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

This is the Reason Surgeons are Getting Mad as a Hatter

February 6, 2017 by Arthur Lauretano, MD 2 Comments

“Mad as a hatter.”

The term actually comes from the toxicity hat makers would develop from exposure to mercury fumes in the 1800s. So, what does this have to do with surgery? Recently Liz Kowalczyk’s “No More Surgical Caps for Surgeons?” September 1, 2016, Boston Globe discussed the anger some surgeons have had over new hospital policies regarding surgical caps worn in the operating room.

For years, most surgeons have worn a surgical cap that sits above the ears. Most are disposable, but some are custom made or personalized cloth caps. I have a Spiderman cap and a cap with musical notes all over it. The concern more recently has been the amount of hair left uncovered, and the potential risk of infection from this hair.

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.