compassion Archives - Arthur M. Lauretano, MD, MS, FACS

This is the Reason Losing A Child Affects Us All

June 12, 2017 by Arthur Lauretano, MD 2 Comments

Saturday mornings hold a certain magic for me. I get up early, watch a soccer game, drink my first of many cups of coffee, reflect on my past week, and plan out my weekend to get in as much as possible. Saturday mornings have always held magic. I recall getting up early as a kid, waking up my parents, watching Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner, having a great breakfast from my Mom, and looking forward to accompanying my Dad on a carpentry side job he would do to make some extra money. Later in life, Saturday mornings meant being awakened by my own kids, making breakfast for them, and watching cartoons with them.

Musings on The Fragility of Life

February 27, 2017 by Arthur Lauretano, MD 5 Comments

The overhead paging system implored, “Any available surgeon to ICU STAT” while my ASCOM phone rang, with my team leader nurse telling me, “They need you right away in the ICU.” As far away from the ICU as one could be, I ran across the hospital, trying to move as quickly as I could in OR clogs and on a torn right knee meniscus.

Christmas: Sitting in the ICU, Hoping for Peace on Earth

December 19, 2016 by Arthur Lauretano, MD 12 Comments

Sitting in the ICU, one week before Christmas, a word came to me: POIGNANT. The word is defined as “evoking strong emotions,” with some sources more specifically defining it as “evoking strong emotions of sadness.”

It was the former, broader definition that came to mind as I surveyed the twelve rooms in the unit. The patient I was seeing had had an airway reconstruction for sleep apnea. She was struggling to eat because of the changes in her throat, but she was improving and would be home well before Christmas.

Is There a Right Time For End-of-Life Planning?

October 16, 2016 by Arthur Lauretano, MD 4 Comments

You don’t realize it’s the last breath until the next one never happens. At least, that has been my experience when watching someone die, pass away or, in medical terms, expire.

We typically don’t think about breathing, either our own or that of others. It’s similar to the effect one gets when there is a power failure in the middle of the night–you’re alerted to the power failure by the sudden silence. All those hums and rumbles from refrigerators, furnaces, and humidifiers abruptly shut down, and the silence is audible. This has been my experience when patients take their last breath.

What Are The Reasons Infertility Can Breed Infamy?

October 3, 2016 by Arthur Lauretano, MD Leave a Comment

My penchant for remembering minutia and the esoteric sent my gray matter into high gear when I read the recent headline:

“Indiana fertility doctor used his own sperm’ around 50 times,’ papers say.”

Made for Television

I remembered seeing this story on an episode of “Law and Order,” Season 5, Episode 15, and it was titled “Seed.” But that episode aired February 15, 1995.

Could the above headline really be true? Who would do that outside of a television show?

Another Friday Visit to the Pediatric Ward: Newborn Abstinence Syndrome

September 24, 2016 by Arthur Lauretano, MD 3 Comments

I love Fridays – they are the reward for the work I do earlier in the week. Fridays are my operating room day, and any surgeon will tell you that this is home – where I practice my craft, where I am most relaxed, and where I am immersed in a culture in which I flourish.

This Is The Reason I Honor Our First Responders

September 11, 2016 by Arthur Lauretano, MD Leave a Comment

I awakened from a dream this morning, 9-11-16, and my first thought was the first responders. Let me back up for a moment to tell you about my dream.

I was in the operating room, removing a large tumor from a patient’s face, carefully dissecting and preserving the nerve that moves the patient’s facial muscles. There were all the typical bizarre dream elements: the room in which I was operating looked more like a cafeteria, with at least ten patients having surgery at the same time. One of my associates, also a head and neck surgeon, was operating on someone’s stomach. In the middle of this dream surgery, the junior resident assisting me decided to remove his glove and feel the tumor, contaminating the entire surgical field.

The Right Thing to Do Means Honoring the Needs of Others

June 28, 2016 by Arthur Lauretano, MD 1 Comment

When Medical Skills Aren’t Enough

Sometimes, doing the right thing means simply being a good listener. Listening, though, isn’t always what comes naturally, especially for surgeons.

Surgeons are noted for their desire for immediate gratification. We’re known for wanting to fix things quickly. We want to remove the cancer, repair the hernia, and suture the wound. We have the medical skills that we’ve worked hard to acquire, and we want to use them to cure the disease.

Yet, sometimes, our medical skills aren’t enough. What you learned in medical school often is beside the point.