A patient in her forties underwent spinal surgery. It was endoscopic surgery for a lumbar disc herniation. Postoperatively, she developed paralysis in the left leg, and the back pain worsened. A CT scan revealed no hematoma was related. It appeared the nerve had been damaged during the surgical procedure. I called a supervisor who had performed a main part of the surgery. He gave me good advice but did not come to see her. Six hours post-op, I went to see her. She said she felt her leg might be moving a little better, but as far as I could tell, there was almost no improvement. Who could possibly accept the reality of waking up to find their leg no longer moves?
I don’t want to be thought of as “Dr. Takeda.” Dr. Takeda is the protagonist of a manga based on a Japanese neurosurgeon who repeatedly made medical errors and was sued. However, since I’ve had major complications during spinal surgeries on several occasions, nurses might be calling me “Dr. Takeda” behind my back.
WILLPOWER MELTDOWN SOMETIMES 