MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Dr. Steve Shafer - Question submission closed

[ivy]

With great joy I can report that Dr. Steve Shafer has agreed to answer questions. So what are waiting for, ask away.

Note : I love Dr. Shafer

[prismsagainst5live]

what does he think of dr. white? what does he think about Walgren?

[LastTear]

Excellent news! Wow I'll have to try and think of something intelligent to ask, might take a while! I love Dr Shafer as well. Who next Ivy......Walgren?

[CaptainEoLove85]

Oh that's awesome. I never know what to ask on these Q&As, but I appreciate them.

[Ben]

Note : I love Dr. Shafer

No kidding.

Has he got any personal idea of what really happened that morning, based on what he knows?

[The Brown Gangsta]

Dear Dr. Shafer,

First id like to offer my condolences for the loss of your father during the trial. Thank you for entertaining or questions.

1. I sensed some tension from dr white towards you during the trial, did this animosity stem from the events of the trial or is the a history to this? (no need to explain the gory details)
2. Do you feel that your testimony helped alleviate patient concerns about propofol or are things more or less the same?
3. Did you see judge pastor give his sentencing statement? Any comments on that?
4. Any comments on mr. chernoff referring to you as a "cop"?
5. What did you think of dr whites testimony? Did anything he say change your opinion about your colleague?
6. Now that the trial is over whats next for dr steve shafer? Returning to practice? Teaching? Patient education and advocacy?

....to be continued when im not on my phone

[Pace,MioDolceCuore]

OOOH! That made my morning!

Question Number 1:
I recall that the defense tried the following. Something along the lines of "Are you aware that everything you said here was your merely your opinion?"
I believe you, Dr. Shafer, at one point concluded that this was an interesting question- where does 'personal opinion' end and where does "Dr. Shafer" begin?

I believe you, Dr. Shafer, still called it an interesting question that would require some thought- so, did you, Dr. Shafer, come to any conclusion in this conundrum? Do you consider it wise or even desirable to split your mind in the Dr. figure- and Steven Shafer? Is it even possible to do so? What would the result most likely be? Could there be considerable "strength" in a personal, honest opinion? Could one even call it integrity?

The question kept going around my head since Murray has been widely accused of of not only abandoning his patient- but also abandoning the Dr.-Patient relationship- my question about the split of 'personal opinion' versus 'The opinion of the Dr.' thus largely deals with the framework of mind that a 'split in opinion' would have on that relationship for example- any correlation?
(I was merely surprised to hear such issue of almost philosophical nature raised in the trial)

Question Number 2:
In his closing argument Ed Chernoff stated once more that "lack of record keeping did not kill Michael Jackson".
Would you find this a particularly irresponsible assumption- especially in light of your lengthy and detailed explanation of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics. I believe you stated at length the effects of age, gender and weight. Would Ed Chernoff's closing argument be especially irresponsible and outrageous- considering that the assumed physician did not keep any records?

Question Number 3:
Lots of hyperbole has been made of the IV tubing/matching/non matching. Could you explain in detail once more (with no defense attorney interrupting..) why this has no bearing on the statements made by you?


Question Number 4: (more practical)

How does one approach pain management in a patient that states to have suffered from enormous pain with Propofol. ("I thought my arm was on fire, it hurt like hell and I remember complaining about it to my anesthesiologist who merely said "yeahyeah" and ignored the patient's complaint until the patient was 'out'?)

If such patient was scheduled for surgery with Propofol anesthesia again- how would a responsible anesthesiologist react to a patient that has had a negative experience? (assuming there is no way to retrieve previous records)
Is it reasonable for that patient to ask the anesthesiologist for an adequate dose of Lidocaine? Is 'subjective' experience from a patient enough for an anesthesiologist to conclude that said patient might indeed be more prone to pain upon injection?

How does the patient approach the anesthesiologist? (to some it may just sound as 'a little burning'- but if the last memory of the patient is thrashing around in pain with a masked man essentially shrugging his shoulders)- What what your approach be with such patient?


Question Number 5: (considerably "out there")

In your practice- did you happen to have run across patients and a phenomenon referred to as "Near Death Experience"? Literature seems to imply that NDE experiences seem to correlate with certain specific, older agents. In your experience as a practicing anesthesiologist: Has a modern agent such as Propofol changed the number of patients with such experiences?




Thank you, Dr. Shafer for your enlightening, non-hysterical and easy to digest (no pun intended!) work on the trial- and I'll gladly await your thoughts!
I'd also like to use the opportunity to express my condolences for the loss of your father. May peace and healing be with your father, you and your family for the loss you suffered.

[ivy]

Also please ask medical questions / propofol related / related to issues raised in the trial / related to medical testimony as well - if you have any.

[Pace,MioDolceCuore]

Also please ask medical questions / propofol related as well - if you have any.

Just did! You don't know how awesome this is!

[ivy]

Just did! You don't know how awesome this is!

I know. I was so happy when he said yes. And I'm hoping that we can also get questions related to his testimony as well. Because he also said he'll try to explain them as much as he can. This might be a perfect opportunity to ask or clarify anything we want.

[Pace,MioDolceCuore]

I know. I was so happy when he said yes. And I'm hoping that we can also get questions related to his testimony as well. Because he also said he'll try to explain them as much as he can. This might be a perfect opportunity to ask or clarify anything we want.

That's so amazing! Ivy, how long do we have before the questions get submitted? I do have a number of things flying around my head.

[Sophielo]

I'm so happy he agreed to this!!!!! I would like to ask him what his thought process was during Dr White's testimony, especially as they have a relationship that goes back years

[ivy]

at least a week.

[Pace,MioDolceCuore]

at least a week.

Okay, good. Enough time to re-watch again. (poor Dr. Shafer, this could potentially be a long thread...lol) If I only knew if there was anything in particular that would need more explanation...
I believe Dr. White came to his senses regarding the 'first pass effect' of Propofol. I'll move to the Lorazepam fantasies that came about...

[christy]

I admire Dr Schafer for daring to drink propofol himself when the push comes to shove, driving home a point you CANNOT DIE from propofol ingestion.

Judge Pastor has NO objection to the 6 Chilean students studies who'd volunteered to drink profopol and survived just fine.

Had the defence not change tact, and had that been brought to the court we would be delighted to hear and see the studies in all it's full glory.

Would Dr Schafer be glad to share it with us?