Neurosurgery is considered one of the most arrogant professions in medicine. And is definitely so as it is the only branch of medicine which deals with the brain and spine, the organs of destiny. The only field in medicine where one small mistake can cost the patient a lifetime of morbidity. Therefore, it is said to become a neurosurgeon one must have nerves of steel. Dr. Shradha Maheshwari, MBBS, DNB Neurosurgery, explains what makes neurosurgeons the real hero.
“Doctor I would like to click a picture of my child with you, I always want her to remember the person who saved her life” were the words of a mother as she handed over her child in my arms. I still remember widely I received a call in the early hours of morning from the neonatal intensive care unit saying “Doctor we have a newborn child with a huge tumour over her head. I rushed to the hospital to see the newborn baby born to the couple after seven years of marriage and while the mother was still recovering from her delivery. After examining the MRI I sat with her father in the counselling room explaining to them about the surgery that the child needed on the first day of her birth and the risks involved in the same considering that this tumour received blood supply from all the vessels of the scalp. As nervous as I was to operate on a one-day year old baby I could clearly see what the father felt. The only courage that he could gather upon was to tell me that doctor please go ahead with the surgery and do the best for my child. Today, when she came back to my OPD after completion of three months of surgery, the spark in the eyes of her parents was the most overwhelming feeling of my life.
The training programme of neurosurgery starts with standing in for long hours of surgery, being called anytime; day or night to attend emergency calls and to get things organized without any delay, to calm the relatives in the toughest times of their life. At first it all seems chaotic, but as you start understanding of the subject every piece starts to fall in place. With every neurosurgery we only become more tough and perfect. We fall for the enigma of these organs and our passion for this subject then only multiplies.
Neurosurgeons are looked upon as people who are ready to operate at any given point of time and do not back out even from the toughest of situations. They are known for yelling at their juniors and staff, if things are not as per their requirement but at the same time respected for their hard work and hunger for perfection. Some consider them as rude and impatient but it is only them who know that they have a short window of time to change the patient’s destiny. They say time is brain and neurosurgeons literally fight with time to get things done. Sometimes people think that their demands are overwhelming but believe me it is only because we put our patients before anything and anybody else.
The amount of impatience shown by us in the operation theatre is contrary to the patience when we deal with the patient and his family. When you work in this field it is natural to develop an attitude of no nonsense. While we are the most overburdened and egoistic clan of medicine but on the flipside, we are the most God-fearing people because neurosurgery quite literally teaches us that there are a lot of things beyond plain science and logic.
Our mindset is determined to be on the journey of hope even when everything seems bleak. From the darkness of death to colourful life, from ending dreams to new beginnings, from vanishing in hopes to strengthening love, from lost faith to unexpected miracles we see it all. We lose some battles and we win some, but every day we strive to make a difference. We are the unsung heroes of medicine but our patients will tell with pride that we are the real-life brain saving heroes!
