anonymous

16th November 2017

Second opinion – Gentle treatment and empathetic care

When my dad, then 67 years of age and a diabetic, had a fall and twisted his ankle, we took him to a hospital where his diabetologist practiced.  It turned out to be a fracture.  An orthopedic surgeon was called who suggested an immediate surgery which involved rods and screws to be inserted as the only treatment.

We were naturally scared that this may involve a lot of trouble for the patient to get back to normal way of life.  Fortunately, we had the presence of mind to hold on to admitting him and decided to take a second opinion from another orthopedic surgeon.

Dr.Vivek Shetty, a practicing surgeon at Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai was consulted.  Although he agreed with the earlier surgeon’s line of treatment, he realized the difficulty that the surgery would put my dad to.  He decided to treat the fracture with a plaster which would take longer to heal but would avoid the hassles (and cost) of a surgery.

I was present at the time when the plaster was to come off. The good doctor not only attended to the patient himself (he had several assistants at call) but also bent down to help my dad to put on his shoes.  This was something which struck us as unusual and unexpected - especially when well-known and senior doctors had helpers and assistants hired to complete tasks.  He explained everything in a way we could understand!

The doctor’s empathetic words and helpful attitude, to go all the way till the last stage, impressed us very much.  We all left the hospital with good feelings and praise for Dr.Shetty. We are extremely grateful to Dr.Shetty for his understanding and empathetic care.