My Web-links

Please click on each of the web-links listed on the right hand side below, to explore your horizons.

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Dr. Niles, Consultannt Surgeon.


Dr.Niles was a Surgeon who used to talk with flamboyance. He was talking about the progress of an aneurysm of the ascending aorta. He narrated:-

“The aneurysm of the ascending aorta starts getting bigger. It presses on all the surrounding structures. It causes pressure necrosis and erodes through them. Thus it erodes through the body of the sternum. It will erode through the skin in front of this area. It will also erode through the “Hentley Gold Label” shirt that the patient is wearing. Then when the aneurysm bursts, the patient will collapse and die. “Hentley Gold label” was the acme of middle class ready-made shirts in Ceylon, in the early 1960’s.

            Once when doing a ward round he addressed a patient and asked what was wrong with him. The patient answered “Moothra wala seeni thiyanawa”- (There is sugar in my urine). He gave the necessary instructions to the house officer on treeatment and went to the next patient. He repeated the question to him. The answer was “Moothra wala piti thiyanawa”.-(There is flour in my urine i.e. his urine was turbid). Like a flash Niles told both patients –“Umbala denna ekathuwela, bakeriak dapalla” -  (Both of you get together and open a bakery). The understanding being that both can produce the flour and sugar needed as raw materials for the bakery.

            There was an obese female in the ward at the GH Colombo in Dr. Nile’s Surgical ward awaiting removal of her diseased gall bladder. Dr. Niles was averse to doing major surgery. He tried to persuade the patient against surgical intervention. The patient however refused to be persuaded away from surgical intervention because of frequent attacks of severe colicky pain. Dr. Niles relented and fixed her for surgery which he did the next day. He found the approach to the gall bladder extremely difficult because of the patient’s obesity. However he successfully finished the surgery.

            Next day during the ward rounds he had this to say to the patient.

Bohoma amaaruwen ney mama ara piththaashaya aying keruwey. Inimaga thiyala ne bassey” – “It was with the greatest difficulty we removed the gall bladder. I had to go inside your abdomen using a ladder.”

Recalled Oldie

 

Never on a  Sunday

No comments:

Post a Comment