Doctor: Picking Up Attributes in the Hospital Chapter 119: A Terminal Cancer Patient with Unique Circumsta

The next day.

Eight twenty.

Inside the anesthesia departnt office.

As soon as Zhao Heng entered the office, he picked up the schedule on the desk for a look.

Today is an all-purpose shift, which ans being a firefighter, going wherever there’s a problem to provide support.

Generally, only relatively senior and experienced doctors can handle this.

Speaking of which, during this period, most of the ti Zhao Heng is on duty, it is the all-purpose shift, with only a few scheduled surgeries each day, and the rest of the ti is spent consulting in various departnts.

Just then, Nurse Tian Zhen walked in and said to Zhao Heng, "Dr. Zhao, there’s a consultation in the oncology departnt, and they want you to co over."

"Oncology departnt? Hmm, I understand."

Zhao Heng was a bit puzzled; consultations from the oncology departnt were relatively rare, but he still nodded.

This nurse, Tian Zhen, is known as the nurse specifically responsible for coordinating consultations in the anesthesia departnt, a job many nurses envy. To be blunt, coordinating this work is just being a go-between.

In a little while, Zhao Heng arrived at the oncology departnt.

Upon entering the doctor’s office, Zhao Heng imdiately noticed that the atmosphere in the oncology departnt was completely different from other departnts.

How to put it?

There was a very solemn feeling, probably because many patients in the oncology departnt are terminal cancer patients.

As soon as he arrived, the attending physician Li Haiyang stood and greeted Zhao Heng, "Dr. Zhao, you’re finally here."

"Hmm."

Zhao Heng nodded.

However, Zhao Heng had heard Li Haiyang say this frequently recently.

"We invited Dr. Zhao for a consultation today because we have a terminal liver cancer patient who needs intrathecal pain managent,"

Attending physician Li Haiyang stated bluntly.

"Intrathecal pain managent?"

Upon hearing Li Haiyang say this, Zhao Heng was a bit surprised.

One has to ntion the treatnt of pain in terminal cancer, as everyone knows, in the late stage of cancer, the patient’s pain increases daily.

Initially, oral analgesics can suppress the pain; next, a nerve block procedure is needed, and finally, when even the nerve block procedure cannot control the pain, it requires an anesthesiologist to perform intrathecal pain managent device implantation.

It can be said that the implantation of an intrathecal pain managent device is the last resort.

The application range of anesthesia far exceeds general knowledge, not limited rely to surgical use.

Pain managent is less known because when an anesthesiologist is required to intervene, it is often in cases of terminal cancer pain.

"Yes, before, this patient underwent two celiac plexus destruction procedures, but the pain symptoms did not significantly relieve, so now we probably only have intrathecal pain managent left,"

Li Haiyang sighed and said.

As an oncologist, Li Haiyang finds each day’s work very depressing.

Just think, most of the patients faced every day are in the late stage of cancer, with days numbered.

For many terminal cancer patients, the main treatnt is actually pain relief.

"Is the patient’s condition complicated?"

Zhao Heng thought for a mont and asked.

If the condition wasn’t complicated, it’s unlikely they would have asked him to co.

Intrathecal pain managent involves directly administering analgesics into the spinal canal, similar to clinical puncture anesthesia, which general anesthesiologists can perform.

"The patient’s spinal tumor mass has invaded most of the lumbar vertebrae, making puncture very difficult,"

Li Haiyang explained slowly.

"Has it spread to the spine?"

Upon hearing Li Haiyang’s words, Zhao Heng was sowhat surprised, as it is well known that in terminal cancer, cancer cells spread throughout the body. The wider the spread, the less ti the patient has left.

The spread to the spine indicates the patient only has a few months left.

"Yes,"

Li Haiyang nodded heavily, a weight every doctor in the oncology departnt experiences and feels every day.

"What do the patient’s family say?"

Zhao Heng asked again.

Intrathecal pain managent is not a one-ti procedure with lasting effectiveness.

In the case of this patient, pain was not controllable even with opioids before the nerve destruction procedure, and now intrathecal pain managent is the last resort.

As the last ans of alleviating cancer patient’s pain, intrathecal pain managent is rarely used, not because it is ineffective, but because of its high cost.

The intrathecal pain managent device has one end of a silicone catheter, implanted into the subarachnoid space through puncture, exiting the spinal canal and fixed in the subcutaneous path.

The catheter connects to a programmable subcutaneous abdominal pump, which administers morphine in patterns set according to the patient’s pain characteristics, delivering morphine directly to the cerebrospinal fluid for efficient use.

Without ntioning, the programmable subcutaneous computerized pump implanted in the patient’s abdon is extrely expensive and can only be imported.

"The family agreed, but the patient himself does not want to undergo this treatnt,"

Li Haiyang sighed and said.

Many dilemmas exist in the treatnt of terminal cancer.

The most critical is the ethical dilemma.

As it is known, many terminal cancer patients are beyond cure, with limited ti left.

In limited ti, determining the extent of treatnt gradually evolves from a dical issue to an ethical one.

For many families of terminally ill cancer patients, a "double loss" of life and money situation often arises.

"The patient wants to leave so money for the family, right?"

Zhao Heng imdiately understood; it was surely such a case because this situation had happened countless tis in the hospital.

"Yes, many patients in our departnt have this idea, unwilling to continue treatnt to lessen the burden on their families."

Li Haiyang nodded and said.

"Dr. Zhao, regarding this matter, the family approached . Their intention is for us to describe this treatnt as a very normal and ordinary one. That way, the patient might accept it,"

Li Haiyang paused, sowhat troubled and said.

"A well-intentioned lie?"

Zhao Heng thought for a mont and said.

"Exactly, the family cannot bear to watch the patient endure the tornt of late-stage liver cancer pain any longer, but the patient himself is quite stubborn, so this is the only way,"

Li Haiyang said sowhat helplessly.

Liver cancer is called the king of cancers because the pain tornt in the late stages is the worst among all cancers.

How to describe it, it’s a kind of pain tornt unimaginable to ordinary people.

Statistics show that in about a month after diagnosis, 60% of late-stage liver cancer patients have thoughts of suicide.

The reason being, they don’t want to face the extrely terrifying pain ordeal of late-stage liver cancer daily.