Looks like I missed a whole week on the blog. I apologize for that, but I do have a great «оправдание» [excuse]. «Дело в том» [The case is] that I had «операция» [a surgery]. As far as surgeries go, it was a minor one. Still, I am still bed-ridden.

Since I’ve been busy recovering for the last few days, today’s post is all about «оперaция» [surgery] and related things.

Let’s start with the word «операция» itself. Its most general meaning is “operation”. So it can cover surgeries, police actions, military deployments, and bank transactions among its many meanings.

«Пациенту требуется срочная операция»[Patient requires immediate surgery] – this is not something you want to hear from your doctor. Thankfully, my surgery was «запланированная» [planned, scheduled] one although I was given just a couple of days to prepare.

Of course, unlike the other types of operations, «хирургическая операция» [surgical operation] will be done by «хирург» [a surgeon] in «операционная» [an operating room].

«Пациент» [patient] will be given some sort of «анестезия» [anesthesia]. A more commonly used word for «анестезия» is «наркоз». It means the same thing, anesthesia, but shares the root with the word «наркотик» [narcotic]. The specialist who administers anesthesia is «анестезиолог» [anesthesiologist]. Interestingly, «нарколог» is a specialist who treats drug addictions.

Now, this was my first surgery ever and I was thrilled to learn that I’d be getting «общий наркоз» [general anesthesia] that would carry me through the entire procedure. I was, however, surprised to learn that it would be «амбулаторная операция» [out-patient surgery] which meant I’d be sent home that very same day.  I sort of counted on this being «стационарная операция» [in-patient surgery] requiring a short stay at a hospital under constant care of «квалифицированный медицинский персонал» [qualified medical personnel].

As such, I was released home the same day. Luckily, «мои родители» [my parents] were able to help. Actually, my mom helped and my dad mostly entertained me with stories of how he survived «операция по удалению аппендицита» [appendectomy surgery] while «под местным наркозом» [under local anesthesia].

Here’s an interesting medical trivia for you – «Леонид Рогозов» [Leonid Rogozov] was the man who performed emergency appendectomy on himself in 1961. Reading Rogozov’s own account of the procedure made me feel like a total wimp.

Now, if for some reason you end up having a surgery in a Russian hospital, there are a few words and phrases that you will need, such as

«У меня болит…» [My …. hurts] – insert the applicable body part, always keeping it in nominative – «у меня болит голова» [my head hurts], «у меня болит живот» [my stomach hurts], «у меня болит сердце» [my heart hurts].

In case you forget the Russian word for a particular body part, you can always use the universal «здесь» [here] and a pointing gesture – «у меня болит здесь» [it hurts here].

If it hurts when you try to do something, the phrase is

«Мне больно …» [It hurts to…] then add infinitive of the verb as in «мне больно дышать» [it hurts to breath], «мне больно глотать» [it hurts to swallow], «мне больно стоять» [it hurts to stand].

Thankfully, I am not allergic to any drugs. But if you are, make sure your doctor knows right away by saying «у меня аллергия на…» [I am allergic to…] then the name of the drug. For example, «у меня аллергия на пенициллин» [I am allergic to Penicillin].

Some other useful words are

«капельница» – IV drip

«реанимация» – intensive care unit

«палата» – patient’s room (this can be either private or shared)

«укол» – injection

«противопоказание» – counter-indication

«симптом» – symptom

«жалоба» – complaint

«боль» – pain

«острая боль» – sharp pain

«тупая боль» – dull pain

«приступ» – onset, bout

«врач» – doctor

«медбрат», «медсестра» – nurse, paramedic

«побочный эффект» – side effect

Hopefully this post will be of no use to you whatsoever. But being prepared is not a bad thing, right? What words and phrases would be the most useful to know in the event of medical emergency?