My left hand is stupid

[Bill_Brasky]

It is my non-dominant hand and to my frustration it refuses to learn how to wield scissors correctly. I'm a third year med student trying to learn the ropes, any tricks of the trade y'all could teach me (besides practice/repitition)?

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[tussy]

I'm a PGY7 and i still struggle trying to cut with my left hand. The problem isn't your hand - it's the sissors. Sissors are made to be right handed - when you squeeze you are squeezing the blades together. With your left hand you are actually squeezing them apart which results in you looking like a spaz and the sissors not cutting!!!!

Just avoid trying to cut with your left hand.

 

[balaguru]

Alternatively, you could learn to press the opposite direction from normal.

Also, you can try holding scissors as shown below except with the left hand and the scissors more parallel to the axis along your 5th digit. The pressure exerted by your left thumb will bring the blades together properly.

 

[Blade28]

Like anything in surgery, it just takes practice.

Repetition is how all of us learned how to cut, tie, suture, etc.

 

[kirurg]

I'm left-handed and did surgery at my university, which must have very sharp scissors because I never had an issue cutting left-handed (although I was using an incorrect technique). Then I did Ob/Gyn at an affiliate site with crappy (normal?) scissors and couldn't cut anything. It was so embarrassing and to make it worse, there was an evil scrub tech who kept telling me "How EASY!" it is to cut left-handed and repeatedly held up suture and cut it over and over and over.... I wanted to kill the witch. Finally I realized that you just have to squeeze the opposite way. An Ob resident also suggested holding the scissors under-handed, which also works, but I find it awkward to cut that way from certain angles.

 

[skiz knot]

I did Ob/Gyn at an affiliate site with crappy (normal?) scissors and couldn't cut anything. It was so embarrassing and to make it worse, there was an evil scrub tech who kept telling me "How EASY!" it is to cut left-handed and repeatedly held up suture and cut it over and over and over.... I wanted to kill the witch.

Ahhh... The bitchy scrub tech power tripping over the only people they can, the medical students. I remember it well...😍

 

[Pir8DeacDoc]

Just don't cut with your left hand. I'm not very far along but can't imagine when it would be preferable to use the left over the right for cutting. Sure, there are plenty of things you want to eventually be able to do with your left hand but to me cutting isn't one of them.

 

[SocialistMD]

Your goal is always to torque the fulcrum so the blades come together tighter. When cutting with your left hand, that means pushing the bottom part of the handle away from your hand or pushing the top part of the handle toward your thumb.

 

[balaguru]

As a student it just seemed poor form to ask the resident to move when it was easier to bring the left hand into the field to cut suture and on more than one occasion I avoided having to cross my arms or some other contorted position by retracting with the right hand while the left was handling the scissors, bovie or suction.

 

[balaguru]

Also I was saw one particularly smooth attending use the technique when he had more than 2 intruments in his hands. I don't remember the details but remember realizing it was more efficient.

 

[SocialistMD]

Also I was saw one particularly smooth attending use the technique when he had more than 2 intruments in his hands. I don't remember the details but remember realizing it was more efficient.

I dont' recommend this until you are an attending. If an attending catches you doing it, s/he will stop what s/he is doing, look at you and tell you to drop what you aren't using (usually with some undesirable tone his his/her voice). Sure, it may seem more efficient, but if you drop one of those instruments, where is the efficiency in having to open a new tray to get another pair of small right angles now that you dropped the only one in the tray? That said, you can easily flip an instrument back into your palm and use something else in your hand, but your dexterity takes a hit and most attendings will still get pissed if they see the extra instrument in your hand.

 

[Pir8DeacDoc]

As a student it just seemed poor form to ask the resident to move when it was easier to bring the left hand into the field to cut suture and on more than one occasion I avoided having to cross my arms or some other contorted position by retracting with the right hand while the left was handling the scissors, bovie or suction.

Yes, you should certainly be able to use your left hand for bovie, suction, etc. I just don't think cutting with scissors is one of those tasks. Of course I don't do many of the surgeries that you guys do so I will defer to your wisdom.

 

[shag]

Just don't cut with your left hand. I'm not very far along but can't imagine when it would be preferable to use the left over the right for cutting. Sure, there are plenty of things you want to eventually be able to do with your left hand but to me cutting isn't one of them.

Unless you are an excellent mindreader when it comes to attendings, being able to do things with your non-dominant hand is usefull. After a rapid fire barrage of "hold this", "pull here", "no, not there, here d$%&#$!", "suck", "not the pool sucker, d%^*$#!", ....... "cut". If you are holding something vital (retractor, traction suture, malfunctioning aortic clamp, etc.), you had better be able to cut with your left hand.

Of course, I don't recommend doing things with your nondominant hand for S&G's except when you are practicing.

 

[ExtraCrispy]

Unless you are an excellent mindreader when it comes to attendings, being able to do things with your non-dominant hand is usefull. After a rapid fire barrage of "hold this", "pull here", "no, not there, here d$%&#$!", "suck", "not the pool sucker, d%^*$#!", ....... "cut". If you are holding something vital (retractor, traction suture, malfunctioning aortic clamp, etc.), you had better be able to cut with your left hand.

Of course, I don't recommend doing things with your nondominant hand for S&G's except when you are practicing.

Wow, this sounds a heck of a lot like the Chief of Vascular Surgery at my program...where are you?

 

[Bill_Brasky]

The issue only came up for me bc i'm on an ob/gyn rotation and all the residents took off for a conference, so I'm first assisting on EVERYONE's C-sections. I wanted to be able to hold the slippery uterus up with my right hand while the attending is running his stitch across and cut with my left hand.

Its not really a big deal, but I have an audition rotation I'm scheduling for a Trauma/Burn Sub-I 4th year that I want to impress on. If I'm allowed anywhere near the table I want to be able to cut with either hand so I'm not getting in anyone's way. Thanks for all the advice everyone.

 

[Celiac Plexus]

The issue only came up for me bc i'm on an ob/gyn rotation and all the residents took off for a conference, so I'm first assisting on EVERYONE's C-sections. I wanted to be able to hold the slippery uterus up with my right hand while the attending is running his stitch across and cut with my left hand.

Its not really a big deal, but I have an audition rotation I'm scheduling for a Trauma/Burn Sub-I 4th year that I want to impress on. If I'm allowed anywhere near the table I want to be able to cut with either hand so I'm not getting in anyone's way. Thanks for all the advice everyone.

I think that all surgical trainees can relate to your dilemma. We all had/have to learn a range of surgical maneuvers. When I was an intern, I used to hold the needle driver with my fingers through the handle. Then I saw one of my peers palming them, and he was faster and smoother than I was. So I "found" some drivers and brought them home and practiced exhaustively picking up and dropping different sized needles, and sewing using the palm technique. It took a while but eventually I became proficient using this technique. I recommend "borrowing" some scissors and taking them home and practicing cutting string/suture in a variety of simulated angles until you get good at it.

There are a lot of maneuvers to learn, and mindful first, and then mindless repetition is imho the best way to learn. Eventually it will become automatic.

 

[Blade28]

So I "found" some drivers and brought them home and practiced exhaustively picking up and dropping different sized needles, and sewing using the palm technique. It took a while but eventually I became proficient using this technique. I recommend "borrowing" some scissors and taking them home and practicing cutting string/suture in a variety of simulated angles until you get good at it.

There are a lot of maneuvers to learn, and mindful first, and then mindless repetition is imho the best way to learn. Eventually it will become automatic.

This is key.

For a while I practiced with a needle driver, Metz, hemostat, etc. every day before I started residency. After a while I made sure my left (non-dominant) hand was almost as proficient as my right hand. Then I made sure I could use them while holding a second instrument in my hand (pointing towards my forearm).