February 16, 2014                                                                                                     Issue: 23
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Roxana Cannon Arsht Surgicenter 

& Practice Without Pressure Partner

To Bring Dental Surgery to David Alexander


Part 3: Reprinted with permission from The Perioperative Press, A Sharper View:
           A Newsletter for Perioperative Services, Christiana Care Health System,
   Summer 2013, Vol. 12.
 
  
 
David Alexander, age 57, who loves to help clean up around the group home, found participating in his own health care a lot more difficult. David speaks in actions more than words. Before PWP, when he reacted during exams, he received negative reinforcement that only compounded his fear.
 
"It is common for folks like David to visit a dentist only when their dental problems become acute, requiring more invasive treatments. Since these typically entail more time and greater discomfort, future visits are met with even greater resistance," his brother Allen said. 
 
Over the years, David developed an extreme fear of sharp objects. "When a needle or anything invasive is involved," Allen said, "he immediately has a fear response. It's a deep fear. He's not being resistant. He's terrified they're going to do something that will hurt him. He will scream, back himself into a corner and flail at people. It can be risky." 
 
But at his recent deep cleaning, scaling and root planing, David did fine. The advance walk-through helped, as did pre-medication the day of surgery. "He received half a dose before we left for the hospital and the other half right before he was taken back. It was enough to relax him that he could sit through the waiting period and the IV. He was just relaxed, watching the procedure. He knew exactly what was going on," Saienni said. 
 
The Surgicenter cut him a break on pre-op, as it does for all PWP clients. "The Surgicenter allowed him to report a half an hour instead of two hours before surgery to reduce wait time," Saienni said. "Nurses gave him stickers and were so kind. They allowed him to bring back electronics to watch videos both before and after surgery to keep him occupied and happy." 
 
"Afterwards, he seemed relaxed and peaceful," his brother said. When asked about the OR visit, David said it was "Okay." For a man of few words, that one counted for a lot.       

 

 

 

Up next: case history of Shirley Parker at Christiana Care.
  
Practice Without Pressure, Inc.
2470 Sunset Lake Road
Newark, DE 19702
(302) 832-2800
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