Among a few pregnant women talking, the sound of a quarrel suddenly came from the adjacent consultation room.
"How can you handle things like this? What test did you just ask me to do? Didnât you clearly see whatâs written on my medical record? Isnât it irresponsible to casually say you didnât check carefully?"
"Alright, alright, you donât need to argue. I didnât say I didnât look carefully."
"You just said that!"
"Iâll assign you to a different prenatal doctor. You can see Doctor Liu. âDr. Guan, please escort this patient and her medical record to the next room to see Doctor Liu, and explain the situation to Doctor Liu."
The reputation of obstetrics and gynecology as a hotspot for medical disputes is well-earned. Just this morning, we witnessed one case with Teacher Li, and within half an hour of arriving at the prenatal clinic this afternoon, there was another incident. Thought Xie Wanying and Student Geng.
Soon, a young medical student, Dr. Guan, brought a pregnant woman to find Doctor Liu Li next door.
The pregnant woman was very upset, complaining about Doctor Chen in the neighboring room nonstop as she walked to Doctor Liuâs room.
"Not even looking at the medical record. Itâs written so clearly that itâs IVF but she didnât see it, and she just advised me to do the Tang screen. No idea where her eyes are. Why the Tang screen, mineâs IVF."
Dr. Guan approached Doctor Liu Li, leaning close to her ear to report the situation: "Sheâs quite old, over fifty. So, according to procedure, Doctor Chen wanted to prescribe a Tang screen. However, sheâs not happy after hearing it. Maybe she misunderstood from what the doctors at our reproductive technology center said earlier, thinking that with IVF, there wouldnât be any deformities."
"Which generation of IVF did she have?" Liu Li asked.
"The third generation. So Doctor Chen is just being cautious, but this lady doesnât like it. Doctor Chen said, she can only trouble you, Doctor Liu, to decide whether or not to schedule it first, and wait for the higher-ups to make a decision."
With third generation, embryos with chromosomal abnormalities are screened out, which sounds like there shouldnât be deformities. However, human medicineâs understanding of genetic disorders is not a hundred percent, only the tip of the iceberg. No medical procedure can guarantee a hundred percent against unexpected risks. Therefore, prenatal doctors recommend these tests to avoid any unforeseen situations.
"The Tang screen, if to be done, should be at 16 weeks."
"Right, Doctor Chen just mentioned it out of concern, and she got so upset like that." Dr. Guan said. Sometimes, doctors really donât understand why certain words suddenly become sensitive for some patients.
"If she doesnât want to do the Tang screen, then she doesnât have to. At that time, we can directly order an amniocentesis screening." Doctor Liu Li said.
The Tang screen has lower accuracy; if the patient doesnât want it, she doesnât have to do it. To confirm, an amniocentesis is required, and that accuracy can reach nearly a hundred percent. Therefore, generally clinical doctors will suggest amniocentesis screening for pregnant women with high-risk factors rather than just a simple Tang screen.
This patientâs primary concern is being fifty years old. Any doctor would worry about something going wrong. If she actually gives birth to a child with Down syndrome, that would be disastrous.
Itâs not unheard of for women in their fifties to give birth. Doctor Zheng curiously glanced at the patientâs medical record nearby and asked, "Is it a bereaved parent?"
The only child is gone, so one would only try hard to have another one as compensation.
"She said she has a daughter." Dr. Guan, who knows more about this patient, said, "Itâs just that her daughter is ill."
Clinically there are mothers like this, who have another child to save the first one.