I know, I know. It takes more than 31 days to be a better doctor. And yes, I know, it’s a stupid challenge, you’re too busy and you’ve got better things to do. And yes, I know, doctoring is way more complex than doing stuff like these.… Read more

Revised edition from a previous post.

Surgeons are normally not comfortable among crowds who talk back to them. Christmas, therefore, presents a challenging social dilemma to the discerning surgeon. On one hand he/she is awkward in social gatherings, on the other he/she knows that being the centre of attention is important for his/her ego.… Read more

An Otorhinolaryngological Love Poem

My ossicles shiver at the sound of your name
My cochlea swirls at the sound of your voice
I get symptomatic labyrynthitis when I see your beauty
And my world becomes vertiginous when you enter it

When my optic nerve see your beauty, my facial nerve gets excited
Temporal and zygomatic open my eyes wide
The buccal and mandibular pull a smile
And I start to salivate

There’s nothing more pleasant
Than the fragrance of your presence on my olfactory fossa
Than the tympanic reverberations of your voice
Than the tactile impulses of your lips on my cheeks

The laryngologists have never heard a kinder voice than yours
The otologists have never met a better listening ear than yours
And the facial plastic surgeons have got nothing to add
To your perfectly symmetrical facial beauty

Your vocal cords calm me, comfort me, and strengthen me
Your tympanum have forgiven me much for my bitter tongue
There are no sinuses too deep, earwax too thick, or neck nodes too big
To keep me from loving you

Written for Mrs Otorhinolary on our 7th Wedding Anniversary.… Read more

This was last year.

Today is our Anniversary. I’ve been married to my best friend for 9 years. So how does it feel to be married for that long, you might ask? They say it is like vintage wine, it gets better with time.… Read more

I am privileged to stand amongst giants. Throughout my surgical training I’ve been mentored and taught by surgeons who are truly great. I’ve talked with, rounded with and operated with highly respected, gifted surgeons. These are the people I look up to and read about in books.… Read more

Did you think that the practice of medicine and surgery was a science? Not exactly. Although it is founded on strong scientific basis, like the science of the primary colours, it’s actual practice is more of an art rather than science (some doctors would even go as far as saying medicine is neither art or science, it is business.… Read more

I still remember vividly the day I sliced open the trachea of a neonate who weighed less than my Apple Mac computer. Such tiny creatures with no necks. Such soft and delicate beings. Such a narrow airway. All my instruments were small.… Read more

The finesse of the ear surgeon and the precision of the nose surgeon is matched by the throat surgeon’s light-handedness. Tremor can be hidden in most other surgeries, but not in laryngology. This one needs a real steady hand. A good laryngologist has a set of steady hands, a calm demeanor, an approach matching that of a psychologist, and an artistic, cultured manner.… Read more