Cheers for the advancements in the medical world, as evidenced by my brother’s relatively pain-free present state.
Said brother had his gall bladder removed Saturday by the laparoscopic technique, which simply put means four small incisions to insert a video camera and small robotic instruments to do the actual cutting and removing of the diseased and inflamed organ, along with any gall stones.
I happened to be present when a day before the surgery a doctor was giving my brother the standard background and what-can-go-wrong talk to get permission to do the deed. At that time, it was presumed the laparoscopic approach could be used, but if not, then there would be the more traditional abdominal incision made to provide access.
Even at that, he stressed it would not be that invasive. The doctor held his hands maybe four inches apart to indicate the size of the cut.
At this point I told him that was amazing, since my gall bladder surgery, admittedly performed in the relatively distant medical past, had produced a much bigger cut. He seemed to be incredulous, so I raised my shirt to show him the scar, which I have since measured at 10.5 inches, give or take.
Must have been done by a resident, he said dismissively, indicating perhaps I had not been worked on by a skilled surgeon. Or maybe there were complications?
No and no. My surgeon, since retired, was highly regarded at the time. His daughter apparently now does this sort of thing. She had spoken with my brother, but she was unavailable Saturday due to it being a weekend.
I pointed out to this doctor who my surgeon had been and he did some quick verbal backtracking.
Some background on my case is in order. Back then I’d been going to the hospital with chest pain that felt like I’d been harpooned. This was in the early 1990s and I was in my mid-30s. The presumption was heart trouble.
I even had catheterizations and balloon angioplasties done. But my Pittsburgh heart specialist at the time said although I had a congenital narrowing of a major blood vessel in my heart, through the years I’d formed a natural bypass due to the collateral blood passageways becoming enlarged. I had some arterial plaque, but nothing to account for my symptoms.
Eventually, I kept having these painful incidents and it was diagnosed as gall bladder trouble. Given the option to have it removed, I jumped at the chance.
Ironically, the laparoscopic methodology was on the near horizon locally, but no one mentioned that.
Instead, I was cut stem to stern and let me assure you, it was not pleasant. All the talk of core muscle training for athletes rings true because my core muscles were compromised and you use them for just about any movement.
The bonus was I was unable to work for six weeks or so. The time off – with pay – gave me great insight to the attraction of not working. I had not been idle for that long in the work place since age 17, when I began part-time work at the Post Office that became full-time temporary during summer months.
I soon transitioned to my first full-time newspaper job and kept right on working.
It was during that time off following surgery that I resolved to save, invest, and retire early. I hit that goal at 53 and a half years of age.
You might say my gall bladder surgery was a mixed blessing, ending my pain and acquainting me with the attraction of not working.
Since this was not a factor for my brother, I’m glad he got to have his gall bladder problem addressed the comparatively easy way.
Just as cars, appliances, computers, cell phones and all else have come a long way in the past 30 years, so, too, has this surgical procedure. And that’s the good news.
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