All language subtitles for Coma (1978) 1080p

Good morning.

It's 6:00 a.m. on a beautiful
New England morning in Boston.

These are the top stories.

Mayor White's assistant Kevin Maloney

has met with the Boston
Redevelopment Authority

over the continuing controversy

on the Charles Town Heights project.

Saugus, police have arrested
contractor James McManus

on $23 million graft and bribery charges

in connection with the
Mystic River extension.

Hyannis Port.

- Mrs. Levine is day
five post-cholecystectomy

and doing well.

She remains a febrile and her
previous anorexia is gone,

draining well.

An AP chest film done yesterday is clear,

her white count is nine-four,

BUN has stabilized at 40.2,
good output of 1600 ccs.

- Blood cultures?

- No growth times two.

- Well, Harris can't nail us on this one.

Next case.

- Yeah, it was a long time ago.

- To return lab

for the biopsies.
- And is he good?

Yeah,

he can really break it up.
- Really very interesting.

- Billy's weird.
- Uh-uh, well, I'll trade you.

- He gets so tired.
- Do you know

that I sat up all night-

Do you like this lipstick?

- She was terrific.
- It's 32 now and going fast.

He can't afford to get out.
- Very nice.

I got
a thousand shares of that.

Well, we have
to have the AP and lateral

and at least 10 units done on the floor

before they can begin.

It says here, the type and
cross-match was done yesterday.

Just standard workup procedure.

Well, I don't know.

So it was a
clear case of endocarditis.

He had this-

- We're ready
when you are, Dr. Wheeler.

No response to antibiotics.

Cut her, okay?

Sponge.

Begin to tie off.

It's all politics.

Today, for instance, Rudnick.

He comes up to me and says,

"Congratulations, I hear
you're the new chief resident

in surgery."

- That's great.

- He was testing me.

Then he says that Harris told him

that Mark Bellows was going
to be the next chief resident.

- Wonderful, Mark.

- But here's the thing.

He's waiting for me to say
that I know all about it.

That wouldn't look right.

That would look as if I expected it,

so I said I hadn't heard anything.

- You've wanted it for two years.

- But there's no point
in saying that, is there?

I said, uh, I thought it'd
be wonderful if it happened.

And I said I thought Chandler
was doing an excellent job

as chief resident,

but I said it like there was a little

room left for improvement.

- Chandler's damn good.

- Oh, I really laid it on
thick with old Rudnick.

I told him I was following
his hepatic research,

cited a couple of references.

He was impressed.

Procedure went well too.

So all in all, it was a good day.

Honey, I'm gonna take a shower.

Can you grab me a beer
before you start dinner?

- Hey, Mark. Get your own beer.

Oh, honey, for
Christ sakes, come on.

- I wanna take a shower.

I was on call last night.

- So was I.

- No, I know, but I had two arrests,

aortic aneurysm blew
at four in the morning,

had to be done STAT.

So I didn't get any sleep,

and I'd really like to take a shower.

If you don't mind.

I had a hard day too.

- You get in the shower
faster than any person alive.

Have a beer. You'll feel better.

- I know what'd make me feel better.

Goddamn doctors.

Couldn't have fallen in love with a nurse.

Dorothy on the eighth floor, yeah.

She liked me.

My own apartment.

Hear about Louis?

What about Louis?

- They passed him up
as assistant professor.

Guy's really paid his dues too.

Now they don't take him.

Plus his son, he's waiting
for a kidney transplant.

Did you start dinner?

- What?

I said, did you start dinner?

- Did you hear anything I said?

I was trying to tell-
- It's right

in the refrigerator, Mark.

Just heat it up. It's already cooked.

- I was trying to tell you
something about my day.

- I had a hard day too.

Just go heat it up.

- Now why is it whenever
we're about to have a fight,

you always manage to be undressed?

- Hey, what's the big deal?

Just put the stew in a pan and heat it up.

Now, why won't you help out?

Oh, is that the way you see it?

- Well.

Well, I think
I make my concessions.

You always take a shower first.

- I don't.

- You do too, I'm getting tired of it.

Oh no, honey, come on.

- Don't call me honey.

- All I'm trying to do

is tell you something about my day.

Something that happened.

- Your days are always the same.

- What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Just politics, that's all.

Who said what to whom.

Who's rising, who's falling.

Who's made a good move,
a bad move. Politics!

- Well, somebody has to be
interested in hospital politics.

You certainly are not.

I thought you were a fourth year

surgical resident, not
a political resident.

- I like politics. They interest me.

Just because you're always looking for...

Listen, Susan you want me
to heat up the dinner,

is that what you want?

- I want some respect.

- Susan, come on. Don't leave again.

- I don't see why you can't
share half the responsibility.

- I share more than
half the responsibility!

- No need to shout.

- Then what are you running off for?

You think I want this?

Well, let me tell you
something, Dr. Wheeler.

I make my share of concessions

for this so-called relationship.

- I know it's hard-

- I also want you to-
- on you politically.

- Susan, don't go.

- You know what the trouble with you is?

All you care about is
being chief resident.

- You know what your trouble is?

You don't really want a relationship.

Look at you. You run away from it.

- This is ridiculous.

You don't want a lover.

You want a goddamn wife!

- Bastard.

Hmm, I have a bleeder here.

I need more suction.

Clamp.

- He's not di-toxic.

He has advanced ASHD.

The question is-

- I just bought some at 43.

- Yeah, I hear they have
management problems.

I sold at 37.

Radiologist, wonder about-

- Hi.

Hi.

- How are you?

- Mm-hm, I'm fine.

The case went well. No problem.

- Good. I'm really sorry about last night.

Well,
you mean that little piece-

- So am I.
- X-ray, you're kidding me.

- You wanna have some lunch?

- I have class.

- You don't think this is more important

than a damn class?

- Mark, that class is
the only time I get out

of this damn hospital.

Can you understand that?
It's important to me.

- Susan, you're impossible.

- Seven, eight, step-

Buck, buck.

Back, step, out.

One, two, down, three, up, four, and open.

And one and two, three and four, stretch.

Walk, two, three, four,

and five and six, seven, eight, and back.

You gonna leave Mark?

- I don't know. I went home last night.

- Again?

- Yeah, he's impossible.

Did you see Dr. Richards? And?

- I don't know.

Apparently you can tell by looking

at the cervix or something.

It's a different color.

He did the lab tests,

and he says I'm definitely
eight to 10 weeks pregnant.

So Dr. Richards is doing a D&C tomorrow

for menstrual irregularity.

- Mm-hm.

- It's pretty simple, isn't it?

- Are you worried?

- Well, I know you do this every
day, but sure, I'm worried.

Who wouldn't be?

- It'll be fine, Nancy.
It's routine procedure.

We're taking the kid

to the Ice Capades tonight.

It's real crowded.

Patient on call?

Coming right down, Dr. Cowans.

Those instruments
should be autoclaved by now.

Okay, what do
you say we teach you fellas

some anesthesiology, huh?

This is your standard anesthesia cart.

We've got two main wall lines over there.

Nitrous oxide on the left and oxygen.

We got a case today that's a D&C.

It's just one of Dr. Richard's cases.

Actually it's a TAB,

that's a therapeutic abortion, fellas,

so let's keep it clean.

It's a married patient.

How old is John now?

Okay, on the cart
here, we got two manometers

with flow valves here
and here to regulate gas.

We got emergency oxygen down here,

which we checked, and that's full.

During surgery, we're gonna
be recording all of this,

and the vital signs as well.

Hey, how is Bess?

I don't know. In and out.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Boy, she has more
rails than anybody I know.

I know, but
she's seeing a shrink now.

One, two, three, up.

Who? Anybody we know.

Mm-mm.

Morning, Nancy. Remember me?

I'm Dr. Cowans.

- Dr. Cowans?

Yes, that's right dear,

and you're gonna have a nice long sleep.

Pre-op, she's received
a hundredth of demerol,

0.4 of atropine, so believe me,
fellas, she's pretty relaxed.

I'll say she's relaxed.

Okay, come on Mrs. Greenly, on your back.

That's it.

Gonna meet me for lunch?

I don't know.

I'll have to let you know, okay?

Okay. I'll be in the lounge.

Yeah 'cause
Henry might be calling,

and if he does, no.

Okay, no problem.

Yeah, okay.

Afternoon, Tom.

Afternoon,
Jim. How's our lady?

Oh, she's just about ready.

- I'm still awake.

Not for long, dear.

- You promise?

I'll induce
with sodium Pentothal,

give an IV by syringe.

Okay, Nance, what I want you to do

is start counting from a hundred
backwards real slow, okay?

Here we go.

A hundred.

- 99, 98,

97, 96.

It's quick, stop the Pentothal.

You see, Pentothal, fellas,
isn't really an anesthetic.

Any deep pain right now
and she'd wake right up.

What we need for anesthesia is gas.

So, first I'm gonna inject
some Succinylcholine.

And I want you to watch her chest gauge

because she's gonna stop breathing.

Okay, she's now experiencing
complete muscular paralysis,

and I've got three minutes
to breathe to this girl,

or she's gonna suffocate.

So now we intubate.

Taking a laryngoscope like so.

Hold her head in a hyperextended position.

Enter laterally and put up
the base of the tongue up

and out, visualizing the trachea.

There it is, fellas. Take a look.

Tried the movies last night?

Yeah.

- You see it?
- It's right over there.

Come on, guys!

Okay, take our tube and enter here.

So, in the middle of surgery,

I'm gonna switch over to
the telothane anesthesia.

Stirrups up?

Yeah.

How is John?

Better, he
threw up last night,

but his fever broke today.

I think he'll go back to school tomorrow.

Okay.

Now we can check
the pupillary reflexes.

Even though she's unconscious,

those pupils should still react to light

and let us know that everything's
okay with the old brain.

And that's it.

You know, they say anesthesia's
the easiest job in the world

until something goes wrong.

It's 99% boredom and 1%
scared-shit less panic,

which we try to avoid.

The patient's yours, Dr. Richards.

Now, if you
students will move in behind me,

you'll be able to see
what I am going to do

for this young woman.

A little music, please, Linda.

Actually, what I'm going to do

is get her out of a hell of a mess.

She's pregnant. She doesn't
want her husband to know.

It's none of my business.

I'm just her surgeon.
I don't run her life.

So in fact, our task is simplified

when the uterus is
anteverted and anteflexed.

This is a function of
the muscular attachments

of which there are five.

You should know them.

They're the broad ligaments,

round ligaments, cardinal ligaments,

and the endopelvic fascia,
the uterosacral ligaments.

Again, part of the endopelvic fascia.

Something wrong?

Yeah, she just threw a PVC,

and her blood pressure's falling.

I got 90 over 60.

Well, she's fully oxygenated.

Red as a cherry down here.

Uh, how much longer you got?

Uh, just a couple of minutes.

- I don't like this.

Her blood pressure is still falling.

Damn, maybe we should stop.

She may be getting too
much vagal stimulation.

Jesus Christ.

What's the hell is the matter?

- I don't know what the matter is.

Nothing's the matter!

Well, something's the matter.

This girl's gonna arrest.

- Yeah, well, I can't find anything wrong.

Okay, I get a 100 over 80.
Her pressure's climbing.

All right, let's finish up.

I'd like to get this mother off the table.

Okay, sponge, please.

120 over 80
and climbing. She's okay.

These tissues
can go to pathology.

Sponge, please.

Can I start bringing her out?

Yeah, bring her out, Jim.

- Okay, Mrs. Greenly,
it's time to wake up.

Okay, Nancy, Mrs. Greenly? Wake up.

Nance, can you give me a cough, please?

Nancy?

Oh, Jesus Christ! Her pupils
are fixed and dilated.

What?

- The pupils, they're fixed, dilated.

Oh, my god!

- Pre-op diagnosis,
acute gastric ulceration.

Post-op diagnosis, the same.

Surgeon, Dr. Wilson.

Anesthesia, general.

- Where's Schwartz, cholecystectomy?

- Bed three.

- Thank you.

- Mr. Schwartz, I'm Dr. Bellows.

You don't
got to talk so loud.

- How you feel?

- Ehh.

- Just eh?

You wanna get on your side for me, please?

Wanna get on your side.

- You got to speak up, I can't hear you.

- What'd they give you
in that operating room?

Do you have any pain?

- If I had any pain,

I would go see a doctor-
- I know, you'd see a doctor.

- Yeah, right.

- Now you wanna breathe for me real easy?

That's it, slowly.

- She was given four milligrams narceine

to rule out idiosyncratic
hyper susceptibility

to pre-op narcotic.

- Easy.

- Two units without effect, a
few peripheral fasciculations.

] So it's
not Succinylcholine?

No.

I think we have
to call this delayed return

of consciousness of cryptogenic origin.

- I see no reason not to transfer her

to the surgical intensive care unit.

- Mr. Schwartz, you're gonna be fine.

- That's what you think.

A grim
prognosis, to say the least.

Rather tragic.

Someone
should notify Dr. George.

He'll wanna review the
anesthetic protocol.

Right, he's been paged.

Looks like
another anesthetic reaction.

Page Dr. Bendix, 44432.

Check, George is not here.

I don't where he's gone.

No, Dr. Bendix, Bendix.

Maybe he left the
hospital. Try his office.

- Yeah, could you page
Dr. Wheeler, please?

- So you see, Jimmy,
your kidneys are sick.

They don't work right.

And you need an operation

so we can take out the sick
kidneys and put in a new one.

"Today?

- No, not today.

We have to wait until there's
a kidney that we can put in.

- Tomorrow?

- I don't know when,
but it could be a while.

Dr. Wheeler,
call extension 356.

- And you can have one of
these. Which color do you like?

- Purple.

- Why don't you take two?

- I like purple.

- Mm, I can see that.

- I like red too.

- Dr. Wheeler.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Um, excuse me, I have to
go to intensive care now.

A nurse should be right in.

Surgical ICU.

- What's her status?

- Greenly? Complete squash rot.

She's a total gomer. It's brain death.

No that patient was transferred

to the Jefferson Institute yesterday.

- How can this happen? All this.

Did you do an EEG?

Flat.

Completely flat?

Completely flat.

Did you repeat it?

No, not yet.

What happened during the D&C?

- Nothing, it's an unremarkable case

according to the notes.

Transient PVCs late in the
operation. Nothing else.

- She never woke up?

- No.

- I wanna look at her chart.

- You know, if it had
been a friend of mine,

I don't know if I'd been that cool.

The potassium was what?

1/ 8, are you sure?

It must be a mistake.

- Honey, I'm sorry.

I know you two were really close.

Surgical ICU.

I tell you I'm looking at the EKG.

This patient can't have
a potassium at all.

Susan?

Are you sure you're
talking about patient Johnson,

Emily Johnson?

- Well, there doesn't seem
to be anything unusual

in the chart.

Normal 28-year-old patient
in good health for D&C,

underwent telothane anesthesia,

comes out in irreversible coma.

' HEY, hey, Susan.

Dr. Roberts.

- It's well-documented that
telothane causes liver damage

and severe side effects
in a small percentage

of surgical cases.

That's just the risk of anesthesia.

- I know you're upset.

- I'm not upset.

You think because I'm a
woman, I'm going to be upset.

I'm fine, Mark.

I simply I want to
understand the variables

as they apply to this patient.

I'm sure you agree that's indicated.

- This patient?

- Here we have an ordinary,
rather uninteresting case

of surgical reaction
to telothane anesthesia

in a healthy patient.

- Susan.

As far as I can determine,

there are no unusual aspects

except that the patient was tissue typed.

Surgical ICU.

- Tissue typed for D&C?

There's got to be some mistake.

- Here it is. No name on the
slip and no billing number.

The patient is stable.

- Well, that's not the first
time the lab has run a test

on the wrong patient.

Let's go home. I think you're tired.

- I think I'd better check
the tissue typing lab.

- Why?

Nancy's problem was not
caused by wrong lab tests.

- I know.

- Honey, you're grabbing at straws.

Let's go have some dinner.

- I'm not hungry.

- We'll check the lab in the morning.

- Mark, I wish you'd stop acting

as if there's something wrong with me

or the way I'm thinking.

I'm going to check the lab now.

- They're closed.

- I'm not just gonna stand here!

- Susan, the lab is closed.

It closed at six o'clock.

- Is she all right?

- Yeah, yeah, she just, uh,

she likes to do things her own way.

- Who's that?

Dr. Wheeler.

- Uh, we're closed.

We don't, we don't do any
determinations after six, Doctor.

I wanna look
at your requisition book.

- Ugh.

Tell me, what does it mean

when there's no physician name

and no number on the lab slip?

There's,
there's always a name

or a number, Doctor.

Well, here, for example,

patient Nancy Greenly, you
did tissue typing yesterday,

but there's no physician
name and no billing number.

- Let me see.

Oh yes, yes, you see, it's
been printed out by computer.

That's hospital policy.

See, uh, a certain number of these tests

are randomly ordered by
computer as a quality check.

We do the tests here,
and they're sent out,

and they're done again by an outside lab.

- You're saying the computer
ordered this test on Greenly?

- Yeah, central computer.

- Well, why don't you just show me?

I can't.

- Why not?

- I'm not supposed to do that.

- Please, it's really important.

- Well, anyway, that
information isn't coded.

And if it isn't coded,
I can't pull it out.

I mean, who would want that information?

- Well, let's say, um, I wanted
a list of all the patients

who had tissue typing in the last month.

- Same thing, not coded.

- Oh, what do you do here anyway?

And what good is all this equipment?

I thought you recorded
lots of information.

- We do, but the truth is
we install these computers

to bill patients.

We code patient name and
number, medical or surgical,

admission diagnosis, therapy
and discharge diagnosis.

- Okay, okay, wait a minute.

Can you give me a list
of all surgical patients

with discharge diagnoses of coma?

Okay, we
have one general category

under coma, and nine subcategories
under brain syndromes.

- Good, I want a list
of all surgical patients

with general category of
coma in the past year.

- Phew, you're sure you want it?

- I had no idea.

- It's a big hospital.

Are you married or what?

- Thank you.

- Surgical ICU. That's right.

- Where'd you get this?

You know, it's against the law.

It's totally illegal to tap a data bank.

- I don't see why.

I'm a doctor, I've got a research-

- That's not the point, you know.

Every house officer got
the lecture last year.

No access without authorization.

They could throw you right
off the staff with this.

- Well, never mind that.

- What do you mean never mind?

- Mark, look at this.

240 names,

10 are young people admitted
for minor procedures.

Breast biopsy, appendectomy,

they all come out in a coma.
- So what?

- Aren't you surprised?

- The risk of surgical
anesthesia is six per 100,000.

Now, in a hospital this size,

10 patients in a year is not surprising.

So what the hell you doing?

You missed your rounds this morning.

You didn't scrub in Chandler's
subtotal gastrectomy.

- I had to do something, Mark.

- Well, why the hell
don't you do your job?

Surgical ICU.

- Mr. Murphy is a 35-year-old
architect in good health,

admitted for a lateral
meniscectomy on the right knee.

He's scheduled for this morning.

- Promises, promises.

They keep telling me there's
a delay, another half hour.

Well, the suspense is really killing me.

I thought you doctors liked to operate.

- We'll get to you.

- Oh, I'd hate to be left out.

- How did you get your injury, Mr. Murphy?

- Playing touch football.

You know, with some of
the guys, horsing around.

Dr. Wheeler, see Dr. Harris.

See Dr. Harris in his office.

The chief of surgery himself.

Playing touch football, huh?

Yeah, so I come
in and all that happens.

- Thanks very much, Herb.

We'll get together on it later.

Would you come in, please?

Excuse me.

- Sit down, Sue.

Yes.

Dr. Harris,
it's Senator Brooke's office.

He wonders if you can change the meeting

to four this afternoon.

- Yes, four is fine.
Notify Henry, will you?

Yes, sir.

- Sue, I like to think

that Boston Memorial is the
best hospital in the city,

perhaps in the country.

I'm committed to it,

to the house staff we
have here and to you.

I think you know that.

But we have certain
constraints imposed on us.

One is the state law concerning privacy

in computer data access.

An unauthorized entry was made last night.

We put the young man on probation.

But he told us he made the
illegal entry on your behalf.

- That's true, sir.

- All the discharge diagnoses of coma

over a 12-month period?

- I wanted it, you see,
because I had an idea.

And if you-
- Well, forgive me.

But it isn't a question
of why you wanted it,

it's how you got it.

I understand you have personal reasons

for being under stress,

for not acting as carefully as you might.

And I'm sympathetic to
the way you must feel

about the, uh, uh, Greely case.

- Greenly, Nancy Greenly.

- Greenly, yes, Nancy Greenly case.

I certainly don't wanna lose
a good surgical resident.

Well, I think we can handle this, Sue.

I'll keep the, uh, evidence,

and we'll just forget it
ever happened, all right?

But I'd like you to see someone.

- Who?

I was thinking
of Dick Morelind.

- Dr. Harris, I'm fine.

I don't need a shrink.

- No, no, I know you don't.

But I think it's important

to have on the record a
talk with Dick Morelind.

- Well, I don't see why.

- Actually, it's a precondition

to your continuing on
here at Memorial, okay?

- I understand.

I think it's unfair, that's all.

Everybody's on my back about this.

I mean there's Mark's whining

about how I can't make a commitment,

and I'm cold, and I want a wife,
and I'm afraid of intimacy.

And then this thing happens to Nancy,

and she's my best friend just about,

I've known her since boarding school.

And then everybody jumps on my back

and acts like I'm neurotic or something,

and I'm not doing my job.

- I think there's concern
about breaking the law.

- I wanted to do something.
Do you understand?

Do something right away.

I just couldn't sit there
and watch Nancy and-

- How do you feel about
what happened to Nancy?

- Confused, that's all.

Just confused.

It's very confusing.

I wanted to understand
what happened to her.

Nobody else in the hospital seems to care.

- Nobody else cares?

- Listen.

There have been 10 cases
of unexplained coma

in young, healthy
patients in the last year.

Now, don't you find that surprising?

- No.

- You don't.

- Susan, this hospital does
30,000 operations a year.

Now I'm not surprised a few turn out

with serious, unexplained side effects.

Medicine isn't perfect.

We all accept that, don't we?

Basically, there's a crisis
in her personal life.

She's involved with one of your residents.

- Yeah, I know.

- And this led her to overreact
to this grief situation,

which she has not consciously faced.

Gastric suction, fluid-

- She's under stress, a little paranoid.

- Hmm, think we'll have
any more trouble with her

in the future?

- I don't think so.

- I hope you're right.

- I hate to admit it.

I think I was really upset about Nancy.

- Yeah. You on call tonight?

- Mm-hm.

- SO am I.

Why don't we have a terrific dinner,

just the two of us in
the hospital cafeteria?

- Sounds great.

- About 11?

- You got a date.

- All right, maybe afterwards,

we can go to our favorite
room on the eighth floor.

Mm.

- Mm, nobody's gonna be
there after midnight.

I think we're
looking at cortical anoxia.

I'll check the Babinski.

How old is he?

35.

- When did you administer
the additional dosage?

- Right after the onset
of cardiac irritability.

The surgeon said he was little light.

- Surgeons never know
anything about anesthesia.

What'd you give?

- Two ccs push.

There was no reason, there
might be any other problem.

Just seemed a little light.

Some PVCs in runs, transient hypotension,

but there was no sign of hypoxia.

Skin color and blood in the field

were all red and fully oxygenated.

- Well, the pupils are fixed and dilated,

I must presume brain death.

You see any relation to your other case?

- Completely different.

Different staffs, different
anesthetic agents.

No, I think
he better be trached.

Do we need a pulmonary consult first?

- Request the consult, but go
ahead with the tracheotomy.

This is definitely a
long-term management problem.

- Susan, come on.
- Why don't you request-

- Mark, it happened again.

- That's Dr. George, chief of anesthesia.

He's got it under control. Let's go.

Is there a research
protocol this case would fit.

- No, he's a good research case.

Excellent teaching material.

It's true, Mr. Murphy presents challenges.

Electrolyte balance IV,
caloric maintenance,

possible pseudomonas
infection from the respirator.

There may be additional
risk of staph osteomyelitis

in the joint capsule,

but I think you'll be agreeably
surprised, Dr. George.

We can keep him alive
in stable vital signs,

a year, two years, indefinitely.

- Listen, you can't
just look the other way.

- Nobody's looking the other way.

- Mark, twice in two
clays. It's not normal.

- Susan, in certain cases,
patients are always-

- I know, you told me all that.

Two in two days.

- You're just sensitized to it.

It just happened to a
close friend of yours,

and now you're looking for it.

Twice in two days is just our lousy luck.

Did Harris take the computer readout?

- Yes, he did.

- All right, then forget it.

The hospital has review
boards and committees.

They'll look into it.

Now, you got a job to
do, so forget about this.

- You're right, you're right.

- I'll see you at dinner?

Mm-hm.

Dr. Williams,
Dr. Peter Williams, 1174.

1174, Dr. Williams.

- This is Dr. Wheeler.

Yes, I know about the conference,

but I'm tied up with a patient now.

Well, I'm afraid I can't
make it there in time.

Where am I?

I'm in the emergency ward.

Yes, it is important.

Will you hold on?

- Well, that's funny, Dr. Wheeler,

but all these charts you wanted,

they're all signed out to Dr. George,

the chief of anesthesiology.

Good afternoon, Dr. George.

- Good afternoon, staff.

We have a happy lab here.

It's a precise lab.

There's nothing left to
chance. There are no mistakes.

So the charts are right here.

There's no mystery. They're right here.

What is it you wanted?

- I'd like to look at them.

- For what reason?

- I'm interested in unexplained coma

following routine surgery.

- You're interested?

- Yes.

- Young lady, I'm more than interested.

My anesthesiology staff
is more than interested.

We're deeply, intensely concerned.

- I understand your feelings.

- I'm not sure you do.

- Perhaps something was missed?

- Missed?

Every professor of anesthesia,
most of our house staff,

more than 40 expert people
have gone over these charts.

You think something was missed?

- But if anything links them all together-

- If anything linked them
together, we'd know it.

Here they are.

There are 10 cases there, now 12.

They're different ages and
sexes, different surgeons,

different anesthetists,
different methods of induction.

These cases share nothing in
common except they all emerged

with unexplained coma.

Now, we're certainly not
neglecting that problem.

- I didn't say you were.

Do you mind if I just have a look at them?

- I'm afraid I do mind.

Thank you for your interest,
however misplaced, Dr. Wheeler.

- Good afternoon.

- Oh, my god, you did,
how could you do that?

Susan, Dr. George is a past president

of the American Society
of Anesthesiologists.

He's also a member of the AAAS.

He's on the advisory board of the NIH,

and you tell the man he
might be doing his job wrong.

- I just wanted to see the charts.

- That's not your area.

That's not your responsibility.
You're way off base.

You know who his wife is?

- I don't care.

- Well, you should.

His wife is Amy Cabot.

She's related to Godfrey Lowell.

- I don't care about this Boston Society.

- Dr. George's wife is worth somewhere

between 50 and $100 million.

When she dies, that money
is gonna go somewhere.

- So what?

- So he's got a lot of
muscle in this hospital.

He's the wrong man to cross.

- You afraid to be seen with me?

317.

Come in.

Dr. Robert Benson.

Hi, Bill.

- How are you, Mark?

Good.

- Sit down.

You know, Mark, I always thought

that you'd have this job
when I leave next year.

I think everybody thinks so.

You're the logical choice.

You're a good surgeon,
you're well-organized,

you run a good service.

Well, thank you very much, Bill.

- I hate to see anything
standing your way.

You know what I mean?

She's got the chiefs of
service in an uproar, Mark.

She's under a lot
of pressure at the moment.

- And so are we.

We're talking about releasing her

from her position here at the Mem,

but nobody really wants that
kind of adverse publicity,

that commotion.

Of course, not.

- Do you have any influence with her?

- I don't know. She's paranoid.

Thinks there's a conspiracy.

George's keeping the charts
from her did not help.

- Does she think you're involved?

- No, no, I don't think so.

- Let's hope not, Mark.

What happens to Susan in the
future may depend on you.

I understand that, Bill.

- You know, Mark,

a good chief resident handles
problems like this every day.

I think if you're able to
exert some influence over her,

people would be very appreciative.

- Well, I'll try.

- Good man.

You'll come to the hospital.

We are waiting
for the status results.

Pleased to talk to you.

- Just a minute. Where's Greenly?

- That coma case?

She was due to be transferred today

to the Jefferson Institute.

I guess she went there.

Hey, Liz, did Greenly in
bed three go to Jefferson?

- No, didn't make it.

She arrested at six this morning.

She's down in pathology.

- In pathology?

Yeah, they're probably
doing the autopsy now.

Surgical ICU.

There's a wrinkled appearance.

The interior edge of the organ
can be bent without tearing,

as evidence of its structure.

The gross appearance is consistent

with acute yellow necrosis of the liver.

Presumably secondary to
fatal viral hepatitis.

- Do you have a patient
down here named Greenly?

- I don't know, check in there.

I can't keep track of names.

In microscopic section,

we may expect evidence
of fatty degeneration

in necrotic cells, with
infiltration of polymorphs

and histiocytes around them.

Okay, incise the kidney there.

Looks normal.

Okay, remove it.

- Greenly?

- This is Howard. Greenly's over there.

- Hi, Jim.

- Hi, Sue. What brings
you down here?

Interested in this case?

- That's right.

Hell of a puzzler, isn't it?

Young girl, good health,
in for a therapeutic AB,

comes out comatose.

- You found anything?

- Naturally, we started with the brain.

Grossly, it was normal.

I was gonna do a section in a minute.

Wanna see that?

Ordinarily we don't get these coma cases,

get shipped to Jefferson.

What's Jefferson?

- Jefferson Institute.

It's a chronic care
facility in the suburbs.

Government thing.

They take care of the vegetables.

Sometimes, they die before
they get there, like this one.

More work for us.

Now we'll get some idea.

We're looking for anything.

Micro-infarcts, staph loci,

gross hemorrhagic areas,
congenital defects.

Nothing, just like the other
cases, we come up cold.

- Jim, I know it sounds silly,

but, um, supposing you wanted
to put people into a coma,

what would you do?

- You mean on purpose?

- Diethyl para-amino tannadol.

- Oh, no, it leaves a serum trace.

- Yeah, if you know to look for it.

- But it also peaks alk phos.

It's a real giveaway.

Besides, who can get tannadol?

- Then you can use paradine.

- It has a taste.

We'd all make great murderers.

I mean, who knows better about
murder than a pathologist?

- It sure she keeps my wife in line.

- Hell of a lot of crimes
slip through our fingers,

I tell you.

- But in this case, a coma.

- First rule of crime, keep it simple.

What's simple? Carbon monoxide.

Boring.

- Carbon monoxide?

- Sure, it's perfect.

Anesthetist feeds the
patients some carbon monoxide

instead of oxygen.

It's colorless that
makes the blood very red

so the surgeon doesn't
notice anything funny.

But the brain dies from lack of oxygen.

End of operation, patient doesn't wake up.

- No other effects?

- Sure, other effects.
Cardiac irritability.

- Which this case had.

- You know, it'd be much better

to block the neuromuscular
junction with Succinylcholine.

Now that's a nice murder.

Yeah, who's gonna do it?

Well, who's gonna
feed your carbon monoxide?

- That's the problem.

Been about a dozen of
these coma cases here

in the last year.

They're always different.

Different case, different
anesthetists, different operation.

Hard to imagine it's murder.

- Are you sure?

- Susan, what do you think?

There's a conspiracy at the
Boston Memorial Hospital

involving all the anesthetists?

- I've had a rather hysterical call

from Dr. George in anesthesiology.

Dr. George is a very powerful person here,

not only because of his position.

There are other reasons.

I gather.

- Now, what does that mean?

- Just because somebody
has got a rich wife,

he shouldn't be able to
throw his weight around.

- Oh, you're looking for
truth and justice, huh?

- I'm looking for fairness.

- Well, in fairness, Susan,

you've challenged the
professional competence

of a chief of service at this hospital.

And he didn't take it well.
No reason why he should.

Now he's out for blood.

I've noticed.

- Sue, believe me, I'm on your side,

for all kinds of reasons.

Including the fact

that I don't wanna let another
chief of service get one

of my house officers fired.

- Dr. Harris, I just wanted
to look at his charts.

- Sue, right now, I can protect
you because you're good,

and frankly, because you're a woman.

- I don't want any concessions.

- Well, at the moment, you
better take any you can get.

You know what happened to Greenly?

- Yes.

What happened?

- She died.

- How do you feel about that?

- How do I feel?

I feel...

She was my best friend.

She understood me.

She understood me.

It's not fair.

None of this is fair.

- Here.

- Nobody understands.

- I know, I know.
- Nobody.

Yes.

Dr. Harris,
you have the secretary of HEW

on the phone from Washington.

- Call back.

Too many of us shut ourselves
off from our feelings.

We don't explore them,
we don't understand them.

We don't understand ourselves.

You're experiencing the toughest
thing about our profession.

- Dr. Harris.

- I'll take care of the politics.

You just look out for yourself.

Take the weekend off, Sue.

Go walk on the beach. Get
away from the hospital.

- I'm so embarrassed by this.

- No, don't be, don't be.

Our emotions are what make us human.

Come on.

Come and see me next week, all right?

Right.

- Good.

Have a good weekend.

Thank you, sir.

Women, Christ!

Why don't you just come out

and say you don't believe me?

- A man fixed your car
so it wouldn't start.

And then he followed you
into the MTA station.

- Well it's true.

Here's comes Mick.

They're gonna wave him in.

- Susan, your car is always breaking down.

Look, I just think you're tired.

- I'm not tired.

- Why don't we go away for the weekend?

We go up the coast, have some fun.

Just forget the hospital.

- Mark, there are 12 coma cases.

Now, nobody thinks anything links them,

but I've seen the charts for two of them.

Nancy and now this new guy, Murphy.

- And?

- And they both occurred in OR 8.

- OR 8?

- What if, what if carbon monoxide

were being pumped in OR 8?

What if that were true?

Get your coat on.

- What?

- We're gonna take a look right now. OR 8.

Well?

- Well.

Looks okay.

- How many operations you've done in here?

- A lot.

You ever had any problems?

- Nope.

- Well, I already checked.

The day Nancy had her problem,

there were five other operations.

Four before, one after.

The day Sean Murphy had
his, there were six others.

Two before and four after.

They were all normal.

- Let's get out of here.

- This is what you call
really working for it.

- No fair.

- Fair.

Thought we were gonna
take the weekend off.

- Come on. Just a quick look.

Please, for me.

- I don't know.

- I doesn't seem to be anybody around.

You wanna go in?

- Not really, no.

-I do.

- Can I help you?

- I'm Dr. Wheeler.

- You're early, aren't you, Doctor?

- Early?

- You're supposed to come on
Tuesday, day after tomorrow.

That's when the tour is scheduled.

- The tour?

- Yes, it's every Tuesday at 11.

The regular tour for physicians.

- Could I see it now?

- Well, I'm afraid that's
impossible, Doctor.

- I just thought as long as I'm here.

- We're simply not set up for it.

- May I speak with a
senior physician in charge?

- There is no physician in charge.

Well, then your supervisor.

- I have no supervisor.

Who runs the staff.

- There is no staff.

- You mean you are here alone?

- Of course, not. There are
technicians, security people.

I'm sure when you've
taken the tour on Tuesday,

it will all be clear to you.

What did you say your name was?

- Dr. Wheeler. Susan Wheeler.

- We look forward to seeing
you at 11, Dr. Wheeler,

on Tuesday, goodbye.

The other day, we had-

I mean
right there with the guy

on the table.

- I heard what you said
to Dr. George in the lab.

I heard what you said to him.

You're right.

- Right about what?

- I've seen how they do it.

I know how it works.

- How what works?

Susan.

Uh, Do you want to, uh, scrub in

on an aortic valve replacement?

Harvey's doing one in room
16 in about 10 minutes.

- Sure.

- Oh that's great

because Tom was gonna scrub in,

but, uh, his case is
running a little late.

- I checked them out.

- You come down to maintenance tonight.

I'll show it to you.

Hello, Sue.

Good morning, sir.

- Did you have a good weekend?

- Yes, I did. Thank you.

Evening.

- Good evening.

You just gonna stare at me?

- No.

- What'd you do that for?

- They said make it look like an accident.

- What's the hell's happening?

- Emergency generator
will kick in in a minute.

Kelly?

Kelly?

What do you got now?

Nothing.

Try the connector cable.

- Okay, Doctor, I think
that does it for me.

You got anything else, Tom?

- No, I don't think I need anything else.

- If we need to talk to you again-

- You can reach me at the hospital.

Must be a
short in the junction box,

or the step-down panel.

It should read 14 point something.

14.3.

Okay,
now we should have 11.9.

11, nine.

And now there's-

- 14, three.

- Good, nothing's shorted
so far. We got lucky.

Phew, poor Kelly.

Poor Kelly?

He got sloppy.

You know what it is?

All that drinking at lunch.

I told him, "Stop drinking at lunch.

You'll get into trouble."

Two and two's the count.

Can't get much more than that.

- What did you leave in here, Doctor?

- Just some charts.

- Yeah, but I better call Dr. George

and tell him I let you in.

- It's all right. I have
to call him later anyway.

- Well, okay.

Boston ahead by one.

- That's great.

- I've got 20 bucks on this game.

It's really something.

- What is it?

Hospital security, Doctor.

What's the score?

Just a routine check, Doctor.

- Easy, kids.

- Jerry?

- Hi, Sue, what's going on?

- Oh, Jerry, I'm so happy to see you.

- That's the nicest thing
anybody's said to me all day.

Is something wrong?

- You see, there's this guy.

He said he was hospital security.

- Yeah.

- Well, I happen to know that that he-

- It's a
high fly ball, inner field,

and he's out!

- You were saying?

- I guess I have an
over active imagination.

- You should be like me.

Everybody says I have no
imagination at all.

Well, see you, I'm going over
to the medical school library.

- I'll go with you.

- So the proximal tubular
filtration gradient

may be actually more than
500 milliequivalents.

That means there's an active
transport mechanism involved

with phosphorylated ATP.

But if you trace radioisotopes
and cut sections,

densities don't look right.

It could really be a breakthrough

in our understanding of the kidney.

Remember how you used to
get that yellow cadaver skin

under your fingernails?

Nobody could eat lunch.

It seems like a long time ago.

- Back in the days when
we couldn't eat lunch.

Wouldn't you know?

Dr. Marcus.

Yes, well, if he's complaining of pain,

try another five ccs IM.

I see, well, then, uh, MS 10 milligrams.

Yes, morphine sulfate.

He's not in respiratory difficulty.

Well, the point is you can put him

on respiratory arrest with morphine.

Particularly if he's on wall O2.

No, you'll have to check
and see what he's on.

Air is fine but oxygen, well.

Well, if he's on wall oxygen,

tell me how many liters of flow.

Six liters?

You can't put him on MS.

You'll have to stay with Talwin.

Give him five ccs of water
and tell him it's morphine.

Probably never know the difference.

He's a pain in the ass anyway.

- Mark, it's so awful.

It's so terrible.

- Take it easy. Honey,
slow down, slow down.

He was trying to kill
me, and I had to keep going.

And all the bodies. It's horrible!

- Easy, easy, honey. Just take it easy.

Slow down.

- Mark, it's all happening.

It's really happening.

Somebody's putting people into comas.

They're murdering them.

- I know, I know.

- No, no, no, really.

Kelly's dead.

I was down there.

I found the gas line.

It starts in the basement and
it goes up the main tunnel,

and then it plugs into the oxygen line-

- Easy, easy, easy.

- In the ceiling that goes to OR 8.

- Slow down, honey, slow down.

- They're killing people
with carbon monoxide in OR 8.

- They have a radio to turn the valve.

- I believe you. I do, I believe you.

- All the cases happened in OR 8,

and they all went to
the Jefferson Institute.

And this guy, he chased me all over.

And there were so many bodies.

- It's all right, it's
all right, it's okay.

- And this is real.

Call the police.

We have to do, we have to do something.

This is real, Mark.

- We'll do something.

- I can prove it.

- Sure, you can, you can.

You just lie down.

- This is real.

- I know you can.

Now one thing at a time, all right?

I wanna give you a Valium and-

- No.

- Okay, okay, how about a cup of tea

to settle you down, a cup of hot tea?

All right?
- Okay.

- Then we're gonna talk
after you settle down.

- Okay-

- All right.

So you just rest right here, okay?

You just stay right here on the bed.

Attagirl, that's it, you just relax.

That's it, just relax.

Close your eyes. That's it.

Okay, attagirl.

Now, I'll get you a cup of tea.

- You're so great, Mark.

- Stay here, honey. Just stay right here.

That's a hell of a story, Susan.

You really had a lot of people worried.

Don't worry, everything's
gonna be okay now.

She came back.

Yeah, no, she's here now.

Of course.

No, I can manage that.

I'll keep her here.

Look, I'd better go.

Susan, you want some honey with your tea?

Susan?

Susan!

Susan!

Memorial
Hospital residents' exchange.

This is Dr. Wheeler.

Are there any messages for me?

Oh,
yes, Doctor, Quite a few.

Just a minute, please.

I'm sorry, Dr. Wheeler,
I'll have to call you back.

What number can you be reached at?

Dr. Wheeler, are you there?

What number can we reach you at?

- We are dealing in an
area of uncertainty.

An area where there are no
rules, contradictory laws,

and no clear social consensus
as to what should be clone.

At the same time, the cost of
care for the chronic patient

has become prohibitive.

This is particularly the case

with the long-term comatose patient.

The Jefferson Institute

is a government-sponsored
experimental facility designed

to provide quality life support
to the comatose patient.

I wish to emphasize,

no moral or ethical position
is being taken here.

We do not participate in the debate

over whether these unfortunate
patients are alive or dead

or whether their care should
be continued or terminated.

Society will decide
whether there will be more

of these facilities in the future or not.

In the meantime, we merely provide care

as inexpensively as possible.

Now, you will all please come this way.

This is our visiting room where
relatives can see patients

who are stored here.

You see, it all looks quite normal.

We found it is inadvisable for relatives

to know the actual
circumstances of patient care.

It's just too much of a shock.

So we bring the patient here.

After the relatives visit,

we return them to the main care facility.

If you'll all please put on your glasses,

we'll go there now.

This is our main care facility.

Temperature here is 94.7 degrees
Fahrenheit, humidity 82%.

This stability reduces patient heat loss

and caloric requirements.

There's a low level ultraviolet,
bacteriostatic flux.

And to prevent bed sores,

patients are suspended by
wires through long bones.

How do you get
to the patients up there?

- There's no need for contact.

Every one of our patients
is individually monitored

by the computer.

Indwelling telemetry records
weight, fluid balance,

blood pressure, blood gases,
temperature, metabolic balance.

Our computer makes an immediate adjustment

for any change in condition.

For example, we are producing
simulated hypotension

by direct compression
of the telemetry unit.

The computer will sense this

and make an immediate adjustment.

Well, almost immediate.

Sometimes there's a...

There we are.

Sometimes there is a short cycle delay,

but as you can see,

the computer has placed the patient

at the Trendelenburg position

and administered a
short-acting vasoconstrictor.

Actually, we have very few crises here.

With the assistance of technology,

these patients are maintained beautifully.

Without it, they would be dead.

They would've died long ago.

But the law says they must be maintained,

and this is one technological solution.

- How large is your staff?

- One nurse, a physician on
call, two computer technicians,

and a small security staff, that's all.

- Can we see the rest of the building?

- It's of no interest.

Just mechanical technical facilities.

- What's the cost here?

- For each patient, about $60 a day,

but we have the capacity to
store a thousand patients,

and then, of course,
the cost will go down.

We expect to maintain
patients for about $5 a day,

less than it cost to hire a
babysitter for a few hours.

Now if there are no further questions,

this concludes our tour of
the Jefferson Institute.

Before you go, we have some
literature we'd like you

to take with you

and explain some of the
background and details

of our work here.

We hope the tour has been informative.

And please, if you have any questions

about the Jefferson Institute,
don't hesitate to call.

- Something shouldn't
be a matter of money.

- Maybe your patients don't
complain about their bills.

- Thank you for your interest.

Good bye, good bye.

- You know what I wanted?

I wanted corned beef on rye,

or else, I wanted roast beef with Russian.

And what do you bring me? Ham and cheese.

- Well, that's all they had.

- You mean to tell me they
didn't have any corned beef?

No corned beef?

That's what the man said.

What do you want me to do?

No corned beef.

The guy must have been putting you on.

- George says we're having
an electrical inspection

tomorrow morning by the
utilities commission.

Are we set for that? Norman!

- Yes, we should be.

Do you want the program
now, the bidding program?

- In a moment.

- Did you see the game last night?

Two out, Bumbry's up.

He hits a ball to left field.

Roy White chances it,
misses it and goes for a triple.

Lungs, 1100 grams.

Kidneys, 780, 620.

80, 620.

What about the heart?

I wrote it
down here someplace.

What's the temperature?

Right now,
12 degrees centigrade,

and all the rest at 14.

Hey, Tom.

What?

Where's that heart going?

Huh, what? San Francisco.

I think they're getting $75,000 for it.

Is that all?

Yeah, it was a bad
match on tissue typing.

Only two out of four.

But it's a rush order.

Well, the
kidney's a four-tissue match

and is in perfect condition.

They'll get 200 grand for that.

It's going to Texas.

A millionaire's son.

Good old George has the connections.

So far, George is doing fine.

What about the other kidney?

They're putting it up for bids.

They'll get 100 for it.

- We have a left kidney, two
hours old, ready to ship.

It's a 4367, a 31-year-old male.

The bidding now stands at 42,500.

Thank you. 45.

Hello? It's at 45.

Well, it could be in Zurich in-

- Zurich, the fastest
routing is New York, Rome.

It's gonna arrive local time 1300 hours,

which means the elapsed time
after surgery is 23 hours.

- 23 hours elapsed time,

which would make it 1:00 p.m. your time.

That's the best we can do.

Thank you.

Hello.

- Hey, what's that?

Look at monitor four.

- All units, all units.

There is an unauthorized
woman in the building.

Contain this person maintaining-

- Let's take her alive.

Hold it, don't shoot.

Visiting room, clear, over.

Roger, second
floor lobby, clear.

Has anyone checked
the main care facility? Over.

We have no reports from that sector.

Now on the second floor corridor.

System's all clear, repeat.

Don't you
have a key to this place?

No intruders
on sub-basement one.

Repeat, no intruders on sub-basement one.

Team two-

- Unit one, we found her.

She's gone outside on the ledge.

It's too far for her to jump.

- I don't see her. She's not out there.

- She's out there. She won't get far.

We got her now.

Have the dogs
start on the north side

but I want them to circle
the building perimeter.

I want security at all
entrances and exits.

Notify them by radio.

Search the basement labs and the roof.

Get moving. I've had enough
of this inefficiency.

Perimeter dog team, come in.

Repeat, come in.

Main control,
any readings from outside?

Where are the dogs now?

I don't know
where the hell she is.

Well, she's got
to be around here somewhere.

- There, there. It's
going to be all right.

It's going to be all right.

First floor lobby, check in.

First floor lobby, please respond.

- No, she's not here.

Of course I've been notified.

I'm keeping an eye out for her.

If she comes round here, we'll get her.

There's no way she can escape.

- Let's get this loaded quick.

I got to make it to Logan in
time for the Dallas flight.

And we got rush hour traffic.

Even with the siren, I gotta
get through the Sumner Tunnel.

Life gets tougher all the time.

I see you got the dogs out.

- Yeah, we got a little security problem.

- We all got problems.
World's full of problems.

- Take it away!

Dr. Rogers, 2204.

Dr. Earl Rogers, 2204.

- Do me a favor, will you?

Don't say anything to upset her.

I wouldn't say anything.

She's an
old woman. She's sick.

She's gonna die, Mary.

Did the doctor say that?

- I don't know.

- She's your own mother,

and you don't know what the doctor said?

I'll believe the doctor,
whatever the doctor say,

I'll believe.

- Just don't upset her. This could be it.

This could be the end.

- It's incredible.

Well, I could use a drink.

How about you, Scotch?

- Whatever you're having, sir.

- I like a woman who drinks Scotch.

You've done a remarkable thing, Sue.

Your dedication, your concern,

your pursuit of this problem.

It's all extremely impressive.

And I'm very grateful.

- Thank you.

- Cheers.

In fact, I'm more than grateful.

I'm deeply in your debt.

Now the question is how do we handle this?

- You arrest Dr. George.

— Yes.

Sorry, Dr. Harris.

It's Landis in Washington.

- Put him on.

Excuse me.

Hello, Tom. How are you?

Fine, fine, just fine.

Well, sure, I'd be delighted to testify.

You know how strongly I
feel about the matter.

But have you consulted the president?

Uh-huh, I see.

This won't take long.

Uh-huh.

Good, good.

Good, thanks for calling, Tom. Bye.

You've put me in a
difficult position, Sue.

It seems you know everything.

- You're George.

- I wonder if you can understand.

If you can take the long view.

The view of a person in my position.

- You did it?

- No decision is easy, Sue.

It only looks that way when you're young.

When you're older,
everything is complicated.

There is no black and white. Only gray.

But our society faces momentous decisions.

Decisions about the right
to die, about abortion,

about terminal illness,

prolonged coma, transplantation.

Decisions about life and death.

But society isn't deciding,

Congress isn't deciding,
the courts aren't deciding.

Religion isn't deciding, why?

Because society is leaving
it up to us, the experts.

The doctors.

- You're crazy.

- Americans spend $125
billion a year on health,

more than defense.

Because Americans believe in medical care.

These great hospital complexes

are the cathedrals of our age.

Billions of dollars, thousands of beds,

a whole nation of sick people
turning to us for help.

- You, you ought to see somebody.

They're children, Sue.

They trust us.

We can't tell them everything.

Our job is to make things easier for them.

I'm sure you agree.

- You're killing people.

- We must always take the long view,

not of the individual,
but of society as a whole

because medicine is now
a great social force.

The individual is too small.

That's the drug.

It produces abdominal spasm
and peritoneal symptoms.

It must be very painful.

It's too bad.

But look at it from the
practical standpoint.

Somebody has to make these decisions.

We can't wait around forever.

If society won't decide, we'll decide.

We'll make the hard decisions.

This is Dr. Harris.

Schedule an emergency
appendectomy in OR 8.

It's a member of the
house staff, Dr. Wheeler.

I've examined her. She
requires immediate surgery.

- Okay, honey, now just sit up.

Come on, that's it. That's good.

Yes, here we go.

- It's the drug.

- Yes, yes, it's gonna be just fine.

Doctors make the worst patients.

They know too much, I guess.

Dr. Edwards, 1011.

Dr. Edwards, 1011.

- Susan, Susan.

why'd You run away?

I was just talking to your mother.

She was worried about you.

- Mark.

Everybody's
been worried about you.

- Mark. Mark.

- Honey, I love you.

You're gonna be just fine.

- No, Mark, listen. You have to stop this.

I'm fine, I am.

- But your appendix is not fine.

- No, Mark.

- You've got plus-four peritonitis,

guarding and spasm, honey.

- No.

- Susan, you do.

- No, I don't.

- There's no question about it.

- Mark, check my white count
and sed rate, it's normal.

Please.

- Huh, the tests aren't here.

But darling, with these physical signs,

it has to be appendicitis.

- Please.

- It's better to be safe
and have the operation.

Besides, you're in the best of hands.

- Mark.

- Dr. Harris himself's
gonna do the procedure, huh?

How about that?

The chief of surgery is
gonna take your case.

I don't want him.

- Well, how's our patient doing?

- She's fine. Just slightly delirious.

- Oh that's normal with appendicitis.

Besides, we all know doctors
make the worst patients.

You gonna scrub in?

- Dr. Harris, we have OR
7 ready for your case.

- I wanted OR 8.

Well, they're
just finishing up in there.

It isn't ready yet.

I specifically requested OR 8.

It'll take a couple of minutes.

Well, hurry it up.

Our patient can't wait all night, can she?

You gonna scrub in?

- Uh, excuse me, let me
just answer this page, sir.

Yeah, this is Dr. Bellows.

Yes, Dr. Bellows.

It's that serious, huh?

Is what that serious?

- All right, I'll be right there.

Dr. Bellows?

We're ready in OR 8, Dr. Harris.

- We'll start at once. Bellows?

- Patient on surgical
two's got convulsions.

- Join me as soon as you can.

- Yes, sir.

- You can take her in.

You certainly
are lucky, Dr. Wheeler,

with Dr. Harris himself
doing the operation.

Couldn't ask
for a better man, huh?

- I want-

- Now, now, now, just lie back.

You're going to have a
nice, wonderful sleep.

Just relax.
- No, no.

Easy, Sue,
we'll take good care of you.

I found the oxygen line.

It starts in the basement, and
it goes up the main tunnel,

and then it plugs in the
ceiling that goes to OR 8.

Do we have enough sponges?

I think we better order
some more 4-0 Chromex.

We're almost out.

We could use a few more....

We have to do this one right.

House officers deserve
the very best of care

in their own hospital.

I'm giving you Pentothal, Sue.

I want you to take some
good, deep breaths, dear.

In and out.

The patient's film, Dr. Harris.

They look normal, don't they?

Pity acute appendicitis
doesn't show up more clearly

in the X-rays.

She has an inny.

A what?

An inny, the bellybutton.

Some are innies, some are outties.

Hers is an inny.

Let me know
when she's fully under.

She's ready
for you, Dr. Harris.

Scalpel, please.

What's that?

- It's a PVC.

There's another one.

Too light?

I don't think so, sir.

Maybe you'd
better deepen anesthesia.

Blood pressure's
dropping. I don't understand.

Want me to stop?

- No, it'll be all right, sir.

I'll be happy to stop a moment.

It's okay, Dr. Harris.

You're recommending I go on?

- Son of a...

Son of a bitch, son of
a bitch, son of a bitch!

Here it is.

Hmm, looks normal.

Never know it from her symptoms.

- It's rather nice to see the chief

of surgery get caught sometimes.

Happens to
the best of us. Okay.

All right, you can bring her out now.

Right, sir.

Uh-oh, Dr. Harris.

Yes?

She's doesn't seem
to be coming around, sir.

- Ah, just give her a minute.
I'm sure she'll be just fine.

I don't know, sir.

She's okay, sir.

She's just fine, Dr. Harris.

Nice case, Dr. Harris.

- Mark, Mark.

Don't let him do the operation.

- I know, baby.

I know, I know.

We're waiting
for you, Dr. Harris.