Manual dexterity compared to medical surgery?

[ramseszerg]

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I heard that if you can sew by hand you can be a surgeon. Is that true in dentistry, and what are the differences in the type of manual dexterity required?

 

[tinman831]

Fractions of a millimeter can make the difference between a successful vs a failed restoration. But then again, fractions of a millimeter can make the difference between a successful operation vs accidentally severing a nerve or nicking a major artery.

 

[ramseszerg]

Fractions of a millimeter can make the difference between a successful vs a failed restoration. But then again, fractions of a millimeter can make the difference between a successful operation vs accidentally severing a nerve or nicking a major artery.

That's quite intimidating.. Is the human hand really capable of such fine movement? When you place a piece of paper on your hand it shakes.. wouldn't that movement be more than a fraction of a millimeter? Sorry I'm naive to this topic..

 

[Berkeley83]

That's quite intimidating.. Is the human hand really capable of such fine movement? When you place a piece of paper on your hand it shakes.. wouldn't that movement be more than a fraction of a millimeter? Sorry I'm naive to this topic..

Cataract surgery. Very very delicate procedure.

 

[aphistis]

Cataract surgery. Very very delicate procedure.

Hardly. I've participated in a couple hundred cataract surgeries. The precision they require is nowhere near that required for, say, an ordinary posterior crown preparation.

 

[lotexigeus]

That's quite intimidating.. Is the human hand really capable of such fine movement? When you place a piece of paper on your hand it shakes.. wouldn't that movement be more than a fraction of a millimeter? Sorry I'm naive to this topic..

stabilize your hand then try it again. When drilling you usually stabilize your hand on other teeth. At first it can be difficult for many people, but with practice it becomes a lot easier.

 

[LeoDDS]

I heard that if you can sew by hand you can be a surgeon. Is that true in dentistry, and what are the differences in the type of manual dexterity required?

If you can tie your shoes, dental school will teach you all the manual dexterity you will need. On day one, very few people have the manual dexterity that is "required," but by the end of dental school you will have it! Don't worry if there is some residual trembling, most people have a baseline tremble.

 

[Berkeley83]

Hardly. I've participated in a couple hundred cataract surgeries. The precision they require is nowhere near that required for, say, an ordinary posterior crown preparation.

Have you actually done one?

 

[aphistis]

Have you actually done one?

I stood less than two feet away from the case while maintaining the patient's anesthetic, watching both directly and over the microscope monitor, and discussed the procedures and their requisite dexterity with a number of the opthalmologists with whom I worked. Once again, I did this a couple hundred times. Do you even know what the inside of an operating room looks like? From the ridiculous argument you're advancing here, it's very clear to anyone who is familiar with cataract surgery, a procedure you're holding up as some kind of mountaintop achievement of manual dexterity, that you are not.

If you still think you're a better-informed source on the subject than me, let's see your cards. Otherwise, let's just call this one a TKO and be done with it.

 

[Berkeley83]

I stood less than two feet away from the case while maintaining the patient's anesthetic, watching both directly and over the microscope monitor, and discussed the procedures and their requisite dexterity with a number of the opthalmologists with whom I worked. Once again, I did this a couple hundred times. Do you even know what the inside of an operating room looks like? From the ridiculous argument you're advancing here, it's very clear to anyone who is familiar with cataract surgery, a procedure you're holding up as some kind of mountaintop achievement of manual dexterity, that you are not.

If you still think you're a better-informed source on the subject than me, let's see your cards. Otherwise, let's just call this one a TKO and be done with it.

Ever done a retro-bulbar block or are you just talking about MAC for ICCE/IOL's in an ASC? Way way more than your "couple hundred" (try several thousand) and more than enough to see vitrectomies, choroidal hemorrhages and posterior dislocation as complications. 10 minutes or 1 hour depending on complexity, patient cooperation, and surgeons' "skills" (one with his name behind the professorship for the Ophthy dept. chair at UCSF). Oh BTW, I have seen (oh excuse me, been in the room) for a Tet repair of a 1 year old, a leaking AAA of a 91 year old, CABGx4 w/ MVR with 20% EF, Liver transplant (all ASA 4s) and everything else in between. FYI, I stopped practicing dentistry over 20 years ago.

Dexterity? Yes. Delicate? Absolutely. Consequences? Potentially catastrophic. Can you say that about "an ordinary posterior crown preparation?"

 

[aphistis]

Ever done a retro-bulbar block or are you just talking about MAC for ICCE/IOL's in an ASC? Way way more than your "couple hundred" (try several thousand) and more than enough to see vitrectomies, choroidal hemorrhages and posterior dislocation as complications. 10 minutes or 1 hour depending on complexity, patient cooperation, and surgeons' "skills" (one with his name behind the professorship for the Ophthy dept. chair at UCSF). Oh BTW, I have seen (oh excuse me, been in the room) for a Tet repair of a 1 year old, a leaking AAA of a 91 year old, CABGx4 w/ MVR with 20% EF, Liver transplant (all ASA 4s) and everything else in between. FYI, I stopped practicing dentistry over 20 years ago.

Dexterity? Yes. Delicate? Absolutely. Consequences? Potentially catastrophic. Can you say that about "an ordinary posterior crown preparation?"

[shrug]

Fair enough. Given that you're out of dentistry over 20 years, though, I think claiming to be a dentist in your profile is pretty disingenuous, not to mention factually incorrect. Congratulations on your new (relatively speaking) profession.