To Cut or Not to Cut?

aaaaahhhhh!!! life has been such a crazy busy emotional mess lately. some parts great, some parts scary.

several times recently i've had to help family and friends make decisions about whether or not to get surgery. just yesterday my dad underwent back surgery for a herniated disk that was causing him agonizing pain, not allowing him to sleep, and totally interfering with every aspect of his life. several months ago my grandfather debated the risks of taking out a tumor in his bowels at his tender young age of 86. the BHE and i have also been discussing the risk/reward of cosmetic surgery after major weight loss.

all these make for hard decisions. surgery can be dangerous. it can also save lives. every day at work i see proof of both. so where does that leave me in advising my loved ones on whether they should let someone cut them open? besides needing heavy sedation for several days leading up to any work i might need myself, i am still very much for it. despite the risks of infections, blood clots, wound ruptures, etc, etc....the list of complications is staggering and we see them all....despite all this, the huge majority of the time we don't see it. everything goes smoothly and patients are wildly improved because they were willing to take the risk.

taking tumors out saves a life. sometimes that's all it takes. taking off the bad joo joo that's pressing on a nerve on the spinal cord and instantly allowing you to be free from the pain that has controlled your life. taking out a diseased and dying organ that's dragging the rest of you down with it. releasing pressure on the brain to give you back normalcy. giving you the body that you've earned after years of hard work losing weight. or reconstructing breasts for you after battling cancer and winning except for the lady parts you're missing...those are such amazing things we can do for people.

and sometimes surgery is not the answer. most of the time every conservative measure is taken to manage the problem without having to cut. clearly. but when all other treatments have failed, or for those things that have to quickly be controlled/removed/assessed/attached/drained right NOW, surgery is the answer.

no one wants to have their abdominal muscles cut through. no one wants a scar. no one wants the pain and fear and risks. but most of the time from all the cases that i've experienced professionally, and now personally, when all is said and done, go ahead and cut.