Thursday, November 21, 2013

butterflies.....again!

 
i had another dose of butterflies some weeks back.....
 
this was a middle-aged man with a tumour that secretes a hormone which raises the blood pressure. never in my 28 years in medical practice have i seen anyone with a blood pressure of 307/111 (!!!) until that day.
 
 
but there's always a 1st time for everything, yes?
 
a sudden surge in BP is never good, particularly for the brain or heart & a stroke or a heart attack is a very real threat.
 
to cut a long story short, the body is a wonderful machine which can withstand  multiple insults & assaults & still come through largely intact.
 
the tumour was successfully removed after a 6-hour surgery. while the patient will probably live longer now, i fear, ironically, that my life just got cut short by at least 3 months.

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