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[3catwoman3]

21. I had one patient with this - a newborn.

I was stationed in Japan. The base pediatric clinic had 2 pediatricians and me. All newborns got examined twice - an admission physical within 24 hours after birth, and a discharge physical the day they were due to go home. The 2 pediatricians and I took turns with this. If I did the admission exam, one of them would do the discharge, and vice versa. Nursery rounds were always done first thing in the morning, before clinic appointments started.

One morning, I was examining a new baby, and the heart sounds were really distant/quiet. I moved my stethoscope over to the right side of the chest, and BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, there it was. It was quite exciting.

Sometimes it's just the heart that is on the wrong side and sometimes all the organs are flipped. Seeing as this was way back in the late 1970s, I don't remember which way it was for this baby. He/she was not in any distress.

BTW, infant stethoscopes are rather cute. The diaphragm (flat side) is just slightly bigger than a quarter. A pediatric stethoscope diaphragm is about the size of a half dollar. For a premie stethoscope, about the size of a nickel. The last few years of my career, I indulged myself in a rainbow collection of stethoscopes - pink, purple, raspberry, green teal, turquoise, and navy. I'd coordinate them with my clothing colors.