surgeon-in-training

my mom told me that i need to blog more about my job. well, i don't have that much to say about it. i'll upload my poster at the end of this week so that you can see the (somewhat) finished project. for now, i'll just tell you about my life as a somewhat reluctant surgeon-in-training.

wait? surgery? me? well, it is in my blood, i suppose, and i think i might end up being pretty good at it, whatever i decide to choose as my career. i've come a long way since i almost fainted while watching my first surgery - probably something rick nielsen will never let me forget.

since i'm working for a surgeon here, i've been down to the OR on several occasions. i've really enjoyed the break from the monotony of computer research, and have gone along willingly. one morning the fellow, george, invited me down after our 7 am meeting, saying "maybe we could use you." i, unsuspectingly, went along.

as a special treat, they let me "scrub-in" (wear a sterile gown), and assist in the operation. we did a video-assisted lobectomy, so a removal of one of the lobes of the lung for lung cancer. video-assisted is opposed to thoracotomy, where you open the patient's chest and spread the ribs. instead, you make 3 small incisions, stick a camera in one, and operate based on the picture. i got to hold the camera, and move it around for the best view. this is the sort of picture you see: (yellow and red are ribs, pink thing in the middle is lung)

after the surgery finished, the doctor turned to me and said, "just close this one up, will you?" and left. little did he know that despite have a surgeon father, i had never even learned to work the needle driver (pictured below), let alone closed anything another than a cross stitch. the fellow got a good laugh out of watching my one attempt, and then promised to get me a suturing kit to practice.