But that doctor didn’t tell me as honestly as you do now, and he yawned and urged me to decide quickly because it was a minor surgery.”

“You had such a thing.”

“Of course, it may be a familiar surgery from the doctor’s point of view, but from the patient’s or guardian’s point of view, it’s the first time they’ve experienced it, so it’s hard to be familiar with that attitude.”

That’s not wrong. There are quite a few patients who are hurt by the doctor’s cynical attitude.

That’s why Tae-kyung values the relationship while the patient is being treated.

Tae-kyung’s resolution after getting the last board [medical license] was not to become an authoritative doctor intoxicated with his skills.

A warm word is more powerful than you think for patients and guardians exhausted from the disease.

“I fully understand that feeling.”

“I didn’t feel like it after seeing the doctor’s attitude, but I think I can trust you. I’ll comfort my wife. Thank you.”

The husband bowed 90 degrees after finishing the story.

“I’ll do my best.”

Tae-kyung looked straight into the husband’s eyes and said forcefully because he knew what this attitude meant.

* * *

While Tae-kyung was persuading her husband outside the examination room, Eui-jin was comforting the mother inside.

“Please have some water.”

Eui-jin handed her a cup of warm water and slowly stroked the mother’s back.

“Sob! Thank you. Our Blessing was growing well, but I’m just upset about this situation itself.”

“Of course. You must be upset.”

“Doctors may think it’s a fuss, but the baby in my womb is more precious to me than my life.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t think it’s a fuss at all.”

It wasn’t just a statement to comfort the mother.

Eui-jin has felt countless times while working as an obstetrician how mothers feel when they have a child in their womb for 10 months.

So I know how this mother feels right now.

“If I was alone, I would have had not only appendicitis surgery but also more surgery without any problem. But because I have Blessing… I’m afraid and scared to have surgery.”

“It’s scary to have surgery, but it’s even more so because you have a child. You love Blessing a lot, right?”

“Yes, I’ve been desperately waiting for this child for 10 years. Blessing is a child that is not enough to be expressed in words of love.”

“But, as Dr. Kim Tae-kyung explained earlier, if you don’t have surgery, both the mother and Blessing will have a hard time. What if you think you’re having surgery to meet Blessing healthier?”

“Healthier?”

“Yes. The mother must be healthy for the child to be healthy.”

The mother, who gradually stopped crying, listened to Eui-jin’s words, holding her hand tightly.

“Doctor, is the doctor who will operate on me good at it?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry. I’m just anxious. I was wondering what kind of doctor the doctor who will operate on me is.”

The mother had already been hurt by the indifferent attitude of the doctor she had visited at the hospital earlier.

I know it’s a rude question, but it’s also a matter of her and her child’s life.

That’s why she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of doctor Tae-kyung, who would operate on her, was.

“In fact, I don’t even say who is like this or that among doctors, but even less do I say who is good at it. I don’t recommend such words carelessly because I’m afraid that patients will be disappointed after hearing that they are good at it.”

“Ah, yes. I guess so.”

The following words continued to the mother, who felt somewhat disappointed while agreeing with Eui-jin’s words.

“But I think I can tell you this. Dr. Kim Tae-kyung is a good doctor who really cares about patients.”

“A good doctor who cares about patients?”

“Yes, he is a person who sincerely cares about and treats patients.”

Click-

“Honey?”

The husband, who had finished talking with Tae-kyung, came into the office. Right now, he was only thinking about persuading his wife.

“Listen to me. I know you’re worried about the surgery. But our surgery…”

“I’ll do it.”

“Huh!?”

“I’ll have surgery for our Blessing.”