While this may not sound so exciting, the rare chance to stand right next to the surgeon cutting open a person is a really profound learning experience. One can never read enough textbooks to describe the various methods of performing a CABG (google it), yet watching it ‘live’ suddenly makes all the words read come together, being imprinted permanently in one’s brain. It’s amazing how easy it is remembering a procedure seen compared to memorizing the steps off a book.
A real ‘hands-on’ experience
I was asked to scrub in for a pneumonectomy, an operation to remove one half of the lung. In that case, the patient had lung cancer which had spread thoughout his left (maybe it was right?) lung.
There were four people at the operating table. Two doctors, a nurse, and ME.
When I had finished scrubbing in, I was asked to stand right beside Mr Bartosik, the Polish cardiothoracic consultant, who was the boss doing most of the work. In order to remain sterile, it is general practice for student to put their hands on the patient’s gown to avoid unconsciously touching any unsterile surfaces.
I arrived at the table, feeling very excited, immediately resting my hands on the patient. I knew that it had to remain there for the next four hours.
Bartosik was an expert at what he did. He seamlessly exposed the lung with minimal bleeding. The heart was also exposed. Watching the human heart beat was riveting. It moved with extreme precision. Lub-dub, Lub-dub…
Suddenly my hands felt something move. I didn’t want to alarm Bartosik as his hands were deep into the patient’s chest. I shifted my attention to the patient. That’s when I realized what moved.
My hands were on his penis. Suddenly, four hours seemed like an eternity.
