How Little We Know …

OK family and friends. Here's another day.

My Gall Stones

My brother-in-law, Tariq Husain, is generally worried about everyone's health (except, perhaps, his own!) and at every person's slightest problems he will always jump in and try to help. I am grateful for his over-enthusiasm because it sometimes sticks. 

Of course, I get that help from him, too, often despite my protests. Now that I had refused my surgery at NMC after a near disaster, Tariq called from his Haj Trip and said I should look for a second opinion, possibly from Dr Saad Khalid Niaz. Although I believe that a 'friendly doctor' didn't think much of him, Nuzhat got an appointment for yesterday and off we went with all my papers.

Dr Niaz spoke to me and enquired why there had been no Ultrasound even on my first trip at NMC. He said it was a good hospital and he was surprised. Then I showed him the Ultrasound taken at Shamim's insistence and he said fine, you have gall stones and a surgery is necessary. No other treatment, he thought, would work. This is what Shamim had also said, earlier.

I showed him my other papers and explained the process that left me refusing surgery at NMC and all he did was laugh. He said the Anaesthetist was strange. Also there was no need for an Open Surgery and I should have a Laparoscopy, instead. He suggested an Anaesthetist, Dr Jakharani (whom he thought was one of the best here), phoned him up after I agreed, and got me an appointment in half an hour. So off we rushed to see him at another hospital.

Dr Jakharani - an oldish man - saw me, spent some time with me, advised me, and said that Laparoscopy was the right answer. No need to do an open surgery. He said Dr Zia Yaqoob, at NMC, was right in saying I could have it. But he thought I should speak to Dr Maher Mumtaz, the surgeon who'd perform the operation.

Dr Mumtaz was Dr Shamim's first preference, but because I had had 3 surgeries (Hernia, Quadruple Bypass, Pacemaker) at NMC — which is also only 5 minutes away from my house — he also suggested two Professors he knew there, and I chose them.

I now know that the senior of the Professors had been 'trained' by Dr Maher Mumtaz who pioneered Laparoscopy in Pakistan.

Just a few minutes wait and Dr Mumtaz came in. An even older man than Dr Jakharani, he was very good during his conversation. He checked me out. Saw the Ultrasound and said Laparoscopy is the only answer.

When I said I had a right to refuse the NMC surgery, he said:

• You have had a Bypass – so your heart is working
• You have a Pacemaker — which means it's keeping the rate right
• Both things make you better than the average patient
• The Anaesthetist would have had to give you the anaesthesia either way, so what was he worried about
• Let's not talk about what happened at NMC. Let's just move on
• Keep this stupid old report of Hepatitis B out. It might cause a mistake. Just keep the right ones in your folder
• There is no need for an open surgery at all!!!
• I should sleep over the right side of my body and not the left … as that could cause the stones to go near the entrance and block it or hurt me a lot.

Dr Jakharani & Dr Mumtaz, both, said they have treated octogenarians and yesterday they did a Laparoscopy on a Doctor who is retired and is 92 years old.

The answer, then, is that if I have to have Surgery, I'll have to go to Dr Mumtaz's assistant after Baqr Eed. Give him my ECG, X-Ray, Ultrasound and anything else he wants. Keep off Loprin for 5 days. And then we can do the operation. Shamim came back last night. I've discussed this with him. He says that's the right way to go since my Gall Bladder is no use now.

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All of this seems good, except my faith in Doctors here has shaken. My father was a Doctor of the good old stock. If necessary, he asked for a second opinion or brought another doctor in on the case. He always had extremely good bedside manners. He loved his work! Today, Shamim is also like that. Of course, neither of them made money here!

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Anyway, I have to live to 85 … as I promised my daughter this.

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"The idea is to die young as late as possible."

Ashley Montague