Saturday, October 15, 2011

new breed of doctors?

my friend who lives in klang valley told me a branch of a well-known medical centre has just started in his neighbourhood. it specialises in neurosurgery, spine & cardiac surgery. so, all doctors of these disciplines have moved over from the main centre to the new site, leaving behind specialists who are brainless, spineless & heartless.

you have been forewarned.

21 comments:

missyc said...

lol >speechless<
jokes aside, competition is healthy Yes/No ? Staff Pinching.
Patient Switching. Bosses Pening.

Unknown said...

Hahahhaa...let them figure it out..

Reanaclaire said...

Serious? :)

doc said...

Missyc,

competition is healthy - keeps all on their toes & strive to do better.

it's not correctly called staff pinching - it's called market forces determining demand & supply.

doc said...

Alv,

should be easy to figure out.

doc said...

Claire,

only partly.

ilene said...

Ok, shall avoid the main centre when I want my spine check. Thanks for the tip! :)

doc said...

Ilene,

do call up your doctor's office 1st to confirm he has moved.

Yvonne Foong said...

Well, recently, a friend of mine who has a serious neurological concern, a tumor at her C-spine causing serious problems and surgery can destabilize her already-weak spine, was advised to see local neurosurgeons. Maybe somebody here can do it. But the surgeons that different people recommend to her are the same fews. We all know the capabilities of these surgeons too well... The people who recommended the surgeons did so thoguthlessly and without basis. They were just plucking names out of thin air.

But it made me realize that... this is all we got! And the same neurosurgeons are showin themselves in all newly established hospitals! Spreading like the plague! This is worrisome when we know their capabilities from personal experience.

doc said...

Yvonne,

a lot of recommendation go by word of mouth, some from personal experience, others by hearsay. just as a surgeon may have successfully treated someone, it doesn't always mean it will work for everyone because no one is the same.

Yvonne Foong said...

That's true. Just for your information, my friend has a tumor at her C-spine. It's an ependymoma extending our of another tumor called a schwannoma. Two kinds of tumors attached to one another. To make matters worse, the spine already has kyphosis due to a spine surgery complication a few years ago.

Surgeons in the U.S. comcluded so far that the tumor needs to be removed in stages, multiple surgeries, each surgery carries the risk of permanent paralysis. And she needs an implant in the spine at the same time.

My friend has Neurofibromatosis. That's how complicated our condition can get. We need neurosurgeons who can make difficult judgements like this.

But my point when I commented at first was that, the considderably more experienced neurosurgeons we have left in Malaysia are the same fews. The younger generations have even less reliable experiences. I wish surgeons in Malaysia don't have to learn from mistakes. I wish they are like the U.S.... after obtaining their MD or MBBS, go for various residency and fellowship programs, work alongside experts for a few years before attempting to perform the surgery that they have learned. But no, in Malaysia, surgeons' 'experience' comes from trial and error. That's why acoustic neuroma surgery that Syahidah needs is still as bad as it was when I had mine performed in 2003. It's very unfair for the patients when surgeons in Malaysia gain 'experience' from trial and error.

Unicorn Girl said...

As long as they are experts in their field - that's fine with me doc ! And of course - a senior practioner particularly .

doc said...

Yvonne,

i doubt if the situation will get better - neurofibromatosis is still relatively an uncommon problem, unlike stroke/brain trauma, & unless teh surgeon is trained overseas, he's unlikely to be competent in this type of surgery.

doc said...

UG,

that's what we all want - a health system that serves the rakyat well.

Yvonne Foong said...

Doc, actually right. I created ab FN group called, "Neurofibromatosis in Malaysia" in 2007 and forgot about it. Recently, I was prompted to check the group and was surprised to find that many people especially malays have found their way into the group and been carrying out discussions among themselves!

Sounds like I should start a proper advocacy NGO to bring NF patients in Malaysia together before surgeons will take our plights seriously.

Seriouslym NF is not rare. Some would say that NF is the most common among genetic disorders deemed as 'rare'.

Every medical student knows what Neurofibromatosis is.

Yvonne Foong said...

Oh by the way, Syahidah does not have NF. She has the Acoustic Neuroma only. The HUKM surgeon didn't need experience with NF in order to perform her surgery. Yet... the outcome changed her life negatively.

The Acoustic Neuroma is a very common brain tumor.

doc said...

Yvonne,

you should reactivate your FB or start a NGO to create awareness amongst doctors & the public about the plight of NF patients.

people will listen to you. you may even inspire some young surgeon to go for proper neurosurgical training!

Yvonne Foong said...

The FB group is still active today. As for setting up an NGO, I intend to do that but I will need lots of guidance as it involves a lot of procedures and paperwork!

Anyway, as time passed, I realized that it's not about Neurofibromatosis and it's patients, it's about neurosurgery and every patient in M'sia who has a brain or spine tumor(s).

doc said...

Yvonne,

hopefully, eventually it'll concern all matters related to healthcare, not just neurosurgery.

Yvonne Foong said...

That's very true. For a surgery to be successful, the anesthesiologist, the internist, the radiologist, the surgery nurses, the physiotherapist, the chemist, the ICU and ward nurses, the doctor who monitors our CNS during surgery, all have to be good at what they do. Otherwise, complications can happen and they can't handle it either.

doc said...

Yvonne,

the importance of team work can never be over-emphasised.