Manipulative Surgeon

A friend of mine recently went into surgery for shoulder reconstruction. The doctor told him that he did not perform that exact operation in the past, placing the plate where it needs to go.

The doctor proceeded to ask if my friend would prefer to do the surgery privately, which would cost him 1500 USD, or at the hospital which will cost him nothing. Although my friend's insurance covers all the costs, my friend chose the hospital.

What the doctor's intentions were is difficult to guess, but it seems to me (guessing here) he already gets paid pretty well, and that in the hospital he gets more support than he would in a private operating theater--especially due to his lack of experience.

This offer of apparent monetary loss by the doctor in favor of my friend made my friend trust him and believe he is on his side--his friend. Aside to that, my friend speaks with a lot of respect when mentioning the doctor "he is a doctor, after all."

This is not to say that medical doctors do not deserve respect, but rather that my friend was manipulated into complete trust in the doctor, as he is his friend, with his interests in mind and then, he is an authority to be trusted and imitated, despite of his apparent lack of experience.

"He is a cool guy," my friend would say. He probably is, but not as much as my friend seems to think.

I would have thought myself paranoid and put the affair out of my mind until I heard what happened when my friend bought the surgeon a relatively expensive gift following the operation. I think it was a nice thing to do, regardless of the following story.

The surgeon naturally refused the gift at first, calling him crazy in a very "down to earth, from the neighborhood" way. Then he thanked my friend graciously.

My friend was convinced he was completely healed and that the msucle tiisue is completely regenerated. The doctor replied that in the arms, maybe--but not in the shouldr. He asked my friend to put his arms up straight in front of him, put his own arms on top of my friend's and asked him to push up with all the strength he can muster. Then without a problem pushed my friend's hands down.

Now, while my friend's left arm was indeed weaker, and it seems obvious that any arms sitting on top of his have far more power in them to push down, my friend was convinced he must be more careful with his health and that he is not fully recovered.

Visualization at work.

This doctor, while I do believe is a very nice person, is a compliance and persuasion expert.

Pinky.