Surgeries

After a breakfast of some wheat product and oily vegetable curry I went to sit in the outpatient section (two desks with stools for patients and an exam table behind a shower curtain) it was another busy day with the gynecologist coming later. We saw 42 patients before the gynecologist showed up around 1. Medical care here has a very paternalistic mindset. Seeing patients involves a brief history and then cursory physical exam followed by the perscription or recommendation for surgery or further tests. There is very little conversation and the doctors are rarely, if ever, questioned. It's a far cry from where American medical care is going. I'll have to be careful when I get back to not bow when I enter doctors offices. People back home are also bothered when doctors don't see them at the time of their appointment. Here, the doctors show up when they want to, eat lunch whenever they choose and sometimes leave patients waiting for hours. 

While the gynecologist seems very gruff  and business-like, I think he likes me. He takes the time to explain some of the cases to me and sometimes switches to English when talking with Biku for my benefit. He's also showing me how to do parts of an exam. I listened to a fetal heartbeat and felt the head of a 6 month old fetus. He's going to teach me to estimate gestational age. 

In the operating room, I'm able to get close and watch the entire procedure.  Three hysterectomies were done. Has anyone seen the movie, Alien, when the alien pops of the guys chest? It looked like that. Dr. Putnayak would talk me through what he was doing and the anatomy. He likes to listen to music during the operation and asked me if I sing. I told him not very well but that if learn an odian song for him next week. Whenever the power would go out, I'd hold a flashlight for him. He also quizzed me on anatomy and, oddly, asked me to tell him about the First World War (the one with the black hand and duke Ferdinand, or something like that). He's an associate professor at the medical school where Biku went and likes teaching students. We also talked a little about the differences in the medical education process between American and Indian schools. 

We finished around 6 and Biku said the doctor was going back to Bhubaneswar and we should just go with him instead of going the next morning. I didn't really believe him but I had my passport and money on me, so I got in and we drove off. We talked in the car and the gynecologist said I have the bone structure of a doctor. We ended up getting out by the big river and walking back with Biku where he talked about his marriage proposals (will discuss that later). It took about half an hour to walk back through the two villages. It's really nice here at night but there were tons of mosquitos out. I normally wouldn't mind so much but I'd rather not get dengue fever. 

We ran into some people in the Juanga hangout spot, the little tiny bridge by the school and rice paddies, hung out for a while and then had a delicious oily dinner with tons of rice and pototaes and went to sleep. There is no way I'm not going to get fat here. 

-AB

Aliens burst forth

Cut by a surgeons scalpel

Bone structure of Doc

Proper scrubs for surgery

Patriarch of the hospital, Govinda.