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Monday, February 15, 2010

Mystery Diagnosis


Dear insansapinas,

The doctor-wife of my former boss in the Philippines advised me to go ahead with the surgery. This was the same doctor who saved my co-faculty thousands of money for advising her not to undergo caesarian for her second baby. It was the general belief of so many that once a woman undergoes CS with the first baby, all others will be delivered in the same way.


Her first CS was not even necessary according to the doctor who is an OB-GYNE. She has ample space in her hips that even a 9 lb-baby can get out without the need for a forcep.


My reluctance for surgery was caused by the stupidity and ignorance of some doctors who gave hell to some people--my MIL included. She had a knee surgery which went wrong that she could not bend her right knee.


Mystery Diagnosis


As I was cooped up in the hotel with three HBO channels, I watched several TV series and reality shows, Project Runway included. Sus.


One of the most interesting features that I watched was Mystery Diagnosis where in that episode, the woman who was victim of a botched surgery of parotid gland experienced embarrassing moments when she started sweating saliva and masticating her food with her sweat. It was traced to misrewiring the sweat and salivary glands after the surgery that they swapped the orifices where they excrete the fluids.


Worse was the tumor that was suppposed to be extracted was never removed. Because of the distrust of the patient to the doctors, she decided to live with the  softball-sized tumor in her neck. She even named it.


After 15 years, they found a doctor who said that removal is possible but there are risks involved since arteries connected to the brain found its way inside the tumor. Parang butong namisaligned at tinubuan na ng balat.


Surgery was successful except that she lost her capability to swallow. Just like meds which cure some health issues but give you a lot more side effects that when taken as a whole is worse than the disease being treated.


The Boy who Can not Move His Bowel

I can relate with this when my tsikiting gubat was seven days old. Yes, seven days old. Instead of bowel however, he can not pass the urine. I saw that the tip of his organ was reddish. He would just cry when he tried to pee. A small amount of water would come out. 


I brought him to several doctors, PGH included and the only diagnosis that I got was there was an infection. But of course, hindi ba naman makaihi. So I brought to the popular pedia and right there and then, she said that walang butas ang kaniyang. T-t. Naalala ko tuloy noong buntis ako and I kept on sewing while my clothes was on...sabi ng mother ko pagnanganak ako walang butas ang pwet ng bata. That was our superstition of course...and the butas is missing not from the pwet.


The doctor promptly performed a surgery to create a hole and to treat the infection of my seven-day old baby. 


The baby in the story can not defecate for weeks and months, so much so that his stomach got big ang bloated.


The doctors consulted said that it is normal and they could not find any dysfunctionality. Another doctor subjected the two year-old baby to enema when the scan showed blockage in the intestines. No progress.


Until he became four year old and he started vomiting and getting sick with a big bloated stomach.


The pedia-surgeon subjected him to scan and biopsy of some skin of the GI. He found out that the boy is sick with a rare disease. The muscles of the colon do not contract to push the bowel to the anus. 


The doctor performed a surgery to put a special device which will substitute a non-functional muscles of the colon. He was given a colostomy while his body was adjusting to the invasive surgery that was made on him.


It took them four years and several doctors before the right diagnosis was made.


Pinaysaamerika

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