Vomiting of blood
Posted by on Saturday, 15th May 2010
Vomiting of blood called as haemetemsis in medical jargon is different from Haemoptysis - coughing out blood. Quite often patients cannot differentiate between the two and undergo un-necessary investgations. Rarely bleeding gums may confuse the issue.
Haemetemesis is a serious complaint. Although 90 out of 100 patients with haemetemsis may settle down without any active treatment, all patients with haemetemesis need to see a doctor and get investigated.
A bleeding ulcer in the stomach is the commonest cause of upper GI bleeding. Ulcer disease or ulcers caused by swallowing pain killers maybe the cause. When bleeding is due to liver disease it can grave.
Rarely bleeding can be so massive requiring hospitalisation, blood transfusions, endoscopy and treatment. Very rarely life-saving emergency operation may be required to stop the bleeding.
So vomiting of blood is an ominous symptom and should never be ignored and is mandatory to see a gastroenterologist at the earliest.
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Fast track surgery
Posted by on Thursday, 13th May 2010
The art and science of surgery has evolved and refined tremendously in recent years. We practice fast track surgery these days. Many minor to moderate surgical procedures are done as a day care without the patient staying overnoght in the hospital.
Incisions have become smaller and hence the pain is less and the need for analgesics and sedation has come down. Patients are allowed to take oral fluids / feeds at the earliest usually hours after completion of even major abdominal surgery.
Tubes through nose , drains pipes from the abdomen and other cavities are removed much earlier than they used to be.
All this leads to early return to normal activity and more than that reduces expenditure and costs dratically. So if one is in the need of a surgical procedure - he should choose a centre where these fast-track practises are followed.
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Diet after abdominal surgery
Posted by on Wednesday, 12th May 2010
The commonest question patients ask after any surgery i(which ncludes toe-nail removal ) is about foods they need to avoid? Food is such an important player in an Indian's daily life and also has medical relevance as far as Ayurvedic , unani and other indigenous medical treatments are concerned, one shouldnt be surprised by such a question.
For most abdominal surgeries like appendicectomy, cholecystectomy (removal of gall bladder), Hysterectomy(removal of uterus), Caserean section etc there is no restriction on any diet. Patients can be on a normal diet 2nd or 3rd day after surgery. Avoiding Dal to avoid pus is a myth. Avoiding fatty foods after gall bladder removal is again a myth. Severe dietary restriction after a delivering a baby is absolutely meaningless. So please donot listen to neighbours or family memebers advice on dietary restrictions after surgery. It is always good to avoid oily and spicy food in general whether you had an operation or not.
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Hernia and its treatment
Posted by on Monday, 10th May 2010
Hernia is an abnormal protrusion of intra-abdominal contents through the abdominal wall due to thinning or weakening of a particular region. Herniae in the groin are very common. These groin herniae can occur in any person without a reason but chronic cough, constipation, prostatic enlargement or lifting of heavy weights can pre-dispose to this condition.
Hernia can cause pain and sometime intestines can get caught in them necessitating emergency surgery.
These can be seen in infants and children too. All herniae will require surgical treatment whic is usually done by laparoscopic method with minimal pain.
Ventral hernia or incisional hernia is a hernia arising from a defect at a previously operated area which also will require laproscopic repair using a synthetic wire net.
Umbilical hernia is in the region of umbilicus which at times can cause trouble.
In summary all herniae require surgical treatment before they cause complications.
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Jaundice
Posted by on Wednesday, 5th May 2010
Jaundice is not an uncommon condition seen in clinical practice. Urine colour turning thick yellow is the first sign of jaundice noticed by the patient and yellow discoloration of the eyes usually noticed by others.
Most of the times jaundice disappears without any treatment or sequelae.
But then no jaundice should be ignored. Everyone with jaundice should see an allopathic physician and not definitely a non-medical person.
Jaundice can occur due to a variety of reasons. there are about 6-8 different viruses causing jaundice some of them good ones and some bad. One need to definitely find out the causative virus in every patient as this jaundice can recur.
Sometimes jaundice can occur due to a stone in the biliary system and very occassionally due to a tumor blocking the bile passage needing advanced tests and some time surgery.
So it is imperative not to ignore jaundice and a visit to an allopathic physician is mandatory
So it is i
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