Not sure if I'm being oversensitive here but I was in hospital over the weekend passing a gallbladder - terrible pain. On the ward round on the following morning, Mr Bigshot, the Consultant Surgeon came round with his minions (4/5 student doctors). He examined my stomach, prodded and poked and then stated I needed to have the gallbladder removed. He then looked at my table upon which was half a piece of toast I'd eaten for breakfast and an open mini packet of butter half opened. He then ceremoniously picked up the butter and said "well, you don't want to be eating that if you have gallbladder issues - it's fat" and then he pinched a piec of my stomach and said "you've got enough here"!! I was somewhat taken aback and just mumbled "I know".... he then obviousy thought better of what he said and said "I didn't mean to insult you"........smiled, and then wondered off.....
On reflection, I am mortified. Actually, he's totally right. I am quite a bit overweight - I do KNOW that.... but wasn't this just a little bit insensitive, unprofessional etc etc or am I being over dramatic?
AIBU?
For thinking this surgeon was a bit out of order? OK, I know I'm overweight but...
trickynicky · 26/09/2012 08:59
I am a bit 
at the number of people defending him! And I say this as a surgeon myself.
If you are fat, then fair enough to explain this is a risk factor and to tell you the benefits of a low fat diet. However, to pinch your abdomen is just not on.
I wouldn't complain as such, but you can raise a "concern" with PALS and that may stop him treating someone else like this in the future.
BTW, I am usually nice to my patients, although will tell them when they need to lose weight AND I'm a bloody good surgeon. The two aren't mutually exclusive. 
Humiliation is a well known tool for motivating overweight people to lose weight 
Well, I can tell you that I didn't need a surgeon to humiliate me. I'd done a fine job of that already by a) screaming like a banchee in pain whilst being wheeled into resusc b) putting the hospital gown on back to front when transferred to the ward in a morphine induced haze resulting in a full on exposure of aforementioned fat stomach to very kind staff nurse who "helped" me get dressed and c) falling into a deep sleep in a packed ward of similarly drugged up women only to wake myself up, along with several others, by mistakenly releasing a very large fart.
If it didn't hurt my aching gallbladder, I would try to laugh but actually, I think the surgeon's ritual humiliation feels like the last straw...
Oh sorry to hear all of that tricky. I just think that being in hospital is a bit dehumanizing all round isn't it?
Couldn't help but laugh at what you wrote, but only because it reminded me of my own medical related indignities
You want the nhs to pay for your surgery needed because you are fat, but you are offended to be told your fat?
Then you want to waste precious nhs resources complaining about a highly qualified doctor who told you a fact about your health, meaning a potential investigation on him?
Pay private then.
tricky, I'd ignore that post by dehlicalling if I were you. Some people seem to think it's fine to bash or be snarky if you happen to be even slightly overweight.
The doctor was highly innapropriate, and could have made the same point without making his patient feel ashamed and uncomfortable. He could simply have said that the butter was a bad idea and left it at that, but he did not, and you would be right to complain about his conduct.
I bet if you changed the story so that it was a doctor making a joke at the expense of, for example, an elderly person, the responses would be 100% outraged
geegee888 there's 'speaking the truth' and then there's playing to the gallery. I'm a fan of medical professionals who tell the truth, I mean who isn't? But I'm not a fan of people being needlessly rude.
An yeah the pinching of fat was very useful, , she probably hadn't noticed it before.
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