The price of obesity
Is awful.
I had a morbidly obese patient admitted to us a few days ago. She ended up with acute kidney failure after nausea and vomitting 9 weeks after a gastric balloon operation. Severe metabolic alkalosis so she must have vomitted significant amount of stomach acid.
She is the same age as I am.
She is bed-bound and has pressure sores.
Its a bit of a nightmare to sort out all the x-rays and things. The X-ray bed couldn't support her massive weight you see.
She is now in ITU for intensive monitoring. Oliguric despite plenty of iv fluid in the ward and the last thing we all want is heart failure.
I feel truly sorry for her. She has the operation (or shall I say endoscopically) done privately, and I suppose not very much sedation use because she is high risk for any general anaesthetic and a true nightmare for anaesthetist if any thing went wrong.
She certainly not my first morbid-obesity patient. When I was a house officer, I remember this morbidly obese patient died as a consequence of heart failure and I can certainly recall how the chest x-ray can only capture one lung field because he is so big.
It sad really. What strikes me with this woman is how young she is, same age as me and she is blessed with 2 young children, who probably will end up as orphans in a few years if their mum couldn't sort herself out. I guess this gastric balloon must have been a last resort, which unfortunately without the complications.
I hope she makes it through this ordeal.
I had a morbidly obese patient admitted to us a few days ago. She ended up with acute kidney failure after nausea and vomitting 9 weeks after a gastric balloon operation. Severe metabolic alkalosis so she must have vomitted significant amount of stomach acid.
She is the same age as I am.
She is bed-bound and has pressure sores.
Its a bit of a nightmare to sort out all the x-rays and things. The X-ray bed couldn't support her massive weight you see.
She is now in ITU for intensive monitoring. Oliguric despite plenty of iv fluid in the ward and the last thing we all want is heart failure.
I feel truly sorry for her. She has the operation (or shall I say endoscopically) done privately, and I suppose not very much sedation use because she is high risk for any general anaesthetic and a true nightmare for anaesthetist if any thing went wrong.
She certainly not my first morbid-obesity patient. When I was a house officer, I remember this morbidly obese patient died as a consequence of heart failure and I can certainly recall how the chest x-ray can only capture one lung field because he is so big.
It sad really. What strikes me with this woman is how young she is, same age as me and she is blessed with 2 young children, who probably will end up as orphans in a few years if their mum couldn't sort herself out. I guess this gastric balloon must have been a last resort, which unfortunately without the complications.
I hope she makes it through this ordeal.
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