Prolonged life support lessens recovery

Dear Dr. Gott: In your experience, have you ever seen a case of terminal illness (being kept alive by machines and in a coma) that was actually reversed, and the patient lived afterwards? Are comatose patients the same as terminally ill people?

Dear Reader: I have never seen a case of prolonged life support that a patient was able to discontinue and subsequently return to normal.

However, in all fairness, I have to admit that there are miraculous consequences in rare instances. Medical science can keep terminally ill patients “alive” for extended periods. Therefore, each case must be individualized.

Certainly, most sensible adults would not opt for advanced, interminable life support if there were no chance of recovery. However, in certain circumstances, patients requiring this complex therapy do well.

Therefore, in answering your questions, I am purposely noncommittal. Each case must be decided on its own merits. Extensive life support is appropriate in some circumstances but may not be in others (such as after a stroke in elderly people).

Read the following letter, which, coincidentally, arrived at the same time as yours.

Dear Dr. Gott: I am writing this letter in response to your article explaining the different types of strokes. As a result of an automobile accident that caused blood clots and hemorrhaging of my brain, I had a stroke condition. The doctors suggested I be taken off life-support systems. My son insisted that I be kept alive. Thank God he did. After many therapies, nine months later I am still alive. A slight visual impairment to my left eye and needing the help of a walker are my only problems. I live in a lovely retirement center and do not need assisted living. I have a lovely apartment and have met many beautiful people. I exercise every day, do many crafts projects and am taken on many side trips in the van furnished to us. Thank God I did not have a living will and have had nine months of living in this lovely place. I know that I am the exception, but please remember there are exceptions. I would never sign a living will. Just because we are “over the hill” does not mean our life is not worthwhile. I am 81 and doing great.

Dear Dr. Gott: I am a healthy 60-year-old man with three testicle cysts, the result of a rude encounter with a bicycle crossbar many years ago. They started as little nodules but have grown to the size of golf balls. My physician tells me that they aren’t really a problem but that I might want to have a urologist check them. Is this something I should be concerned about?

Dear Reader: Testicular cysts are benign, fluid-containing “bubbles” in a testicle, often the result of trauma.

If your cysts have grown to the size of golf balls, I would encourage you to be examined by a urologist because it may be time to correct the situation before the cysts grow to cause discomfort.