SHOCKING - UNBELIEVABLE - SMOOTH FLOWING
Completed in 2 days- Dr. Beena Gandhi Kanani
WELL CRAFTED THRILLER OF INTRIGUE IN THE TACH SAVY MEDICAL ERA. A page turner indeed! – Dr. Sujata Rao
AN ABSORBING MEDICAL THRILLER.
At City Civil Hospital-
Five minutes of careful delicate dissection and he started wondering first and then perspiring. He tried to control himself, went near the viewing box to confirm the location of the meningioma and came back to the operation field. He told himself, ‘I am at the right place as per images. Then why don’t I see that mass?’
He also blamed himself for not taking a very firm stand on getting intra-operative CT and MRI machines at City Civil Hospital and succumbing to the administrator’s arguments for better utilisation of funds.
*
At Radhakrishnan Nadar Neurology Centre-
You have a small tumour in the posterior basal part of the brain – Meningioma. Let us start with the worst scenario and that is death- point zero two to two point one per cent. These are common world figures, but in my hands, at this centre, it is zero.”
*
On further dissection within a minute, he saw the operative area filled with blood and all machines with anaesthetist started making loud warning sounds. Quick actions of all started, like suction, looking closely, looking for bleeder, moping. Sounds of signals increased, they threw the sanctity of not talking or minimal talking out of the window. Shouting started. Dr. Natrajan removed a small portion of the bone at the bottom of the skull as an emergency procedure of decompression.
In a matter of minutes if not seconds BP went low, and then the heart stopped.
*
A helicopter arrived at the Radhakrishnan Nadar Neurology Centre helipad, even though there was no emergency. The Centre’s staff had the facilities and abilities to satisfy the needs of different persons more so VIPs. This helicopter had brought a famous, popular star of films and OTT platform, Aryan Khan. Though he was only twenty-eight, he was very popular with many movies and serials of OTT under his belt and many awards by now. His popularity and his protection were a headache for his security staff.
*
By now Amardeep’s wife had started sobbing. Her son started consoling her and the other two had their eyes wet. After sobbing for a few seconds, Chuni asked, “But sir, you had never talked about the possibility of death during the operation.”
Dr. Natrajan knew at such times there was no sense in arguing, but he also knew that he should not accept his or his team’s guilt.
He waited for a few seconds and then continued, “I also feel the pain like you do. For that matter, any doctor whose patient passes away feels terrible. Just to mention figures which may ring the bell about what we had said. Point zero two to two point one per cent chances of death. “I am sure we also must have given success figures explaining that by success we mean only survival for a few years. What I am trying to say is that all of us knew we were dealing with a delicate issue. Any surgery, especially neurosurgery is always risky.”
*
“Post-mortem? Certainly NO,” answered Chuni.
Karan asked, “Why doctor? They do post-mortem usually for a legal problem, isn’t it?”
*
Then Dr. Sharma gave him big size goggles glasses covered from the side to wear. Aryan did that and in his view, he saw he was in an open space at the beach. He realised that the virtual reality headset was making him see that, but it was so real that he immersed himself in that and thoughts of claustrophobia went away.
*
Dr. Natrajan asked Dr. Acharya, “I was wondering whether it is possible to get a CT scan of his brain? If we can't get post-mortem done.”
“May I ask what are you suspecting?”
Pushing his glasses on the bridge of his nose Dr. Natrajan answered, “I don’t know how much you could make out in OT. I could not locate the mass at all. In trying to dissect further to locate, bleeder started and everything went downhill fast. I want to confirm again by imaging why I could not locate it.”
“Shall I send the dead body to the CT department? I have not heard similar procedure before.”