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Pⁿ Blog
The Pⁿ Blog is a forum for opinions, questions, controversies, and instructive discussions across the field of pathology and its relevant subspecialties.
Monday, August 13, 2012
It's a miracle! --- not really!
You can't read any news-related source today without finding a reference to this thing or that thing being a "miracle."  It would be hard to think of a more overused word in the English language today, with the obvious exception of "like."  "It was like.... and then I like.... " but don't get me started on that horrid misspeak!  I hear it a 100+ times a day from my residents.  But back to the topic of this blog...
 
The "miracle" of the day that caught my eye recently was the story in the news of the extremely lucky young woman who was a victim of the Aurora, Colorado shooter and survived a front to back brain penetration by a shotgun pellet with minimal injury because vital structures were missed.  The story quotes Dr. Michael Rauzzino, a neurosurgeon at The Medical Center of Aurora who operated on the patient to remove the pellet.
 
"I would say this is definitely a miracle," he said, while showing an MRI of the patient's brain.
 
At this point, it's wise to reflect on the primary definition of "miracle:"
1.  an event that is contrary to the established laws of nature and attributed to a supernatural cause.
 
Now as some of you will be quick to point out, there are other second-order definitions of miracle that seem to justify its use for virtually any unusual or wonderous event.  Fair enough, but I would argue that the word has been grotesquely over used, and over time the definition has been bent to suit the rampant over usage. 
 
When applied to an unusual or amazing medical outcome it immediately discounts the real science and medical expertise or just dumb luck that went into achieving the result, and instead seems to ascribe the result to some unknown force or devine intervention.   That's really unfortunate.  Patients don't get better because of true miracles... at least none I'm aware of.  They get better (or they don't) because of the natural order of things, coupled with the high quality of medical care that exists today. 
 
I would humbly suggest that the word be reserved for events (if any) that truly defy the laws of nature and not just for wonderful or amazing things.  As such, its usage should be limited virtually entirely to religious texts.   Walking unaided on (liquid) water, or parting the Red Sea, I freely admit would be true miracles.  Events clearly explained by science and luck are not miracles and should not be treated as such...
 
Of course, I realize the chance of "miracle" being used in a more restrictive and appropriate fashion in the current version of the English language is about the same as my chance of being bitten by a polar bear and a grizzly bear in the same day, or winning the lottery without buying a ticket, but I can still dream!
8/14/2012
Dr. Syed A. Hoda said:
Perhaps, Walt Whitman is to be blamed for this plethora of miracles: “Why! who makes much of a miracle? As to me, I know of nothing else but miracles, Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan, Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky, Or wade with naked feet along the beach, just in the edge of the water, Or stand under trees in the woods, Or talk by day with any one I love--or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love, Or sit at table at dinner with my mother, Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car, Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive, of a summer forenoon, Or animals feeding in the fields, Or birds--or the wonderfulness of insects in the air, Or the wonderfulness of the sun-down--or of stars shining so quiet and bright, Or the exquisite, delicate, thin curve of the new moon in spring; …These, with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles”. Whitman aside, precision in communication, please; Hyperbole is, like, going to kill us (not really!).
About the Author

Stacey E. Mills, MD
Stacey E. Mills, MD, a graduate of University of Virginia (UVA) and the UVA Medical Center, has authored nearly 230 articles, 20+ books, atlases and monographs—including the renowned Sternberg's Diagnostic Surgical Pathology. He has been a practicing Professor and Staff Pathologist at UVA for 30+ years and is Director of Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology. His clinical specialty is general surgical pathology with emphasis on neoplasms and neoplasm-like lesions. Dr. Mills is also Editor-in-Chief of The American Journal of Surgical Pathology.