WHY THE BIG FUSS ?

So, says Sabri, my brother-in-law and my best friend both at and after MCKK. This is all about the biggest operation of his life, an CABG ( coronary artery bypass graft ) surgery which has been scheduled for the 18th January - an event of concerns to all who are closest to Sabri - when we bear in mind his often repeated remarks in the past that all operations are serious. With an open heart surgery, that cannot at all be taken for granted that everything should be all right, although these days, the success rate on this is almost a certainty since our local heart surgeons are already very experienced and seasoned in it. For Sabri, the consolation is, his case will be in the hands of his very close associate working in the same hospital, Subang Jaya Medical Centre, Datuk Dr Rozali Watooth, a house-hold named heart surgeon who is known for being very meticulous about everything that concerns his patients dietary habits both before and pre-operation period. Hence he has been monitoring Sabri's daily food intake and checking on his blood sugar, cholesterol, etc. regularly since past weeks. As for the operation proper, he insists on fresh AB blood group only to be used on the day of the operation. This latest requirement of his, places all of us on a scramble to seek for AB blood group donors. The donors too must not be sixty years and above. Preferably they should be below fifty years old. I sent out over two hundred sms to my contacts, and what came back is quite shocking. Only eight replied having AB whilst the rest or the majority is O blood group or A and B. To confound the problem, the surgeon cannot accept donors from Sabri's siblings !

Special arrangements for the initial AB blood screening to determine final eligibility to donate the blood of the donors, have to be made. Fortunately the hospital itself has helped in this matter. A donor needs to just mention Sabri's name at the SJMC reception counter and he will then be directed to the special laboratory where the blood is processed. It is heartening to note just how well the message is received by everyone who is contacted on this. It speaks very well indeed for Sabri that they all know him and ever ready to give him a helping hand. What puzzles the ordinary folks like ourselves is, why is that such a popular O group is no longer acceptable ? I use to know then that the O group is most acceptable because it is easily available although the O can only accept its own kind when it comes to surgery. Hence with my O positive, I always brag that mine is the super blood for any one that needs healing ! Medicine is so advanced these days that it must have discovered mixing the blood groups is no complement to the patients body unless the right one is obtained. This makes it very tough indeed for these rare AB people. Reminds me of the need to ensure our future grandchildren must chose their partners properly. Blood group should be the first consideration for the spouse to be !

However, the latest news in the NST 13th January 2007 has this news :- Quote : A groundbreaking open-heart surgery is scheduled to take place at the National Heart Institute on January 29. The procedure will be a first locally - because it will be without any blood transfusion.

It is being done at the request of a 59-year old retire from Setapak. The request is based on Religious ground.

An eight-member team, including three surgeons and an anesthetist, headed by consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Pau Kiew Kong, will perform the five-hour operation.

"We won't give him any blood product. It's going to be heart surgery without blood, " Dr. Pau said.

He said many cardiac surgeons would not carry out such surgery because of the cutting and suturing of the heart.

This is why the " safety net" of blood transfusion is always practiced in major surgery.

Dr. Pau said heart surgery without blood transfusions was quite safe if carried properly.

Risks remain but precautions would b e taken before, during and after the surgery, he said.

It's learnt that IJN had carried out two or three minor surgeries without blood transfusions TEN years ago following requests from patients.

Dr. Pau said the patient's blood needed to be increased vis drugs prior to surgery.

Iron supplements and folic acid usually do the trick.

Dr Pau said erythropoietin stimulated the bone marrow into producing red-blood cells, increasing the hemoglobin of patients. "This starts TEN days before surgery".

"We will also recycle blood during surgery using the cell-saver technique. This 'cleans' all blood lost during surgery before it is returned to the patient".

He said tissue glue can also greatly reduce 'micro-bleeding' during cardiac surgery.

Asked what would be done if a blood transfusion proved necessary during surgery, he said the patient's wishes would be respected. The patient is required to sign a 'no blood' consent form.......... Unquote.

So there you are. For those of us who thinks that we have rare blood such as the AB blood type and difficult to get it, we can opt for this method purely on practical ground this time !

Tonight Friday the 12th, we hold special prayers-cum-small dinner for members of the family to gather at our house to pray for Sabri's success in the operation. We are fortunate to have the presence of our regular religious tutor Uztaz Mokhlis, who will lead the prayers for the occasion. Such an event as this is very common with the Muslims community all over the world and perhaps more so with us Malays. In fact, with the Malays, there are countless occasions and excuses to hold religious gatherings. If it is 'party time' to the westerners, ours equivalent is this special 'kenduri' of ours. A kenduri involves a small 'makan' or it could also be a big one - depending on what it is for. With us in Malaysia, the whole event falls on the hosts to prepare and expended on. In Indonesia we are informed, whenever the occasion is announced, the village community will contribute by way of the necessities for the occasion. Of course this precludes such events as the 'korban' or 'khatam Quran' or even 'Qekah'. Hence tonight we will have about forty adult guests. We have excluded or advised our guests not to bring children who might disturb the group's concentration during the prayers. The presence of infants or children quite often will cause a lot of disturbance especially with their running around and petty squabbles and shoutings and not to forget too the crying that ensued during these squabbles or quarrels..

This reminds me of the olden days when our parents were very strict with the idea that when it comes to adult gatherings of this kind, no children would be allowed to be present for the occasion. Somehow, we all seemed to know our place even if at odd times we happened to be present. We were either confined to a special corner or else we just sat quietly by the side of our parents or grand parents. There was no running around, It cannot be imagined what would have happened if such thing did take place. Parents then were quick to secretly 'cubit' or sternly told us "you just wait when we get home!", a sure warning that a good caning might be inflicted on later. This was the deterrent to misbehaving then and at the same time the upbringing of civil habits to the youngs. The contrary happens today with present day kids. Parents are not even seen to have any control over their children's behavior. If in those days we feel embarrassed if our children misbehaved, these days parents almost take pride in relating the events to their friends or relatives.

As parents, it is for us to evaluate the occasions and the need to brainwashed the kids to 'behave or else' before the visit, so as to ensure cordiality and decorum are maintained in the visit. This is not hard to do if only present day parents care for others comfort. Sad to say, we are now living in a very selfish world when the attitude of 'what is mine, is mine' over rules decent behavior and considerations for others. The "survival of the fittest" permeates the society of today. We longer thinks in terms of our immediate community, less so our neighbors or relatives for that matter. It is little wonder Man has achieved little progress to coexist and work for the betterment of the world. Instead Man finds ways and means to be at war with one another on the slightest pretext to start it. In so doing, the age of the bullying nations persist to these days.

All those above set aside we are delighted and thankful to Allah Almighty that Sabri pulled through safely in his open heart surgery at SJMC. As narrated by Nuruaini, the old man - now a man with newly 'overhauled' heart -was at his chirpiest element when he came out of his sedation. Those around him could not help laughing at his antics - Sabri at his best mood ! Well, it won't be long before our gin quorum is complete for our gin session again with a player with a rejuvenated heart !