I had a very busy week with some long consulting days! Patients often ask me if I get tired after operating all day or after one long individual surgery. I always reply that I can operate all day long without getting tired because we as orthopaedic surgeons love operating!
However….a day of consultations does take a lot out of me. Part of the reason is my own conviction that I need to ensure my patient understands their pathology and can make an informed decision about treatment. Sometimes I think I am too thorough in this regard, but this week I had direct affirmations from two of my patients in this regard.
The one lady was seen for follow up after having undergone bilateral simultaneous knee replacement surgery 6 months ago. She is doing superbly and on her way out of our rooms she commented to Annelize, my receptionist: “In julle praktyk voel ek nie soos ‘n worsie nie. Ek was al by doktors waar ek soos ‘n worsie in ‘n wors masjien voel!” (English translation: “In your practice I do not feel like a sausage. I have been to some doctors where I feel like a sausage in a sausage machine!).
Another patient who underwent knee replacement surgery earlier in the week sent us flowers and wrote a beautifully worded thank you letters. The letters and flowers are shown in the pictures of this blog post.
I need to commend my staff in the rooms: Janine and Annelize. They are so special to me and have embraced my philosophy to the core. Thank you for your contributions in making us NOT a sausage machine!
