can you stomach orthopedic surgery?

[hillofbeans]

I changed my mind after walking through this demo.

Look at the photos AFTER you've finished the walkthrough.

http://www.livingchildren.com/knee/

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[Integra96]

Bah, it's just meat and stuff.

 

[ForensicPath]

Child's play. Come watch an autopsy.

 

[AverageMan]

In my biomechanics class, we watched a video on a hip replacement. The part I remember the most was that when they were putting in the new metal ball joint in the femur, they used a drill to core out the femur. All the marrow and blood came out in a gooey flow. I remember thinking it was like a candy bar with a caramel center

 

[ATPase]

One summer I was a nursing assistant in the OR of a hospital that did orthopedic surgery almost exclusively. You definitely get used to the blood and gore (total hip replacements are the worst!), but it's no fun to be the low man (or in my case, woman) on the totem pole who has to clean up the bone fragments and pieces of bloody tissue after surgeries! You approach lunch hour in a whole new light.

 

[mlw03]

i second ForensicPath's reply - after watching multiple autopsies, I'm not at all concerned about the gory aspects of medicine. hey Forensic - have you ever seen an autopsy on a "decomp"? - now that's really friggin' gross.

 

[peterockduke]

Interesting, I shadowed a fairly famous ortho surgeon. I thought it was pretty nasty, but I figured there'd be stuff thats a lot worse. Honestly, even the first day of watching surgeries he had to constantly remind me to stay 5 feet back. Thats when I built a little 3 foot platform made of smaller stools. Fun stuff.

Visually it isn't so bad, except when he was repairing or replacing a pre-existing hip or knee replacement.... What was really awful were the infections... so much blood and puss all over the place. I remember I got hit with a chunk of something or other - at least I managed to muffle my squeaking whimper.

Fun stuff... it isn't the gore that will get you, but the sound can be pretty unbearable not to mention the smell. I actually have the most trouble dealing with the smell, not just in real surgeries, but also in my anatomy lab. Is there something for this?

 

[ATPase]

Cauterizing = nasty smell, like some kind of rancid popcorn. That's about the worst I encountered.

 

[TTSD]

Blah, you wimp

That ain't nothin. As people said above, watch an autopsy.. you see just about everything cut open and removed.

 

[ATPase]

For you autopsy lovers, does it bother you to see mangled bodies? I think that would be the most difficult part. Car crash victims, murder victims, etc. Or maybe you just get used to it.

 

[deleted36260]

I love it!! I've watched every online orthopedic surgery I can find

Even better, one of the surgeons was joking "bob, do you think orthopedic surgeons are really carpentars that picked the wrong line of work??? ahahaha" (as he cores out a femur to do a hip replacement)

 

[Blade28]

Nothing unusual there. Wait until your OB/GYN or surg rotation (or, as people have alluded to, your path elective/rotation).

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by ATPase
For you autopsy lovers, does it bother you to see mangled bodies? I think that would be the most difficult part. Car crash victims, murder victims, etc. Or maybe you just get used to it.

You know makes me bow my head the most? The brain.

I don't mind seeing guts and organs ripped out, or mangled. I can stomach that (unless it smells.. that's my only kryptonite!).

But the brain (and eyes, but I associate the two together), that represents all that person ever was, all they ever had, loved, knew and cherished.

 

[SarahGM]

Originally posted by ATPase
Cauterizing = nasty smell, like some kind of rancid popcorn. That's about the worst I encountered.

We likened it to nacho cheese doritos

 

[oldtimer]

The surprising part about a hip-joint replacement operation is the noise. When I first head that *bang* *bang* *bang*, I was wondering if they were doing surgery or construction work in that OR.

 

[LJoo83]

that was the coolest thing i've ever seen.

anyone need a knee replacement? anyone?

 

[musiclink213]

ooh that was fun, are there any more things like that out there?

 

[jlee9531]

i wonder if people do this instead of seeing the actual thing.

but that was pretty cool. but still not gonna do that.

 

[Cerberus]

I love surgery, I cant wait to cut some **** up myself.

 

[g3pro]

has anyone smelled gangrene before?

'nuff said.

 

[Sharkfan]

Hey, that was really neat! The inside of bone looks awesome! I feel bad for the patient though- all that carpentry has got to hurt post-op!

 

[ATPase]

Originally posted by g3pro
has anyone smelled gangrene before?

'nuff said.

No thanks.

 

[ForensicPath]

Originally posted by mlw03
i second ForensicPath's reply - after watching multiple autopsies, I'm not at all concerned about the gory aspects of medicine. hey Forensic - have you ever seen an autopsy on a "decomp"? - now that's really friggin' gross.

I have participated in over 200 autopsies. I volunteered as an autopsy assistant (diener) this past summer at my local medical examiner. Yes, I have seen/participated in an autopsy on a decomposing body (a whole bunch as a matter of fact). It is by far the worst and most unforgettable smell you will ever come across in your entire life. Decomps can be characterized by a few things: green, skin sloughage, juicy, and incredible smell.

The mangled bodies were not really as bad as expected. I've seen the results of car accidents, man getting hit by train, shotgun homicide/suicides, stabbings (one case where the guy was stabbed over 100 times), burns (seriously smells and looks like chicken that has been left on the grill for too long, especially when they are crispy), as well as drug ODs and natural deaths. We actually had one case in which the murder victim was decapitated, hands and feet were removed, and were never found. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition with plenty of maggot activity.

I have also seen and smelled gangrene when I worked in an ER. Basically a homeless guy did not take care of his leg and there were maggots living on it. Smells like a decomp, but on a smaller scale.

Someone mentioned the incredible organ known as the brain. Of all the things I was able to do and was exposed to, being able to remove and hold the brain was easily the coolest thing that I have ever done. The first time I did it, I was in awe that something that I can hold in my hands and weighs around 1400g (normally) can be so intricate and powerful. We haven't even scratched the surface of understanding the brain.

P.S. If you are ever going to watch an autopsy, don't be a wus and use vicks vaporub or wintergreen oil. Just suck it up and deal with the smell. It will toughen you up.

 

[fullefect1]

That was defently an awesome site.

 

[logos]

Thats pretty cool....you've gotta love COSI.


Its really pretty accurate too....although the real thing is much gooier....especially drilling the marrow.....and louder....the bone saw and drill are really scream....and longer....takes about 45min to an hour...

 

[El Macho]

Originally posted by ForensicPath
I have participated in over 200 autopsies. I volunteered as an autopsy assistant (diener) this past summer at my local medical examiner. Yes, I have seen/participated in an autopsy on a decomposing body (a whole bunch as a matter of fact). It is by far the worst and most unforgettable smell you will ever come across in your entire life. Decomps can be characterized by a few things: green, skin sloughage, juicy, and incredible smell.

The mangled bodies were not really as bad as expected. I've seen the results of car accidents, man getting hit by train, shotgun homicide/suicides, stabbings (one case where the guy was stabbed over 100 times), burns (seriously smells and looks like chicken that has been left on the grill for too long, especially when they are crispy), as well as drug ODs and natural deaths. We actually had one case in which the murder victim was decapitated, hands and feet were removed, and were never found. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition with plenty of maggot activity.

I have also seen and smelled gangrene when I worked in an ER. Basically a homeless guy did not take care of his leg and there were maggots living on it. Smells like a decomp, but on a smaller scale.

Someone mentioned the incredible organ known as the brain. Of all the things I was able to do and was exposed to, being able to remove and hold the brain was easily the coolest thing that I have ever done. The first time I did it, I was in awe that something that I can hold in my hands and weighs around 1400g (normally) can be so intricate and powerful. We haven't even scratched the surface of understanding the brain.

P.S. If you are ever going to watch an autopsy, don't be a wus and use vicks vaporub or wintergreen oil. Just suck it up and deal with the smell. It will toughen you up.

I gotta agree....I haven't witnessed as many autopsies as you have, Forensic Path, but I have seen several, and I have spent my time in forensic centers. There is nothing like the smell of decomposing human. If something has a similar smell, the memory of the human decomp smell floods back to me.
Also, there's nothing like having hords of beetles charge out of a deteriorating cadaver, scurrying off the table and up your scrubs.


I don't think autopsies are as "interesting" as tissue procurement, when normal bodies are concerned. Whole bones are removed from the body - femurs, tib/fib, humerus, etc. which makes the body lose its general shape. Despite that whole organs are removed and laid out on a table, autopsies can be fairly neat.

 

[G_Eagle]

What an awesome site! The most disgusting surgery I have watched was hair transplant surgery. They really cheesecake the patient's head (and it looks tedious). Then again, face lifts aren't very appetizing.

 

[Northerner]

can you stomach orthopedic surgery

Haha I can "stomach" gastroenterology though!


hahaaaaa


...haha....



.........ha.......



....ha....hehe....hmmmm

Brilliant, north.

 

[ATPase]

Whose signature has the bad SDN jokes? I think they have another addition here. Consider yourself nominated, North.

 

[Northerner]

Originally posted by ATPase
Whose signature has the bad SDN jokes? I think they have another addition here. Consider yourself nominated, North.

Let me forewarn you not to read any more of my pre-allo posts from today.

 

[ATPase]

Now I will have to look them all up....

 

[drlexygoat]

Always known I wouldn't go into surgery. I can deal with it, but def. don't love it. It's just one of those things I'll have to get through and move on.

 

[skypilot]

Originally posted by ForensicPath
P.S. If you are ever going to watch an autopsy, don't be a wus and use vicks vaporub or wintergreen oil. Just suck it up and deal with the smell. It will toughen you up.

I love the smell of decomp in the morning. It smells like...victory.

 

[ForensicPath]

Originally posted by El Macho

I don't think autopsies are as "interesting" as tissue procurement, when normal bodies are concerned. Whole bones are removed from the body - femurs, tib/fib, humerus, etc. which makes the body lose its general shape. Despite that whole organs are removed and laid out on a table, autopsies can be fairly neat.

I got to witness a few of these as well. A lot of cornea, skin, and long bone donations were done. The cornea removal just looks tedious, the skin is basically grated off like cheese, and the long bone removal makes the body floppy and a pain in the arse to move. When we would move the body to the table, the boneless arms and legs would swing all over the place. It actually looked quite silly. We had some heart valve donors and such, but it wasn't as interesting as the long bone removal. In one of our homicide cases, an anthropologist had to come in and remove the bones to determine sex, race, age, and stature (badly decomposed). That was actually quite interesting.

I will also say that I used to be sort of sqeamish around bugs, but when you open up a body and there are literally millions of maggots festering and frothing up the decomp juices, you learn to cope. There are also bugs that bite (I think they called them chiggers) and maggots that jump.

All in all, if you want to be "grossed out" a forensic autopsy is the way to go. It will make any surgery look tame.

 

[irie]

Originally posted by peterockduke
Interesting, I shadowed a fairly famous ortho surgeon. I thought it was pretty nasty, but I figured there'd be stuff thats a lot worse. Honestly, even the first day of watching surgeries he had to constantly remind me to stay 5 feet back. Thats when I built a little 3 foot platform made of smaller stools. Fun stuff.

Visually it isn't so bad, except when he was repairing or replacing a pre-existing hip or knee replacement.... What was really awful were the infections... so much blood and puss all over the place. I remember I got hit with a chunk of something or other - at least I managed to muffle my squeaking whimper.

Fun stuff... it isn't the gore that will get you, but the sound can be pretty unbearable not to mention the smell. I actually have the most trouble dealing with the smell, not just in real surgeries, but also in my anatomy lab. Is there something for this?

How is the fact that the surgeon you shadowed is famous relevant to the rest of your post?

 

[Spitting Camel]

What a cool site! I'll be sure to show my little cousins so they can be little surgeons...

 

[Biffer]

"chiggers and maggots that jump"

r.e.s.p.e.c.t for Forensic Path.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Originally posted by ForensicPath
... We haven't even scratched the surface of understanding the brain.

The mental imagery is funny... heh hehhh heh ... oh never mind... it's too early in the morning on a Saturday. But really cool post overall. The worst for me has been helping in 'unsticking' an elderly patient that was fecally impacted. (Remember to breath through your mouth.

For me, smells are much worst than visual atrosities.

 

[Disenchanted 1]

Originally posted by ForensicPath
I have participated in over 200 autopsies. I volunteered as an autopsy assistant (diener) this past summer at my local medical examiner. Yes, I have seen/participated in an autopsy on a decomposing body (a whole bunch as a matter of fact). It is by far the worst and most unforgettable smell you will ever come across in your entire life. Decomps can be characterized by a few things: green, skin sloughage, juicy, and incredible smell.

The mangled bodies were not really as bad as expected. I've seen the results of car accidents, man getting hit by train, shotgun homicide/suicides, stabbings (one case where the guy was stabbed over 100 times), burns (seriously smells and looks like chicken that has been left on the grill for too long, especially when they are crispy), as well as drug ODs and natural deaths. We actually had one case in which the murder victim was decapitated, hands and feet were removed, and were never found. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition with plenty of maggot activity.

I have also seen and smelled gangrene when I worked in an ER. Basically a homeless guy did not take care of his leg and there were maggots living on it. Smells like a decomp, but on a smaller scale.

Someone mentioned the incredible organ known as the brain. Of all the things I was able to do and was exposed to, being able to remove and hold the brain was easily the coolest thing that I have ever done. The first time I did it, I was in awe that something that I can hold in my hands and weighs around 1400g (normally) can be so intricate and powerful. We haven't even scratched the surface of understanding the brain.

P.S. If you are ever going to watch an autopsy, don't be a wus and use vicks vaporub or wintergreen oil. Just suck it up and deal with the smell. It will toughen you up.

Oh holy crap....I didn't know you could volunteer at a morgue...!! I have been missing out

 

[irie]

Originally posted by Disenchanted 1
Oh holy crap....I didn't know you could volunteer at a morgue...!! I have been missing out

No doubt. I'm down for some vomit inducing autopsies. I wonder who I have to call to have this arranged.

 

[8744]

Originally posted by hillofbeans
I changed my mind after walking through this demo.

Look at the photos AFTER you've finished the walkthrough.

http://www.livingchildren.com/knee/

After standing up for those marathon ortho surgeries, the last thing on your mind will be your stomach (except that it might be growling.) Your feet will be what will keep you out of orthopedics.

 

[ForensicPath]

Originally posted by MDTom
The mental imagery is funny... heh hehhh heh ... oh never mind... it's too early in the morning on a Saturday. But really cool post overall. The worst for me has been helping in 'unsticking' an elderly patient that was fecally impacted. (Remember to breath through your mouth.

For me, smells are much worst than visual atrosities.

One of my jobs was actually to open up and clean both the large and small intestine. Let me tell you, impacted colons were no fun at all (or alot of fun, depending upon how you look at it). It always put me in the mood for mexican food for lunch (especially when you could smell/see that the decedent's last meal was mexican).

About volunteering at a morgue: It is very possible. My county has an internship program where they place students in internships in various areas of county government. I called and asked them and it was as easy as filling out a one page application. Although, I have heard that some counties/cities are a little more strict about letting students volunteer. All you have to do is call and ask.

 

[tautomer]

Forensic, I'm so sickened by your stories, I'm interested in hearing more! Got any more interesting cases come through the morgue?

 

[ForensicPath]

Originally posted by tautomer
Forensic, I'm so sickened by your stories, I'm interested in hearing more! Got any more interesting cases come through the morgue?

Plenty of interesting cases. What do you want: homicides, suicides, accidents, decomps, natural deaths, cats, etc...?

 

[peterockduke]

Originally posted by irie
How is the fact that the surgeon you shadowed is famous relevant to the rest of your post?

Well, very well-known surgeons usually get to repair botched surgeries done by other doctors, meaning they're quite a bit more gory than a standard knee replacement.

I didn't know that all of my posts and thoughts had to be completely relevant. Last time I checked, none of your posts ever had any substance or even remote kindness to them. Even if I bring extraneous information, I bring something.

 

[tautomer]

Originally posted by ForensicPath
Plenty of interesting cases. What do you want: homicides, suicides, accidents, decomps, natural deaths, cats, etc...?

Doesn't matter! What are some of the most memorable moments/cases you've had in the morgue?

 

[hilikus]

yeah, i want gore!

 

[ForensicPath]

Originally posted by tautomer
Doesn't matter! What are some of the most memorable moments/cases you've had in the morgue?

This could be a thread in it of itself.

Well:
There was the >500lb. morbidly obese guy that took four guys to move him from the gurney to the autopsy table. He also hadn't cut his fingernails and toenails since he was about 3 years old. There was dried fecal matter around his feet and hands and his hair was really gross.

There was the headless/handless decomp that was found in the woods. Most likely a homicide. The killer also tried to scrape away a tattoo to prevent identification, but we were able to piece it together.

A bunch of gang shootings/stabbings. I remember one of the scene investigators at a particular homicide said that the decedent had been in the driver's seat when he was shot in the neck. The blood shot out through the sunroof of the car and splashed down the passenger side window on the outside. Conclusion: there is a lot of pressure in those carotid arteries.

The natural deaths provided interesting looks at some pathologies: sarcoidosis (actually fairly rare), heart disease (obviously), all sorts of liver disease, strokes, aneurysms, etc.. and some secondary findings that did not contribute to the death.

Suicides. If there are 4-8 pills in the intestines, it generally is an accidental overdose. If there is an entire pharmacy in the intestines, it generally is a suicide. Suicide by hanging is actually a fairly popular choice. I actually got to see a video of a guy hanging himself. It was kind of like his suicide note. Let me tell you, that was creepy to watch.

There was a shotgun homicide/suicide. A guy walked into a diner, shot his girlfriend with a 12 gauge and then proceeded to swallow one for himself. Her head was basically flattened. His head looked like a small bomb had been placed in his mouth (i.e. nothing left). The scene investigators brought us the brain that they scraped off the wall wrapped in a childrens kiddy menu with a game that was entitled "What's Missing?" That gave us all a chuckle.

I ran out of room. Plenty more stories...

 

[deleted36260]

Originally posted by ForensicPath
a childrens kiddy menu with a game that was entitled "What's Missing?" That gave us all a chuckle.

 

[tautomer]

WOW! Thats great! Keep 'em coming if you like!! SO COOL, but SO HORRIBLE!!!