It was my minor OT. We had a few patients for endoscopy. One of them was a high risk woman with infertility. She had thoracolumbar kyphoscoliosis, among other factors complicating endoscopy. I had actually advised her to undergo a hysterosalpingography instead of endoscopy. But the test revealed a block in a tube, along with a unicornuate uterus and a crossed pelvic kidney. We had no option but to perform hystero- and laparoscopy. I reached the theater and asked my Registrar, “How far are they with the induction of anesthesia?”
“They have not induced anesthesia yet, Sir” she said. “I trust they will give her spinal anesthesia.”
“Spinal anesthesia to a woman with kyphoscoliosis?” I asked. “Tell me the problems that can arise with spinal anesthesia in a woman with kyphoscoliosis.”
“Perhaps her vertebrae will be fused, which will make the procedure difficult.”
“Have you done an allied post in anesthesiology?” I asked.
“No. That was made compulsory for batches after my batch.”
“But you must have read about it.” She kept quiet. Apparently she had not. “Read. There is no substitute for a sound knowledge base” I said. I spoke to the senior anesthetist who said she would give general anesthesia to the patient. We operated on that patient uneventfully. When I was relating this story to our Associate Professor some time later, she said, “Sir, while you were talking to our Registrar, the junior anesthetist was taking the patient's consent for receiving spinal anesthesia.” I was aghast. An anesthetist wanted to do that too! Luckily his senior decided to do otherwise. The patient must have been in luck these two juniors were not in charge of her treatment.
