Pediatric Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery: A Family's Perspective
“Our 7 year old son Ryan had to have surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids,” relate Robert and Deborah Triola. “This caused some anxiety because as Jehovah’s Witnesses, our Bible-trained consciences would not allow us to accept a blood transfusion. A hospital located near us would not respect our wishes for non-blood medical management so we were referred to Allegheny General Hospital’s Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery.
“We were put into contact with Perry Doebler, one of the Center’s coordinators. We discussed our son’s case with him and said which non-blood alternatives we would accept. He set up our appointment with Dr. Farrel Buchinsky. During out initial appointment with Dr. Buchinsky, we learned that he and Perry had already discussed our case and that he was well aware of our stand on blood transfusions. The doctor assured us that, although his beliefs differed from ours, he respected our stand and would do everything legally possible to uphold our wishes. He explained that although the risks were very minimal, he would have more than one alternative procedure in place should any complications arise. What peace of mind this gave us!
“We were very pleased that his attitude did not change on the morning of surgery. Dr. Buchinsky and his entire staff, including the anesthesiologist, continued to be warm and friendly. They were so kind and gentle that even Ryan’s anxieties were calmed. His surgery was a success, and even though there were no complications at all, it was just nice to know that they were prepared to deal with an emergency without the use of blood. We are very grateful for all the help and assistance given by The Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery. We will continue to recommend you to anyone desiring bloodless surgery. Thank you very much!”
Dr. Buchinsky adds: “It was my pleasure to meet with the Triolas. I found Ryan’s parents to be well-informed and caring. We all had the same ultimate goal: to improve their son’s health. Every day in my practice I meet people whose beliefs, understanding or fears are different from my own. I try to explain the situation so that parents can understand and I try to put fears in perspective by discussing the risks. I always try to accommodate parents’ beliefs, since it is their child that I am treating, not my own.
“Caring for Ryan was not merely a matter of performing an operation that worked, but also explaining the biology of the disease and calmly discussing the likely benefits and the possible risks. I explained that I would do everything to respect the Triola’s concerns and beliefs about blood. Removal of tonsils and adenoids is seldom associated with life threatening blood loss but I was prepared to modify the technique to further minimize the risk.
“However, I did explain that since Ryan was a minor I was governed by the legal statutes that might be at odds with their wishes. Regardless, I did not question their beliefs and showed respect to them and their community. This is my approach to all my patients and their parents.”
