Read Online Coma by Robin Cook - Free Book Online

above the pale skin while he looked over the screen at the anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist was slowly letting the air out of the blood pressure cuff and watching the gauge. 120/80. He looked up at Johnston and gave an imperceptible nod, tripping the poised guillotine. The scalpel dived deep into the tissues, and then with a smooth soundless slice, slid down the skin at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. The wound fell open and little jets of pulsating arterial blood sprayed the area, then ebbed and died.
    Meanwhile curious phenomena occurred in George Niles’s brain. The image of the knife plunging into the skin of the patient was displayed instantly in his occipital cortex. Association fibers picked up the message and transported the information to his parietal lobe, where it was associated. The association spread so rapidly and so widely that it activated an area of his hypothalamus, causing widespread dilation of his blood vessels in his muscles. The blood literally drained from his brain to fill all the dilated vessels, causing George Niles to lose consciousness. In a dead faint he fell straight backward. His flaccid neck snapped his head against the vinyl floor with a resonant thump.
    Johnston spun around in response to the sound of George’s head smashing against the floor. His surprise quickly metamorphosed into typically labile surgical anger.
    “For Christ’s sake, Bellows, get these kids outa here until they can stand the sight of a few red cells.” Shaking his head, he went back to catching bleeders with his hemostats.
    The circulating nurse broke a capsule under George’s nose and the acrid smell of the ammonia shocked him back to consciousness. Bellows bent down and felt along his neck and the back of his head. As soon as George was fully conscious, he sat up, somewhat confused about his whereabouts. Realizing what had happened, he felt immediately embarrassed.
    Johnston meanwhile wouldn’t let the matter rest.
    “Holy shit, Bellows, why didn’t you tell me these students were absolute greenhorns? I mean, what would have happened if the kid fell into my wound here?”
    Bellows didn’t say anything. He helped George to his feet by degrees until he was satisfied George was really OK. Then he motioned for the group to leave OR No. 18.
    Just before the OR door shut, Johnston could be heard angrily yelling at one of his junior residents, “Are you here to help me or hinder me . . . ?”

Monday
    February 23
    11:15 A.M.
    George Niles’s pride was hurt more than anything else. He developed a rather sizable lump on the back of his head but there was no laceration. His pupils stayed equal in size and his memory was unimpaired. Consensus had it that he was going to make it. However, the episode dampened the spirits of the whole group. Bellows was nervous that the fainting would reflect on his judgment to bring the students into the OR on the first day. George Niles was concerned lest the incident foreshadowed similar responses every time he tried to watch a surgical case. The others were bothered to a greater or lesser degree simply because within a group, the actions of one individual tend to reflect the whole group’s performance. Actually Susan was not concerned with this aspect as were the others. Susan was more distressed about the sudden and unexpected response and change in attitude of Johnston and, to a lesser extent, Bellows. One minute they were jovial and friendly; the next minute they were angry, almost vengeful, simply because of an unexpected turn of events. Susan rekindled her preconceptions regarding the surgical personality. Perhaps such generalizations were appropriate.
    After changing back to their street clothes, they all had a cup of coffee in the surgical lounge. It was surprisingly good coffee, thought Susan, trying to overcome the oppressive haze of cigarette smoke whichhung like Los Angeles smog from the ceiling to a level about five feet from the floor. Susan was mindless