You’ve heard the term ‘exploratory surgery.’
Sounds cool and macho.
However, when you are on the receiving end, or someone you love is on the receiving end, the term ‘exploratory surgery’ is far from cool or macho.
Actual Patient Case History leading to Chronic Eosinophilic Pneumonia:
82 year old male with a severe bout of bilateral pneumonia treated successfully with antibiotics.
Then the pneumonia came back.
Treated again with antibiotics.
Pnemonia came back ... again.
Pleural Empyema followed causing liters of fluid build-up in the lining of his lungs. While the paramedic was running the patient down the hall, he asked, “Do you want to be resuscitated if we lose you?”
The patient ended up staying in the hospital for 3 weeks. Every few days the doctor performed a thoracentesis removing fluid from between the lung’s linings. When I say removed fluid, they removed over a liter of fluid. Not an ounce.
There was no sign of the fluid production stopping.
The patient, who is my grandfather, cal...
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This article is Dr Ben's follow-up notes from a 
