Selzer, Richard : Imelda

Literature Annotations

Genre	Short Story (12 pp.)
Keywords	Acculturation, Body Self-Image, Catastrophe, Children, Death and Dying, Developing Countries, Latina/Latino Experience, Medical Advances, Medical Education, Medical Mistakes, Mourning, Physician Experience, Professionalism, Surgery
Summary	A physician recounts an experience he had assisting an American plastic surgeon as he performed charity surgery in Honduras. One young woman, Imelda, dies of malignant hyperthermia prior to surgical repair of her cleft lip. After her death, the surgeon returns to the patient to finish the surgery. The narrator tries to imagine the surgeon's motivation for this act, as well as the family's reaction to it.
Commentary	This piece is an attention-getter for students. It initiates discussion about medical mistakes, professional behavior, the role of the medical student, and about the effects of catastrophes on the physician.
Source	Letters to a Young Doctor
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Edition	1982
Place Published	New York
Alternate Source	On Doctoring
Alternate Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Alternate Edition	1995, 2001
Alternate Editors	Richard Reynolds & John Stone
Place Published	New York
Miscellaneous	This story also appears in Selzer's The Doctor Stories (New York: Picador USA) 1998.
Annotated by	Squier, Harriet A.
Date of Entry	12/15/95
Last Revised	03/05/02