GUEST EDITORIAL

The Physician Assistant

Surgeons rarely practice alone. Folks may think of us as LoneRangers, but we do our best work when we have a colleagueacross the table. I learned this on my first day on the clinicalwards when my older sister, an experienced nurse, told me thesecret of survival, “Stay on the good side of the nurses.”

The advice is still sound, but today, it should be expanded toinclude a newer group of professionals misnamed “physicianassistants.” They do more than assist; they serve as our ears andeyes, our hands, and often our consciences. They are true col-leagues, and we are fortunate to have them at our sides.

In surgery, we teach with stories. Let me, therefore, share astory with you as told by Ms. Laurie Driscoll, an excellentphysician assistant working in our department here at the BrodySchool of Medicine at East Carolina University.

I had just walked in the door from work, and thephone was ringing. It was my mother. She called becausemy father had been having vague abdominal and lowerback pain since about noon. It was now 6:00 PM, and hewas not any better. All of this was very unusual becausemy father has never really been sick, and he rarely com-plains about aches and pains.

Earlier that day, he had gone to his regular Wednesdaymorning card game in Fort Pierce, a small town in Flor-ida about 30 minutes from his home. He began havingvague, diffuse abdominal cramping around 1:30 PM. Heplayed cards until about 4:30 PM and then came home.He explained to my mother the pains he was experienc-ing, and my mother gave him Gas-X. It provided norelief. In addition to his abdominal pain, he also began tohave lower back pain, and he complained of having tobelch a lot.

After my mother had relayed the entire story, I beganasking her some routine questions. “Was there any nau-sea or vomiting?” “None.” “Had he experienced any di-arrhea?” “No.” “Had he had a normal bowel movementthat morning?” “Yes.” “Was there any pain or burningupon urination?” “No.” “Did he have an appetite?”“None,” and he had last eaten at 11:00 AM. My motherexplained that the only other problem she could tell wasthat he was “a little clammy.”

My father had not been to a doctor in over 20 years.He is a heavy smoker, and he is mildly overweight. Sev-eral possibilities of what could be wrong crossed mymind: cholelithiasis or cholecystitis, appendicitis, pancre-atitis, early bowel obstruction, a GI virus, or kidneystones. I just was not sure. I finally asked my mother to goto the den, to have my father lie down on the couch, andto get on the phone in the den. When she got back on theline, I explained to her how to divide the abdomen into

four quadrants, with the belly button being the centerpoint. I told her to feel the upper right side and pushdown gently. She did that, and it did not cause any pain.Then she moved down to the right lower area and did thesame. Again, this was not uncomfortable. She then wentto the left lower quadrant. This area was not tender ei-ther, but as she moved her hand up she said, “Charlie,what is this hard lump?” He said he had not noticedanything there. I asked the size and location, and she toldme that it was like a baseball to the left of his belly button.She kept feeling it, and then came the dreaded words:“Laurie, it feels like it is thumping … like it has a heart-beat.” My heart sank! I knew at this point exactly what hehad without a doubt, a large abdominal aortic aneurysmthat was obviously leaking and causing the pain in hisback and abdomen. I tried to remain calm so I would notscare my mom, but I think she knew it was bad. I told herto take him to the closest hospital right away. I had herwrite on a piece of paper “pulsatile abdominal mass, leftof umbilicus” and give it to whomever she saw first whenthey got there. Because it would be faster and my fatherwas still talking and able to move around, I told her todrive him to the hospital rather than call and wait for anambulance.

When they arrived at the emergency room, my momhanded the paper to the nurse. From then on, thingsmoved incredibly fast. The CT, performed even beforeregistration, revealed a 9.2-cm leaking abdominal aorticaneurysm. My father asked to speak to my mother, and apastor came in to see him, because the surgeon gave arather grim prognosis. He was in the operating roomwithin thirty minutes. He survived the operation, but herequired reintubation 2 days postoperatively and re-quired a total of 10 units of blood. He was discharged 14days postoperatively and has recovered completely.

Laurie’s father and mother, Charles and Margaret Driscoll

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It is difficult to write about this even now. I still gettearful when I think about how close he came to dying. Iwas so close to telling my mother that night to just havehim lie down for a while and see if he felt better. But thefact that my dad was complaining of pain, I knew it hadto be more than just a “flu.” My mother did all the rightthings to help me determine that it was worse than eitherof us could have guessed. The pieces, for whatever reason,fell together and allowed my dad to pull through what isgenerally a fatal situation. We are truly fortunate, and itreally is a miracle.

Others have documented the contributions of physician assis-tants with respect and admiration. Miller et al1 demonstratedthat physician assistants can be an excellent alternative for atrauma center that does not have surgical residents. In a three-year study of their trauma experience, these trauma surgeonsreported that physician assistants saved them 4 to 5 hours perday, reduced patient transfer time from the emergency depart-ment, and reduced lengths of stay.

Perhaps the best indicator of the value of this new professionis the recent election of Mr. Wayne W. Von Seggen, a practic-ing physician assistant for more than 20 years, to the presidencyof the North Carolina Medical Board. This was not a politicalprocess. Mr. Von Seggen served as president of the North Caro-

lina Academy of Physician Assistants from 1983 to 1984 andheld positions on numerous other committees over the years.Mr. Von Seggen was chosen unanimously by a board that istwo-thirds physicians—physicians recognizing his administra-tive skill, his integrity, and his thoughtful judgment.

In the reviews of the surgical advances of the last millennium,we saw many citations on cardiac surgery, transplantation, min-imally invasive techniques, and breakthroughs in monitoring.We would like to add another, often overlooked topic, thedevelopment of physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Wedelight in their success and wish them well for at least anothercentury.

WALTER J. PORIES, MDLAURIE DRISCOLL, PA

Brody School of Medicine atEast Carolina University

Greenville, North CarolinaREFERENCE

1. Miller W, Riehl E, Napier M, Barber K, Dabideen H. Useof physician assistant as surgery/trauma house staff at anAmerican College of Surgeons-verified level II trauma cen-ter. J Trauma 1998;44:372–376.

Laurie and her father Mr. Wayne W. Von Seggen

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