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Have I infected
my patients?
Physician-to-patient transmission
of hepatitis C is extremely rare. One Health Canada
estimate put it somewhere in the range of 50 to
500 cases per million. But when it does happen,
it's bound to fray nerves. After his suspected
diagnosis during routine screening, Dr David Ashby
voluntarily withdrew from performing surgeries.
The province is still figuring out where to go
from here.
"We're still working through
how many procedures the physician may have done
over the past year, the past three years, just
as a starting point before we decide how far back
we want to proceed," executive director of Charlottetown's
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Dr Rob Philpott told
the CBC.
But contrary to expectations,
Dr Ashby's patients are not clamouring to demand
answers and compensation, but clamouring to support
their beloved doc. Here are some of the outpourings
that appeared on The Guardian's website:
My thoughts are with this
wonderful, kind and caring professional. I look
forward to hearing he is back doing all aspects
of his work as quickly as possible. — Heidi
from Charlottetown
Our thoughts and prayers
are with you. Take care. — Family Medicine
Residents, Queen's University, Kingston, ON
— Gillian Woodford
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Marlene Bryenton says her thoughts
and prayers are with her surgeon, who may have contracted
hepatitis C, and not her own health.
Ms Bryenton, a cancer survivor,
is one of Dr David Ashby's patients.
PEI health officials confirmed
Dr Ashby had tested positive for hepatitis C. A second
round of testing reconfirmed the diagnosis on March
8. Dr Ashby has voluntarily withdrawn from performing
surgical procedures at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Now thousands of local patients
who have had surgeries performed by Dr Ashby over the
past 30 years face an uncertain prognosis themselves.
Health officials say it is highly
unlikely any patient has acquired hepatitis C through
any surgical procedure. Still, the province is preparing
to screen thousands of patients.
Dr Ashby performed three surgeries
on Ms Bryenton, including a mastectomy in 1998.
"My first reaction is one of shock,
dismay and a general feeling of sorrow for Dr Ashby,''
Ms Bryenton said in an interview with The Guardian
Thursday. "I've put an awful lot of trust in Dr Ashby's
abilities.''
PEI will lose a major asset if
Dr Ashby is unable to return to the operating room,
she added. "He had a large heart and a soft spot for
women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.''
That's why Ms Bryenton referred
many local women who had a similar diagnosis to herself
to the Charlottetown surgeon. "He treats everybody with
such care and respect.''
Dr David Ashby working
in his plot at the Community Gardens on Mount Edward
Road in Charlottetown.
Photo credit: Guardian file
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FUTURE
UNCERTAIN
Dr Ashby's medical future remains uncertain. He will
not be back in the operating room until a second round
of testing is done. But he may never return to surgery
again.
Officials at the Queen Elizabeth
Hospital are making arrangements to deal with the backlog
of surgeries that will be created by the absence of
the senior surgeon.
Dr Ashby cancelled his scheduled
surgeries on February 16, hours after learning of his
diagnosis. He hasn't been back in the operating room
since.
But the surgeon is still seeing
patients for consultations and follow-up visits.
A spokesman in Dr Ashby's office
said the surgeon was not prepared to do media interviews
Thursday. One of the island's leading health officials
has stated the doctor is not exhibiting any adverse
health effects.
Dr Lamont Sweet, the island's chief
health officer, braced himself Thursday for an onslaught
of calls from patients worried about their own health.
Instead, Dr Sweet received a handful
of calls, most of which were expressing concern for
Dr Ashby's health or commending the surgeon for taking
the proactive step of removing himself from the operating
room.
"There were a lot of compliments
for Dr Ashby for being upfront. I expected there would
be a lot of negative reaction but there wasn't.''
Ms Bryenton said she'll be screened
if and when it's deemed necessary.
Reprinted by permission of The
Guardian
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