(no subject)
Today I started my two week cardiothoracic surgery rotation. I haven't been inside an operating room since early August. I'm finally finished with interviews and haven't even been inside the hospital properly in two months. Needless to say I was a little concerned that I would be really overwhelmed, or worse, dislike it. Today I got to the hospital for rounds at 5:45am, rounded, went to conference, ran errands for a while, did nothing for several hours and then my case was finally going to the OR at 2pm. I thought for sure that I would be done by 6pm and that looked like a point far in the distance I just wanted to go home. Enter OR.
The case was an ascending aorta aneurysm repair in an 88 year od woman. In short during the case we (meaning they and I watched mesmerized) placed the woman on cardiopulmonary bypass. Basically all of her blood is now circulating through a machine for oxygenation and completely skipping her heart and lungs. Then we stopped her heart using the same stuff they use in the lethal injection, then we cooled her body and completely stopped blood flow...ie she was theoretically dead for ten minutes. Once the repair was finished the above steps were reversed. As her body warmed up her heart began beating again spontaneously. I was literally standing there watching her come back to life. It was amazing.
I left the hospital at 7:50pm and I was walking on air all the way home.
I love surgery, this is what I want to do. Remind me of this often in the next five years.
The case was an ascending aorta aneurysm repair in an 88 year od woman. In short during the case we (meaning they and I watched mesmerized) placed the woman on cardiopulmonary bypass. Basically all of her blood is now circulating through a machine for oxygenation and completely skipping her heart and lungs. Then we stopped her heart using the same stuff they use in the lethal injection, then we cooled her body and completely stopped blood flow...ie she was theoretically dead for ten minutes. Once the repair was finished the above steps were reversed. As her body warmed up her heart began beating again spontaneously. I was literally standing there watching her come back to life. It was amazing.
I left the hospital at 7:50pm and I was walking on air all the way home.
I love surgery, this is what I want to do. Remind me of this often in the next five years.