Tariq H. Khan
MBBS, MCPS, FCPS
Consultant Anesthesia & Pain
It was the month of Ramadan, an old aged lady of very thin, rather esthenic build, mother of six, reported for preanesthesia assessment. She was a fragile lady, just skin over skeleton. It was frightening to see her move about. She suffered from a giant sized benign kidney tumour and our brave urologist wanted to excise the growth out. The vital signs of the patient were within normal limits, but I was far from satisfied with her general health. Perhaps we cannot judge every human being by the parameters of body chemical and biological elements. Her abdomen was frighteningly ballooned out by the sheer size of the tumour. Still she could sit, walk, talk and even cook food for his children. So many surgeons had previously refused to operate, declaring the tumour to be non-operable. I was personally not convinced to do it at that very point – in Ramadan – just seven days before Eid-ul-Fitre, and tried to convince her attendants to postpone it till after Eid. She needed to be built up. Due to unknown reasons, they persisted with their earlier decision to get it over.
The surgery went unremarkably smooth, except that massive dissection had to be carried out by the surgeon to isolate and remove the growth, and five pints of whole blood and five pints of fresh frozen plasma were transfused. She recovered smoothly, was extubated and shifted to ICU. Everyone was delighted on the accomplishment of such a heroic surgery. The next morning, on reaching the hospital, I rushed to the ICU to see her. Her bed was empty, even the faces of the morning shift nursing staff gave a blank look. What happened to her? She had undergone sudden cardiac arrest at about midnight from which she could not be revived.
Her pale face and skeleton like body danced before my eyes. Had she not consented for surgery, perhaps she would have remained alive on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitre or even more than that to celebrate the Holy festival of Eid-ul-Adha (two a half months later) with her children.
