ABSTRACT
Facing his wifes major operation, the senior surgeon found a small amount of comfort as he paced the surgical corridors near midnight. He paused for a brief moment to reminisce. He clearly pictured the good days of college, he remembered his early years in medical school, he recalled the arduous cases he encountered during his surgical resi dency, and most importantly, he remembered his family and espe cially his wife, whose condition worried him continually. She had been given a direct verdict-You need a new hip! Overwhelmed, he thought about the complications of the procedure and the perils of life with an artificial hip, particularly for someone only 56 years old. What could they expect? Certainly, a new life. A life with a new hip. What a change. One that, in spite of his medical knowledge, he did not know how to deal with. It was like patients asking him, “ What would you do i f it were you r wife? ” “I would welcome the new hip into the fam ily ,” abruptly said the pensive surgeon.
