Life-saving tips you MUST read before an op
By a top doctor who knows all the risks
No One wants to go to hospital, but sometimes there is no avoiding it. If you’re seriously ill or have had an accident, then hospital care is vital. And if you need an operation, you clearly have to be admitted.
The problem is that hospitals — and surgery — can make you ill. Every year in Britain, as many as 10,000 hospital patients die as a result of medical staff errors and thousands more suffer harm, including from hospital-acquired infections. However, there are things you can do to minimise the risks.
It starts with speaking up. People who don’t speak up are more likely to become statistics. It’s just like that saying, the squeaky wheel gets the grease — which applies to medical care more than you think. Don’t become a faceless, nameless person in the crowd: we are talking about the rest of your life here.
You need to go from being a passive observer to being in charge of your life. Leave behind any idea of the ‘perfect patient’ and become ‘the empowered patient’.
DO I REALLY NEED THIS OP?
BE Sure you understand and are totally clear how this operation will correct your problem. When the doctor reassures you this is the best way to proceed, you may want to take some time to do research on your own. The goal of your research shouldn’t be to scare you more, but rather to find balance.
Keep in mind that surgery, biopsy and any invasive procedure will change your body’s anatomy and immune system for ever.
Once you take it out you can never put it back in.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
Even the most minor procedure carries a risk of something going wrong. Make sure you understand what these complications are and what, if anything, you can do to minimise the risks.
Ask if there is any reason the risks might be greater in your case (for instance, if you have diabetes or any other chronic illness).
DON’T BE BAMBOOZLED BY MEDICAL STATISTICS
Doctors will often give you statistics to strengthen their argument. A gynaecologist told one of my patients, a 45-year-old woman with an ovarian cyst, that she had a ‘10 per cent chance of cancer’.
Why not tell her there was a 90 per cent chance the cyst was benign? Why put a negative spin on the information? My patient opted for surgery because she was scared of being one of the 10 per cent.
The truth is that no doctor or statistic can predict what the future holds or your personal odds of dying or getting a certain disease. We are individuals, not statistics.
It is also important to understand the difference between absolute and relative risk. When a doctor talks about risk, it’s inevitably about ‘relative’ risk.
This is a way of comparing the risks of something — for instance the chances of developing cancer in smokers versus non-smokers. It’s normally given as a percentage risk and has nothing to do with your personal circumstances.
Absolute risk is the actual risk of something happening to you — for instance, you might be told that the risk of you developing a particular disease is one in ten.
But there is no way any doctor can ever tell you what your absolute risk is. That is why you can’t just accept statistical mumbo jumbo as factual information that relates to you.
so, forget the statistics and ask your doctor what the risks and benefits are for you, what might go wrong in your case — make it personal. Ask the doctor to tell you what he or she thinks based on their experience.
SEEING THE DOCTOR? BRING A FRIEND
Even under normal circumstances, when people go to the doctor for routine examinations, they can’t remember what the doctor said, due to fear. When you’re ill and under stress, things get much worse.
Ask a friend or loved one to come with you and take notes. Don’t be embarrassed to tell the doctor if you don’t understand or need them to repeat something. since this appointment is about you and your health, you must stand up for yourself and pay attention.
And you don’t have to agree to anything immediately. Unless you are having emergency surgery, you have time to think about it and come back with your decision. Don’t allow the doctor to pressure you.
GET A SECOND OPINION
IT’s something people sometimes forget, but you have the right to a second opinion. This process can take a while in the NHS, but unless your operation is an emergency — in which case you have no say on what happens — you probably do have the time to do so.
My patient Margaret went a step further. While she knew she needed an operation, she knew the outcome would be better if she had a second ‘perspective’ on her situation.
so she found a GP who was knowledgeable about supplements that would boost her immune system and prepare her for the operation. He was also able to steer her away from any supplements that might have interacted negatively with her treatment.
A few weeks after her op, she was back at work and feeling great.
MAKE EVERYONE WASH THEIR HANDS
If You’re in hospital, make sure that anyone who enters your room — from doctors and nurses to visitors — washes their hands. Handwashing is the single most effective defence against infection.
Adapted from don’t Let Your doctor Kill You by dr erika Schwartz (post Hill press). to order a copy for £16.21, go to amazon.co.uk