More than two decades have passed since the incident, but even today the characters associated with it shudder when they recall the incident. It was evening time. A well-known maternity home was in full swing. The whole hospital was in a frenzy; There were patients in the wards and rooms and each patient had ten, fifteen relatives. Gynecologists running the hospital were not only Ahmedabad but the foremost women doctors of Gujarat. He must have performed more than fifty thousand major operations. Be it a normal delivery or a caesarean operation, whatever complications arose during any delivery under her care, Madam was able to handle them all. The day on which this incident took place was a different day. From morning to evening, a total of six deliveries came to madam's nursing home and all of them underwent cesarean operations. Anesthetist Dr. Himashun Shah was busy in the same hospital from morning till evening. His eyes saw everything and his ears heard everything. After coming out of the operation theater, Dr. When Shah was going to check on the operated patient, he could hear the whispers of the patient's relatives in his ears. 'This lady doctor is real! The stomach of the patient who enters is torn.' Relatives of first-time cesarean deliveries were heard expressing outrage. 'Quite true.' Another added Tapshi: 'We don't wait for two hours to allow a normal delivery.' 'Where do you spend two hours! My wife was taken directly from the hospital ward to the OT. After checking once, they told us that the child's life is in danger, if we go for a normal delivery, the child will not survive. We panicked, signed immediately.' A third patient's husband complained. The fourth patient's father's words were unique, 'We brought our daughter for a routine checkup. Labor pains were not indicated. The ma'am did a sonography and revealed that the baby was suffocating inside the womb. The water around it has completely reduced. If the child is not taken by caesarean section immediately…' This happens sometimes in every doctor's career. Some coincidences happen that five-seven cesarean sections are performed in twenty-four hours. The reasons for the operation may vary from case to case, but the relatives have only one reason in mind: to cut open the stomach to make money. When this happens, pressure is put on the mind of any doctor. The madam, too, under mental pressure, began to silently plead with God: 'Don't send even one more delivery case today, Lord!' Just then Hema came to be admitted with labor pains. Dr. Himanshu Shah was present. Seeing the height of the patient and the size of his stomach, he murmured, 'Lo madam! One more case for cesarean! By the time you check it, I'll start preparing for the caesarean.' Madam scolded the anesthetist in English: 'Will you shut up? I don't want to do a caesarean anymore. These people will spread my name all over the area. Madam made the same mistake that most gynecologists do. The true scientific approach is that the doctor should clearly tell the patient's relatives, 'Today I have to do six caesarean sections. In your case also caesarean section has to be done. If you have faith in my medical decision then let me get admitted there, if you have no faith in my decision then take the patient to another doctor.' Madam did not do so and got into trouble. He made efforts to deliver Hema normally. Dr. Himanshubhai went home. At twelve o'clock in the night madam called, 'come quickly. The patient's cervix is fully dilated but the baby's head is stuck in the bony passage. You give anesthesia so I can pull out the baby by applying forceps.' Servant of Chitthi Dr. Himanshubhai ran. An injection of anesthesia was given. The madam applied the forceps. The delivery was done, but the baby's head was bigger than the natural birth canal, so the uterus or vagina must have been injured, so heavy bleeding started. The amount of bleeding was so heavy that the patient's life could have been lost if some urgent measures were not taken. The hospital staff rushed. Bottles of blood were ordered from the blood bank. Madam tried desperately to bring the situation under control by applying stitches to the bleeding. When the bleeding did not stop even after several stitches, the madam decided, 'I think the uterus must have been injured. You have to open your stomach for that.' A major operation finally had to be done to avoid the operation that forced forceps delivery. Madam opened the stomach and saw that the walls of the uterus were intact. The uterus was not even loose. This means that the cause of the bleeding was in the lower part of the uterus. The stomach was closed. But the bleeding did not stop. The blood bottles were still on. As time passed, the patient's condition worsened. Madam packed the birth canal with large mesh clothes. Bleeding is often stopped by the pressure of such packing. After twenty four hours the packing has to be removed. In Hema's case, within ten minutes, the entire cloth was soaked in blood. 'Dr. Himanshu, I think I have made a mistake, when the abdomen was opened, then checks were placed on the wall of the uterus and the inside was also checked. Maybe the bleeding is coming from somewhere.' Major surgery again. This time the uterus was cut open and looked inside. Everything was fine. So where was the bleeding coming from? Madam was tired and bored. The burden of performing seven-eight surgeries in a whole day had spread on the body and mind. Bleeding did not seem to stop. Dr. Himanshubhai understood the situation, 'Madam, may I make a suggestion? You can't do anything more in this case because you are tired from working continuously from noon to midnight. It would be better if you take the help of another fresh hand.' Madam agreed. Who to seek help from? Whoever is called should be experienced in surgery, intelligent and senior to madam. Such names were few. Dr. Himanshu suggested, 'Dr. Can the banker sir be called?' 'Yes, do it! But I should make that call. I believe that Dr. Rajjubhai will not refuse my request.' Madam called herself. Dr. enjoying a sweet early morning sleep. The banker answered the phone, wearing clothes, came running in a car. Quickly 'scrubbed', put on gown-gloves, adjusted the light, placed the instrument and studied the birth canal. From a spot on the wall, a rim of blood was seen oozing out of the earth like water. Dr. The banker said, 'I am not sure if the bleeding is coming from this point, but in the name of God I am going to get a stitch. This is the last resort.' Dr. The banker stitched. The bleeding stopped. What could not be done with hundreds of stitches was done with one stitch. Madam but a brilliant gynecologist yes. His experience is also Dr. The banker was no less than sir. He also treated hundreds of such complications. This incident teaches us doctors that even in the hands of a good doctor, a case can go bad and when a complication arises, the doctor should keep his 'ego' aside and call another good doctor for help. Hema's survival is a good fruition of the whole incident.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
