Doctor Fakes a Patient's Miscarriage _ Chicago Med _ MD TV

Mr. and Mrs. Harris, I'm student Dr. Curry, and this is Dr. Manning. And Lisa. Matt. So, you're 13 weeks pregnant with three days of abdominal pain. Have you ever had pain like this before? No. I'm going to examine you, if that's all right. Okay, have you had any bleeding? No. Okay, any complications with your pregnancy? No. I mean, not with the pregnancy. For years, doctors said Lisa could never get pregnant. We tried, and we prayed, but nothing worked. Until one day, it just happened. Did they tell you why you couldn't get pregnant? Something about the shape of my uterus. They did some tests, but whatever it is, it doesn't matter, because we finally have our miracle baby. So, the thing about human anatomy is that even when things may seem like a miracle, they're— You know, before we get much further, I think we should check your blood and send you over for a Doppler, just to get some more information. Is that okay? Yeah, it's okay. Great. We'll be back soon. First trimester pain in a woman with anatomic abnormalities means that this pregnancy could be ectopic. Yes, but that does not mean that we need to give her a physiology lesson. We do, if we want her to be informed about her condition. She's entitled to her beliefs. It is not our job to challenge them. It is when they're wrong. Ms. Curry, we don't know what we're looking at yet, so just go order the tests. That's a baby? Yes. What? Your pregnancy is ectopic, which means that the fetus is implanted outside of your uterus. Okay, but you can put it back where it belongs, right? Unfortunately, we can't. And I'm afraid it's implanted on your vena cava, the large vessel that carries blood back to your heart. And, um, from the free fluid I'm seeing in your abdomen tells me that, unfortunately, the vessel is leaking. So how do you stop it? You need an operation. The surgeon will have to remove the fetus and then repair the vessel. Wait, you mean we could lose the baby? I'm sorry, but you would in any case, because of where it's implanted, there's no possible way that it'll survive long enough to be viable. And surgery will keep your bleeding from getting out of control, so we need to get you up to the OR as soon as possible. No. I'm sorry? I am not having surgery. I don't think you understand. If we don't operate, you're going to die. No, you don't understand. This baby is a miracle, and God will take care of it. Your patient, Mrs. Harris, just passed the Brief Psychiatric Ratings Gable Flying Tellers. You actually think she's capable of making this decision? She is holding on to a very strong belief, but other than that, she seems entirely reasonable. Reasonable? She thinks God is going to save a fetus with a zero percent chance of survival. That's delusional. In my experience, it's not always so easy to figure out where belief ends and delusion begins. I mean, faith in a supreme being is held by an overwhelming majority of humans. Okay, but if we don't do something, she's going to die. Can't force a procedure on her. She doesn't want. We're her doctors. Our job is to fix her, not argue about theology. I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous. Ms. Curry, I appreciate that this is a complicated situation, but our job, in fact, is to treat our patients to the best of our ability while honoring their cultural, spiritual, and religious beliefs. She's allowed to make her own decisions, whether we agree with them or not. What you got there? Um, the Journal of Computer Methods and Biomedicine. MIT grad, right? Yep. Looks very technical. It is, but so is creating a biomolecular scaffolding to replicate human organs in vitro. That's what I'm going to do as soon as I finish med school. Sounds rewarding. You know, in terms of Mrs. Harris, I just want to clarify that the challenge when you're trying to evaluate a patient's ability to act in their own interest— Oh, actually, um, her labs are ready. I should go check on them. She's 90 over 60. What's going on? See, you're losing too much blood. We need to get you to surgery now. I already told you no. Honey, maybe we should listen to the doctors. Not you too, Matt. I am not having surgery. Lisa, I— Please stop. For 12 years, all I've wanted was to bring a new life into this world. And finally, God has rewarded my patience. And I don't believe that he would turn around and take it all away. What if he did take it away? What? Um, if the fetus were to stop living because of the blood loss, would you give us permission to do the surgery then? To let us save your life? What are you— Why is she even talking about this? That's not gonna happen. She's just asking. So will you at least agree to that? If the fetus dies? Well, fine. If that happened, which it won't, then yes, I would have the surgery. Can we just stop talking about this? Of course. We'll ask the leader of C-Lean and type in cross for 6 and 6 and give her two units of uncross-matched blood now. We will be back to check on you shortly, okay? Okay. Thank you. Miss Curry, that was a disturbing, tactless question. Why did you ask that? Um, because we should know, right? To be prepared? No, there is a difference between being prepared and terrifying a sick woman. Ultrasound. Start the MTP. What's happening to her? Her internal bleeding is getting worse. Katie, call the OR. Lisa! BP's 92 over 51. We need to take you to surgery right now. No. My baby. Lisa, listen to her. Mrs. Harris, I need your consent. We don't have a lot of time. I can't find a heartbeat. What? The fetus. What is it? There's no heartbeat. Its heart isn't beating. No. I'm sorry, but the fetus is no longer alive. No. I need to take you to surgery right now. Lisa, come on. We have to go. My baby. BP's 70 over 35. Mrs. Harris, look at me. I need to take you to surgery right now. If I don't, you will die. Lisa. Mrs. Harris, please. Please. Okay. All right, let's go. Hey. I heard Mrs. Harris agreed to the surgery once she lost the fetal heartbeat. They got to her in time. She's going to make it. Oh, that's a relief. Yeah, but even though the fetus wasn't viable, its heart was still beating when they opened Lisa up. Really? Yeah. I've got to go tell Tech that there was a malfunction with the ultrasound. Huh. To have such faith in something and then have it go so wrong. Yeah. Are you going to tell her about the fetal heartbeat? I'm happy to. No. No, I'll tell her. I just hate to have to tell her at all. The false reading on the ultrasound. Yeah, those machines can be delicate. One good hit to the transducer. Save it. You hacked the machine so that it wouldn't read the fetal heartbeat. No, I did not. You've been resistant to the patient's wishes from the start. Because she was determined to kill herself. Do you know that I got kicked out of medical school? Kicked out? Well, you committed a crime. No, the machine malfunctioned. Okay, I didn't do anything. And by the way, that woman is alive. Doesn't anybody care about that? That's not the point. I know what the point is. Clearly you don't. I didn't do it. Well, I can't prove it. Which makes you a very lucky young woman. But you are severely deficient in attitude and temperament. And I'm going to keep a very close eye on you. From now on, you and I are going to go over all your charts and all your cases together. Are you serious? Very.