I finished volunteering for the day in the surgical waiting room. The last patient went in. I expressed interest (finally) to one of the head nurses about my desire to shadow a surgeon. I was almost ready to leave for home when the attending surgeon came out and said "come on back." He explained the patient agreed to allow a student in the OR. The nurse took over and showed me where the scrubs were located (along with shoe covering + hair cover).
The procedure was a labeled "left inguinal exploration with possible laparascopy." I entered the OR just as the anesthesiologists were putting the patient to sleep (40yo male).
Apparently 2 weeks prior he had a colonoscopy done (he had a hernia) and during the procedure a small hole in the rectum (unknown to the doctor) came to be. Back to the present: That seemed to cause an infection leaving a bulge. Anyway, the surgeon opened him up and worked his way toward the infectious part of the colon. He ended up consulting with two other doctors because he couldn't reach the infected area. He then had to make another incision from the belly button to about an inch above the penis. The surgeon didn't look pleased that he had to do this. He actually apologized to me and mentioned this isn't typical at all and was sorry that he wasn't explaining things. I replied that I was just thankful for the chance and he continued what he was doing. They cut a 4-5 inch section off of the rectum.
The procedure lasted over 4 hours (I could barely stand). I followed the surgeon with the patient to the recovery room where the patient was finally alert (and in pain). He finished the paper work and I shook hands with him and thanked him for opportunity. Once again he apologized that he didn't get to explain things. We parted ways at this point as he went to talk to the family. I spoke no more than a couple of sentences with the doctor throughout the ordeal.
I'm not really sure exactly what was done to the patient, but it was a great experience and it looks like I'll have the chance to do it again very soon.
The procedure was a labeled "left inguinal exploration with possible laparascopy." I entered the OR just as the anesthesiologists were putting the patient to sleep (40yo male).
Apparently 2 weeks prior he had a colonoscopy done (he had a hernia) and during the procedure a small hole in the rectum (unknown to the doctor) came to be. Back to the present: That seemed to cause an infection leaving a bulge. Anyway, the surgeon opened him up and worked his way toward the infectious part of the colon. He ended up consulting with two other doctors because he couldn't reach the infected area. He then had to make another incision from the belly button to about an inch above the penis. The surgeon didn't look pleased that he had to do this. He actually apologized to me and mentioned this isn't typical at all and was sorry that he wasn't explaining things. I replied that I was just thankful for the chance and he continued what he was doing. They cut a 4-5 inch section off of the rectum.
The procedure lasted over 4 hours (I could barely stand). I followed the surgeon with the patient to the recovery room where the patient was finally alert (and in pain). He finished the paper work and I shook hands with him and thanked him for opportunity. Once again he apologized that he didn't get to explain things. We parted ways at this point as he went to talk to the family. I spoke no more than a couple of sentences with the doctor throughout the ordeal.
I'm not really sure exactly what was done to the patient, but it was a great experience and it looks like I'll have the chance to do it again very soon.
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