Suturing techniques and hand tremors

[ericdamiansean]

As a medical student, what are the important knots and sutures that I'm supposed to know? This is because I'm planning to go to Africa for my electives and I was told to be fairly OK in it because I"ll be doing alot of hands on suturing and knotting

I've also a prob with fine tremors in my hand..it's quite obvious when I do a venepuncture or hold forceps..anyway can I overcome this? seems that surgery is out of the question for me?

and when I hold these tools, do I hold them really firm and hard, which I notice will worsen the tremors, or is there another way? I've seen this neurosurgeon who did some surgery on the brain for like 2 hours and his hands were really steady and he didn't even rest on anything

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[Blade28]

Hmmm...is it actually essential tremor (may need a beta-blocker), or just nerves? I found that most third-years start off with a slight tremble in their hands during their OB/GYN or Surg rotations, but as they gain more practice and confidence, the trembling improves greatly. You can also rest one hand on the other if you need support, e.g. resting the palm of your right hand on the wrist of your left hand, when cutting.

 

[eddieberetta]

Dude... MS with tremor going to Africa to learn to suture? Better pack your suitcase full of AZT.

 

[aboo-ali-sina]

Dude... MS with tremor going to Africa to learn to suture? Better pack your suitcase full of AZT.

yeah if you tremor is really bad, be very careful. do not ever touch a needle with your hands. always use instruments and make sure that people are out of the way before you come in with the needle...

 

[njbmd]

Hey there,
I thought of you when I was watching one of my chiefs doing a very complicated abdominal case. He has a tremor that I had not noticed before. When I asked, he said that it has always been there but now that he's fast on most of the routine stuff, it is barely noticable. He's headed for a Cardio-thoracic fellowship at Penn so he's excellent, tremor and all (read super smart and technically outstanding).

I would encourage you to stop worrying about your fine tremor. My chief has more than a fine tremor and it hasn't stopped him at all. Like I said, I have done many cases with him and I didn't even notice it until we were doing something pretty radical where we had to slow down. I suspect that you will fall in the same category.

njbmd