Day 10: An unexpected turn in the OR

“The crowning fortune of a man is to be born to some pursuit which finds him employment and happiness, whether it be to make baskets, or broadswords, or canals, or statues, or songs.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Today’s shadowing was one that I was intently looking forward to ever since I received my schedule: surgery. My experience in the OR as a Tier 2 students certainly confirmed that medicine was for me but since then I haven’t had the opportunity to observe any other surgeons. Shadowing doctors in outpatient clinics has been interesting but not necessarily the side of medicine that I am drawn to. To me, surgery is just so exciting and hands-on that I always feel as if the hours pass by quickly.

First time in the OR in Tier 2

Tier 4 OR Shadowing

Just a two year different between my first time in the OR during Tier 2 and my most recent time during ENT shadowing in Tier 4!

Otolaryngology (ENT / head neck and throat) is a new specialty to me and I was excited to learn about it in person. The early morning activities of the day began quickly as soon as not long after Dr. Paul Davis entered his office we were already heading towards a meeting with the cancer center. I enjoyed seeing the entire patient care team (speech pathologists, radiologists, nurses, and of course ENT physicians) come together to discuss the list of ENT cancer patients that needed/had surgery. It was clear that they all cared about the patients as they weren’t just discussing the individual cases but also the varying aspects of how different procedures and treatments would affect their quality of life.

After the patient review the next item in Dr. Davis’ schedule was in the OR. However, a procedure I was initially told that would only be a 2-3 hour surgery ended up lasting for 6 hours. I loved every minute of it.

Except for when I got in the way of the nurses which, with me not being a tiny woman, ended up happening more often that I would like.

The surgery had been scheduled as the patient needed a goiter attached to her thyroid. With the help of a thoracic surgeon inserting a camera through a small hole in the patients side Dr. Davis was able to visualize the plane the goiter was in. After that a large incision along the patients throat to circumvent the sternum so that recovery time for the patient would only be a few weeks. Of course, not everything goes as planned and the thoracic surgeon ended up having to perform a sternotonomy to extract the goiter. The number of people in the room certainly doubled as the complications involved increased.

At first it felt surreal to see someone’s heart beating in their chest (especially since I had just seen the same patient conscious only a few hours ago in her hospital room) but being able to see Dr. Davis and the other surgeons work was absolutely fascinating. The pace they worked at as a unit was incredibly fast, switching what side of the patient they were working on, different specialists coming in and out of the room and communicating with anesthesia. Finally, after several hours, a goiter the size of my palm was removed and they began to close the patient back up.

Once the surgeons had to change their plans to open up the patient’s chest the other clinicians in the room kept saying that I probably didn’t expect to see this kind of procedure today and they were right. I certainly hadn’t thought I would get to see such a complicated procedure from start to finish but what I definitely had not planned on was how much I had loved watching the surgeons doing their work. I had completely forgotten how cold the OR was and how much time had passed. It certainly got me thinking that if that went by in such a flash maybe future me wouldn’t mind spending so much time in a residency to do something equally fascinating one day. All I know right now is that I just can’t wait to see more.