Weeks 31-32: Surgery Sective - Fresh Frozen Virtual Living Pigs?

I guess I really need to be less meticulous when it come to life, take blog writing as an example. The current date is September 30, 2008 and this article is pre-dated back to April, that's a good 5 months behind, but I guess this call-it-what-you-may "attentions for detail" helps me out in at least considering surgery as an option.

We spent a week this selective learning and practicing some basic skills on tissue, on simulation, and then I real live pigs! It was pretty interesting as we learned some of the ins and outs of suturing, knot-tying, making incisions as we worked on day one on some fresh frozen tissues next to some ENT residents who were also working on their skills on dismembered heads. Despite being acclimated to this type of environment I still find it very surreal and disturbing that yes indeed there is much 'practice' in medicine, and sometimes in the most morbid of circumstances to say the least. I mean no disrespect in saying so though as I am extremely grateful for the donors who are willing to help in medical education -- it just seems so primative though for how far along we've come, I would've thought that an entire anatomy dissection would have been in full 3D high definition tacticle reproduction right now - I guess I'm realizing that I just don't have the greatest stomach for gross (in all of meanings) anatomy and perhaps that I'm lowering pathology and radiology from my list of possible career choices.

Strangely enough I find surgery fascinating though and I guess the 'gross' factor dissipates a little more in 'real life.' I shadowed an orthopod doing hand and shoulder surgery this week and saw a rotator cuff repair as well as a procedure that removed some bones in the hand. We also had a session in Mayo's Sim Center where we did virtual colonoscopies, endoscopies, knot tying and sutures with instruments, and even a gallbladder removal that we ended up performing on a living though anesthetized pig! The good news? We got the gallbladder out without the pig crashing. The bad news? Wilbur's prognosis despite the fact was still terminal as they don't wake him up from that sleep again. I guess you can think of it as a better cause than $14.99 in your butcher's case though. Poor pig.

Well that was a taste of surgery for me, another step into a confusing realm of seemingly endless prospects to my intial urge to "want to help people." Now I just need to figure out how.