The Unknown/The Unanticipated: A Surgical Journey of Correcting HIV-Related Abdominal Lipodystrophy.

Publication/Presentation Date

2-10-2015

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the pre- and postsurgical journey to correct severe abdominal lipodystrophy of a woman living as AIDS defined for over 23 years. It utilized interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and a single-case-study approach to capture the subjective understanding and sense-making of this surgical process. Verbatim transcripts of seven semi-structured interviews, three participant-created word boards of words or phrases clipped from magazines, field notes, and a reflexive journal were collected as data. Analysis revealed two superordinate themes: the unknown and the unanticipated. These themes simultaneously manifest with shared and nuanced meanings, including the unknown and unanticipated of surviving AIDS and discovering lipodystrophy, the unknown and the unanticipated of the surgical intervention itself, and finally the unknown and the unanticipated of postsurgical complications and experiences within outpatient and inpatient medical settings.

Volume

26

Issue

4

First Page

518

Last Page

531

ISSN

1049-7323

Disciplines

Medical Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences

PubMedID

25670663

Department(s)

Department of Medicine, Department of Medicine Faculty

Document Type

Article

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