Word of the Day: Paracentesis

I think I am at least 10% of the way towards being a doctor. I figure once I have mastered the vocab, I can at least put on a good show.

So today's word is paracentesis -- fluid removal.  That is what the doctors are doing right now, pulling the fluids off of Kurt.  Apologies to the feint of heart, but you can not believe the size of the needle the doctor just stuck in Kurt's side. I don't want to say that to him, since he still has said needle jammed in his abdomen, so I thought I would type it instead, to avoid me just randomly blurting it out. I guess needle is the wrong word (see? vocab still rusty). The doctor is calling it a catheter. It is probably about 1/8" in diameter, but it has to be 8 or 9 inches long. It is connected to a long tube that is draining the fluids right now. The procedure has taken off about a liter already, with more to go.  The pocket they tapped is empty, so Kurt will get another CT scan to see if there are other pockets they can hit.

Kurt will definitely be in here another night, but could be released tomorrow morning. After this first liter, he is feeling much better, and trying to eat some solid fluids. So, one baby step at a time, things are improving.