Shocking Conversations Between Patients and Doctors

Description: What patients say and what doctors hear is often very different. That's often the case with what doctors say and patients hear as well. But sometimes those conversations are well understood by both the patient and the physician, and may leave either one or both, speechless. During this episode, patients share stories about conversations with their doctor that have left them speechless. Hosts Kym McNicholas and Interventional Cardiologist Dr. John Phillips are joined by Dr. Kirk Minkus and Nurse Practitioner Kay Smith who will also share their funniest and even endearing moments with patients.

Dr. Minkus and Dr. Phillips shared similar stories about patients with Peripheral Artery Disease, plaque build-up in mainly the leg arteries that restrict blood flow, that they helped by opening up the arteries and restoring blood flow to their legs, who had an unexpected result following the procedure. Dr. Minkus had a young couple tell him he saved their marriage and Dr. Phillips had a couple upwards of 90 years old who felt like teenagers again with increased intimacy. Nurse Practitioner Kay Smith shared the story of a patient who refused her help to get a second opinion from an advanced skilled vascular specialist known for limb salvage techniques and went ahead with an amputation which might've been prevented. The shocking thing was the 'Goodbye Leg party' which was complete with yard signs and cake celebrating this milestone.

Host Kym McNicholas kicked off a series of stories from patient perspective, about physician encounters, that surprised them. She attends appointments with patients who have Peripheral Artery Disease as an advocate through The Way To My Heart. During one appointment the physician told a patient that it wasn't effective to treat below-the-knee and that a bypass wouldn't be effective because flow through her one vessel (out of three) running through the calf, was sluggish. So, her only option was to walk, walk, walk until she couldn't walk anymore and when the pain was too much, he would amputate. When she asked for a second opinion, he replied, "I don't need a second opinion as I'm confident in my assessment." Ultimately Kym was able to get the patient a second opinion from an advanced skilled physician who opened up her vessels below-the knee and she's still walking more than a year later.

Two patient callers, Michelle and Tabitha, shared their physician experiences before Nurse Practitioner Kay talked about a patient she was helping in the United Kingdom who was getting the plaque in her iliac artery cleared using endovascular approaches. No sedation was used during the procedure. In response to the patient's cries of pain and her nurse with tears shedding in empathy, the doctor responded by saying, "It's not a good day unless I make a nurse and patient cry." And if that wasn't shocking enough, Dave from Indianapolis left everyone speechless for a moment when he shared his experience at a medical conference where a physician held a seminar on how to prevent patients from getting a second opinion.

One highlight of the show was the Save My Piggies segment where a patient, Douglas, candidly talks about his fight for life and limb. His vascular surgeon escalated procedures every 3-6 months as his arteries continued to re-block, leaving the patient with few options to keep his limbs and fighting for his life like never before within two years of his first two stents. He was never diagnosed with Peripheral Artery Disease, offered critical medications for management, or had a discussion about lifestyle changes. It wasn't until Douglas found The Way To My Heart, did he finally get referred to another vascular specialist who was able to get him on the right path to living a better quality of life.

Click on the link below to listen to today's show!