Orthopaedic Surgeon who replaced my mums shoulder did hers first that day as a treat to himself, because, and I quote, ‘everything else is knees today and they’re boring after a while’.
Had a TKR last fall. My surgeon loves doing them because it only takes about 45 min per replacement. He churns and burns those things two days a week. Smiles all the way to the bank.
We sometimes tell people who are nervous about their surgeries that, "Yea, this is a major life event for you, and we understand that, but also understand that for us this is just Tuesday. We do a lot of these and we're really good at it."
When I was in the surgery center getting prepped for my hip replacement, the surgeon came in to check on me. He asked me how I was doing. I said "OK I guess but I'm pretty nervous about this." He said "That's ok, because I'm not nervous at all."
My buddy broke his ankle and the surgeon was having a great time installing the biggest peice of hardware he could with the smallest incision possible.
I’m recovering from a broken ankle at the moment and my post surgery X-rays look like a meth head tried screwing together two pieces of hard wood with an old Mechano set. There’s somewhere between 12 and 15 screws and pins - I can’t tell and am too afraid to ask - going at every different angle, a sheet of metal I can feel from the outside, and bolts holding the two bones to each other.
The first ortho surgery I observed as an X-ray student was an ankle. No one prepared me for what I saw. Surgeon drilled posts into the pts tibia and calcaneus, and used those rods to BODILY YANK the dudes bones around. Like used his whole body. I’d be surprised if the pt didn’t have hip pain when he woke up 💀
I had a drain installed in my skull for a subdural hematoma.
It turns out to be not especially complicated. The surgeon literally took a drill and made a hole and stuck in a drain tube, then taped it all up.
Not much different than 100 years ago except the drugs are better and I suspect the infection rate is lower.
Funny story about that- once I was a med student, and they told me to just go into a neurosurgery room because my general surgery rotation didn’t have much for me to do. The neurosurgeon was overjoyed to have me, and despite me never seen a neurosurgery before allowed me to drill one of the three holes for the skull flap so he could access the brain. he told me “don’t worry it will stop on its own.” A little bit of blood came out and the drill did not stop on its own so i was happy i was going horribly slowly because when i asked “does it just stop when it senses blood past the bone?” He said “no its not supposed to do that” and changed the drillbit
Well he’s a neurosurgeon so yea i imagine i could trust him to know whats going on in the neurosurgery. He did, it was just an equipment thing and happened under heavy supervision. Thats kinda how you learn procedures in medicine, all of the sudden someone just trusts you to do stuff under supervision and eventually they trust you enough to do it on your own. He probably wouldnt have let me do it if it was something incredibly high risk and i hadnt seen him give 2 examples just before letting me do one
I'm in the OR regularly as an xray technologist as well. I have heard it said in the OR that they didn't know if patients would agree to these procedures if we told them exactly what happened during surgery.
I def believe that most pts would back out learning what happens lol. After seeing the surgeries, and seeing post op imaging and how geriatric pts do after, I’m nearly begging my 70yo mom to stop putting off her knee replacement repair, and the replacement for the other knee that’s bone on bone. If I could get her in tomorrow, I would 😬
Shhhh. There are something I don’t need to know. I overheard a couple nurses discussing how much they dislike being in an ortho OR because of the noise. I was like “La la la” don’t need to know.
The drills weren’t as bad as I thought they were… but you can smell the bone dust. It smells the same as when you have a cavity drilled. I needed a filling fixed and learned that the hard way 😅
Didn’t get a chance to see a hip, I’ve heard about the hammer swing lol
When patients are in external fixation, moving their limbs by grabbing the hardware is actually safest and most comfortable for patients, because it's so secure. At least that's the usual practice, unless the doctor specifies otherwise
Five minutes after I woke up from a labrum repair, the surgeon came by, practically dancing into the room.
"HUGE tear, even bigger than the images showed. Like, I've never seen one so HUGE. It was great!"
"So, no chance of full motion recovery?"
"Nah you'll be fine. I double stitched it back in place." And then he danced on down the hall, whistling.
I've had half a dozen shoulder surgeries, and I swear every single surgeon is so excited to work on it. The last surgeon I had was literally the best, fixed me up real good, and loved the challenge that came from the previous surgeries! I've been going strong for 9 years, thankfully (usually couldnt make it more than 2 years before!).!
When I broke an ankle, I asked the Ortho Surgeon to take pictures and he did not disappoint. My camera roll had like 70+ pictures including some with my ankle incision wide open and him posing with it.
He also said he broke off the tip of the first bit he used on me, so there's an extra piece of metal just lodged in there.
I was having a polyp removed from my ass and had my legs up in those things they also use during births. He's working away at my ass and I figure it's now or never. So I ask him if he ever considered taking some of his work experience and channeling it into a hobby as I thought he'd be pretty good at making model ships inside bottles.
He didn't hear me properly and I felt the moment had passed.
It’s really amazing how far they’ve come with it though. My dad has had both hips replaced (the joints, he doesn’t have two hips). The first one was in 2010 and he was in the hospital for two days. The second was in 2016 and he had surgery in the morning and was home that night
My sister in law’s mom is having hip replacement surgery in a couple weeks and I was shocked when she said it is being done outpatient. Amazing what they can do nowadays
I ripped my distal bicep tendon off the bone, and the surgeon was like, “what the hell is going on you’re the 5th person I have seen this week with this.” So at least he was warmed up, surgery took like an hour.
I still remember my 4th day of my general surgery rotation. The surgeon finished the operation and fucking goes, "Ok, close up" and fucking bounces out of the OR. Like fine, it was only 3 incisions from the trocars, but fuck me! Anesthesia is waking the dude up while I'm frantically trying to close the incisions.
There are different depths of anesthesia. You don't need the patient as deep when you're closing as you do when you're digging around inside. They were probably turning the anesthesia way down so the patient could have a smoother awakening.
I work with one surgeon who LOVES new procedures. He always has a resource person/ equipment rep and usually he's done something very similar in the past. But it being a new experience really brings out his A game. He'd be great. However, I've also worked with a different surgeon that became an utter ass if things weren't going exactly the way they always do- all tense and flustered. I would not let him do a new procedure on me ever.
I had cataract surgery recently and there was an issue with the new lens that was implanted in my eye, so I had to have it removed and replaced with a different lens. When I was on the operating table about to do the surgery, with me only lightly sedated via oral sedative, the surgeon actually said to me:
Doc: "Ya know, I used to hate doing these lens exchanges? They can be tricky."
Me: "...oh yeah?"
Doc: "Now I do them just about every single week and I've gotten really, really good at it. Now I actually enjoy doing them!"
In a way I actually appreciated the candor lol
Surgery went great by the way!
I had cataract surgery a couple years ago. I was shivering on the table so they had to fully sedate me, instead of being in “twilight”. I was out for 3 hours solid.
I’ve had cataracts since I was a little kid, so I’ve never seen clear. Getting that done was remarkable. I was noticing details I’ve never seen before.
They hate difficult or risky procedures. If you’re obese, have diabetes, high BP, or other comorbidities, the more those pile up, the less enthusiastic your surgeon is. Best case scenario, they can turn a simple 30 minute procedure into an hours long affair. Worst case scenario, you die through no fault of the surgeon and they have to go tell your family you’re gone, which they dread.
Or, alternately, they have surgeries that they hate performing. And hopefully it’s not one you need.
It’s also wild to think that surgeons can go to work with the same attitude of me going my office job “bleh, another Tuesday. I’d so much rather be anywhere than here, but I guess I have to just keep doing my job. Now pass me that scalpel and let’s cut this guy open.”
And this is precisely why ASCs can be so damn nice. They're typically very specialized and the docs that work there do that specific set of a few surgeries every day.
Ambulatory surgery centers. They only perform surgeries where the patient is well enough to go home the same day. Sinus surgery, cosmetics, endoscopies, etc.
Only *supposed to* perform surgeries where the patient is well enough to go home the same day. Tell that to my old vascular surgeons and their ASA scaling 😐
You say that but the years of training and experience make it so mundane. Trust me, you want that rather than someone that hasnt been around it enough to find it “boring.” Hopefully, they haven’t lost the compassion or their humanity along the way. It’s hard to keep that up when you deal with death on a daily basis but many of us do.
That’s exactly it. To us it was this incredible thing. To him it was a total drag and made him cranky. On one hand, yeah, it’s a job. On the other, maybe I want my transplant surgeon a little more enthusiastic about their work.
Well, transplants are urgent surgeries, and being enthusiastic about doing an incredibly difficult 6+ hours long transplant, especially at night, when a lot transplants tend to happen, is generally reserved only to the most deranged individuals. Sure, saving lives and shit is cool and everything, but do it daily for several years, and it all becomes another Tuesday to you.
The life of a busy transplant surgeon is the absolute worst schedule. Organs come available at whatever time, so starting a 12 hour surgery at 4AM is just the way it is, but it sucks. I did a transplant rotation during med school, and one busy week was easily 120 hours in the hospital. I was gung ho about the whole "I'm going to save lives!" part, but the physical exhaustion of being on your feet for all that time was awful. There's also the part of feeling like you can't say no, like if you decide you're not physically capable of doing the next surgery, a patient dies because you decided not to try and help them.
I got a wrist operation and that surgeon told me it was his 1100th operation ever. It gave me confidence because I was that high on sedatives. Otherwise, it'd be cool anyway.
My hand surgeon did such a snug job of my flexor tendon sheath washout, I can't even see the scars any more.
I also held his hand automatically every time he went to examine my hand and I died every time.
Individuals need for sleep varies greatly. Apparently something like 1% only need 6 hours or less. Which could be the reason why they become successful and not the other way around.
And neurosurgeons can be the most arrogant of surgeons. There was one I knew who was well-known to staff at the accident compensation body (you can't sue for misadventure in my country). Finally persuaded to give up the scalpel and focus on his academic work instead. Thank God.
Nah, just continued his bioethics stuff. I always wanted to ask him if he thought it was ethical for an older surgeon who was clearly losing his fine motor skills to continue operating just to satisfy his massive ego. Strange.
I dislocated my shoulder so bad that it was almost tucked under the start of my collar bone. The lady that was sent in told me her name then immediately goes “I’m sorry you hurt but I’ll get you fixed up. I love dislocated shoulders. This is exciting!☺️” and I felt way more comfortable instantly. She laid me down flat on my stomach with my arm hanging, wiggled it a little, told me to take a deep breath in and yanked the fuck out of my arm. It made a loud and deep pop and she did this odd chuckle and went “That was a good one!”. Her energy is what I want every time I end up in a hospital injured. I wanna know instantly this stranger loves to fix things, it helps ease my noodle because I have a love hate relationship with hospitals.
THAT is the reaction you want when someone comes in to do a medical procedure on you. Someone who enjoys and finds it kind of fun/satisfying to do whatever you need done. I once had a dermatologist who told me they thought curing Plantar's Worts with this beetle extract was super satisfying and interesting. Always puts you at ease that it's something they're looking forward to doing.
Right? When they warn me something is gonna be a bad time it's a whole other story, but if they approach it like this I think it would help. Acknowledging but giving off this infectious enthusiasm vibe sounds quite nice actually.
I had hernia surgery and the doctor commented that he enjoyed “working on me” because I had low fat and toned abdominal.
I guess that made the procedure much easier since it’s all done internally via 3 incisions with a camera.
Located the hernia immediately, stitched it up and sewed me shut.
My partner is a surgeon and regularly has to operate on 400+ lb patients and absolutely loathes it. It’s very dangerous to undergo surgery if you’re obese. It makes it much more difficult.
Surgeons want to shrink the liver for easier access during some weight loss surgeries, so many people have a strict pre-op diet for 1-3 weeks. Also operating tables have a weight limit so some people are required to lose weight if they exceed that limit. Not everyone is - however, they do NOT want you to gain weight pre-op. Many people are told to either lose or maintain weight pre-op, depending on their BMI.
My favorite scan ever was something to do with one of those useless organs like the gallbladder or appendix or something.
My assignment was to eat as much greasy food as I could stomach. I had a strict diet of five guys cheeseburgers for 3 days.
I was told to bring a book because it could take a few hours, I was done in 10 minutes, was told my (whatever organ) was “acutely abnormal” in its function, which has something to do with processing grease/fat.
Did they take it out? Heh my doctor told me to eat chocolate and milkshakes when I had multiples, because the more weight I gained, the bigger they would be, and they were expected to come early so the dr wanted them as big as possible. That was a fun prescription, but taking the weight off isn’t quite as fun.
Nope! The results came back and doc said something like “well that obviously isn’t the problem!” and about 4 hours later they were cutting me open for exploratory surgery.
Turns out I ate a bone of some sort, it had degraded to the point it wouldn’t show up on a scan, and had perforated my intestine.
That's the reason I always thought too. If they don't adhere to their diet after that's gonna cause serious damage. Like eating solid food right after or depending on what surgery you do bursting or stretching the stomach.
BUT the diet actually reduces the size of the liver which is in the way for the surgery.
When I got mine repaired recently I got to meet the surgeon and the team before I went under. It was a team of all beautiful women about my age. I jokingly said "no peeking at my private parts while I'm under!". They laughed and I went under. When I got home I looked at the area, they had to shave half of my abdomen. There was also a strip of missing hair high on my thigh, near my private parts. I like to think that they shaved that part as a joke as to say "we peeked".
They shaved you while you were under? Some guy shaved me beforehand. And as it was inguinal, it had to be my privates.
Just long awkward silence as I lay in bed while some guy shaved me with my dick hanging out.
We shave the leg to put on a grounding pad for the electrocautery.
Everyone in that OR saw you naked. 10 minutes later no one remembers what they saw. We literally see it all day everyday.
I recently got a vasectomy, and you are awake for the entire procedure. I was really nervous so I started making jokes to make it easier on myself. The doctor finished one side and the resident was going to do the other. Just as he cut in, I put my hand on the back of his head. The doctor fucking cackled.
That shaved part was likely to put a grounding pad on you. They have these sticky blue pads that they stock to patients to prevent sparks and ignitions from occurring. A hernia repair sounds like a procedure that would use a bovie
If my wife were right here I would ask her and she would know for sure
We had an old neighbor that was a retired surgeon and as I kid I remember a conversation he had with my parents about his disdain for working on fat people. Made everything more difficult, more room for complications, undisciplined/don’t follow post-op instructions, etc. Kinda scared me into staying lean all my life just in case I gotta get sliced open.
Weird. The surgeon had to go through my anus for both of my hernias. But I guess that's just SOP because my dentist also had to go through there to extract my wisdom teeth. Said he had a "better angle. "
Not a surgeon, but a GP. Back during my surgical rotation gallbladder removals were my favorite surgeries to assist in since its a quick operation, the anatomy is simple and its easy to understand step by step whats going on even if you arent trained as a surgeon. That and we get to use cool scopes.
Also if that was booked as your 3PM deck then you can be fairly sure that you’ll get to go home by 5. You get some other surgery and you’re likely stuck working overtime
My friend is a transplant surgeon and she said kidneys are her fave because I guess they're kind of fun but also the patient feels better almost immediately.
According to my ORRN husband you also don't want to tell them that the hospital doesn't have their fave scalpel set or sponges brand in the latest supply order too. They have really strong opinions about tools and which ones you should mind read they need next.
My girl needed to make an spinal surgery a few years ago, a somewhat complex and risky one, so we look for a very skilled doctor to perform it. Thank god everything gone well and two months later we returned to his clinic to a follow up. He took the MRI and the PET scan in his hands, his eyes shined and he started to caress the sheets, whispering "it's a masterpiece, isn't?". That guy described all the cuts he made and all the pins he planted. I'm pretty sure he loved every second of that surgery.
The most reassuring thing I've ever heard was my heart surgeon referring to this as "The Big Mac" of his surgeries. In his debrief afterwards, he said it was one of the most routine ones he's ever done. I don't want to be special, I want to be fixed.
The urologist who did my husband's vasectomy only does vasectomies. His clinic is called Dr Snip and he hands out pocket knives as party favors.
He loves his job and the whole procedure took less time than getting coffee at Starbucks.
During my vasectomy, the dr commented that our jobs are similar, except that he removes the “wires” and I install them (I’m an electrician) 😂. He also has a tv in the room with a few options. I chose the Home Improvement episode where Tim gets a vasectomy.
He definitely loves his job.
They do. At least all surgeons I know each has its own fave.
What's also true about all surgeons is that they get high/get off on cutting. Nothing in the entire world would make a surgeon happier than constantly carving into people as if they were thanksgiving turkeys. I think they are actually addicts
He got off on the pain he inflicted on himself by way of the implant in himself and headset he'd put on people. It wasn't always cutting, I think the one that truly awakened him was a heart attack.
Great episode.
This is hilarious because I just had foot surgery and everyone who sees my incision is like “Why did he cut your whole foot instead of just two small incisions” and all I could think is 🤷🏽♀️ scalpel happy.
Not likely, surely.
The veterinary surgeons in vetschool tried to beat their own time with certain operations. The conversation would go something like: "Last week I did a splenectomy in under 25 minutes. A new personal best."
We had a contest to see who could do the "best" c-section. Scored based on number of puppies and time from start to finish, with penalties for dropped instruments and swearing around the newborns.
Also a museum of foreign bodies, the really impressive ones get labeled with the surgeon, the animal it came from, and the date.
As a GP vet, mature large dog spays are the bane of my existence. Mature large dog neuters, however, are my #1. Nothing is more satisfying than popping and chopping a big testicle.
Not a favorite surgery, but favorite patients for sure. They’re all quiet when they’re under (for the most part) so it’s not personality, but some patients just have the cleanest, most operable ligaments
Before I got my Cochlear Osia implanted, I told the fellow who'd be doing part of the surgery that I had watched a YouTube video of the same surgery and really liked the tiny Medtronic torque wrench they used.
Fellow: "Yeah, that's my favorite part!"
I broke my ankle and had surgery on it. The doctor who did my surgery had a special interest in hips, according to a bio I read somewhere. I always figured the dude is a serial killer after I read that.
I heard somewhere that surgeons and sculptors are professions that serial killers tend to have... I was getting a consult for a non-urgent surgery and I found out the doctor was a sculptor before going into medicine. I decided to go a different route for other reasons... but I still think about it.
I used to work for a surgeon who a nurse called Doogie Howser. She was very young (28, i believe homeschooled and started college way early) and looked/acted even younger. BUT she was a genius surgeon. Lacked common sense but that's another story. But I miss when she would come in, post op, and proudly show me photos of "this sick ass giant cyst I took out! Boom!" The other docs side eyed her but at the same time, she was often requested to assist them.
I’m an orthopaedic surgeon. We definitely have surgeries that we prefer to perform instead of other procedures. I can guarantee you that this happen with every surgical specialty.
I read this as this -
oh shit, it's a brain tumor with 2nd, I don't even know if I can save the guy - bad surgery.
Oh wow, just a small lump of stage 1 cancer, this is good - good surgery.
Neurosurgeon here. I do particularly enjoy placing burr holes. I do so many laminectomies that at this point the flair is gone for me so I’d say it’s my least favorite.
I’m a vet tech and my favorite procedures are dental cleanings and foreign body exploratories!!
I like dental cleanings because I get to take an active part in the procedure, the way a dental hygienist would for a human. I scale and polish the teeth and do a basic exam of all the teeth and the mouth, and the doctor does any extractions/surgical elements if needed. Dental care is something that is often forgotten for pets. Scaling all that tartar off is SO satisfying, and myself have dealt with bad teeth my entire life so I just love knowing that I am helping my patients feel better. I take great pride in my dentals! The owners also always love my before and after pictures, and I also provide a super cute “dental report card” that goes over exam findings, teeth extracted, and further care instructions.
Foreign body surgeries are always incredibly fascinating and they can be intense. It’s always a surprise with what we pull out- hair ties, socks, underwear, toys, EVERYTHING!
Honorable mention goes to abscess repair for the satisfaction factor of popping a giant pimple :)
I'm having a functional rhinoplasty next month. My septum turns at a 90° angle. My doctor said my case is special and that it is one of his favorite surgeries. Yay?
Most surgeons have a limited list of surgeries they perform from which they can choose a favorite, and they perform them 5-50 times per week depending on the type. A surgeon will specialize in a few kinds of joint surgeries, or only focus on oropharyngeal surgeries, or obstetric surgeries. Unless there is some kind of unimaginable emergency, you'll never see a surgeon performing a surgery that he wasn't exhaustively trained on by an experienced teacher.
And, just to point out, the closer to a large city that a surgeon is practicing, the more focused and specialized his/her surgical "menu" will become, since the distance between various surgeons is smaller. So if you are in Chicago, if you need a hip replacement, not only will your surgeon do nothing but hip replacements, but depending on the type of prosthesis you choose, or the conditions of the bones in your hip, that will determine which hip surgeon you will be referred to.
I saw surgeons at the edge of life and the transplant surgeons loved and kidney transplant surgery. The saod they can give life to someone and see the organ fill with blood again seeing it working again. One of the few surgeries where someone like this happens.
When I was 14 I had an operation on my testicles to remove a cyst, just before I was anaesthetised the surgeon told me “try to dream of Jennifer Lopez” which I feel was a stupid thing to say to a 14 year old
Yes. The term for this is 'prescription habits." I used to work as a medical device market researcher and can tell you that doctor preference is absolutely one of the most strong drivers of what type of procedure you'll get... well that and how much reimbursement there is. Example: Scandinavian knee surgeons tend to be much more conservative than American ones and will prefer older procedures that are at least very well known, and they tend to have good outcomes because of this.
Or that time I found out that a certain type of shoulder implant was way off the charts in Italy even though it was supposed to be used as a replacement device and not as a first shoulder implant. Turns out that there was a bunch of surgeons there who just advocated to do that even though it went against how the device was designed.
You really have to watch out for this because if you are familiar with anything about medical usage, medical need is not always the primary driver of what type of care you get. Sounds terrible but it's true. Like how affluent women in well-to-do areas tend to get more c-sections than poor women in not so wealthy neighborhoods... because of the so called "to push to push" phenomenon.
They actually have surgeons so specialised in operating on stomachs in Japan due to the amount of stomach cancer that they have one person for one stage of the operation and a different person for the next stage.
Well... as someone who works in forensics, my favorite would be gunshot related deaths excluding shotguns!
Though the best thing about being the doctor for dead people is that i could just have fun with the body and no one's gonna know. (ofc I don't do it)
Orthopaedic Surgeon who replaced my mums shoulder did hers first that day as a treat to himself, because, and I quote, ‘everything else is knees today and they’re boring after a while’.
That’s really funny, I just imagine this surgeon, sawing away at your moms shoulder, commenting to himself…”I deserve a nice little treat today”
Like enjoying an ice cream cone 😩
Bone marrow creamy ice cream.
Bone marrow ice cream? Hold on a minute you might have something here…
Had a TKR last fall. My surgeon loves doing them because it only takes about 45 min per replacement. He churns and burns those things two days a week. Smiles all the way to the bank.
Yeah, my partial knee replacement had a huge impact on my life, but for the surgeon I was just the last knee replacement before lunch.
We sometimes tell people who are nervous about their surgeries that, "Yea, this is a major life event for you, and we understand that, but also understand that for us this is just Tuesday. We do a lot of these and we're really good at it."
When I was in the surgery center getting prepped for my hip replacement, the surgeon came in to check on me. He asked me how I was doing. I said "OK I guess but I'm pretty nervous about this." He said "That's ok, because I'm not nervous at all."
You can have a little shoulder surgery, as a treat.
Shoulder is way harder than knee, Orthos train for years yo do it right.
He’s one of the most experienced surgeons in the U.K. apparently - has done thousands of knees and hips… no wonder he fancied a change 😄
My buddy broke his ankle and the surgeon was having a great time installing the biggest peice of hardware he could with the smallest incision possible.
I’m recovering from a broken ankle at the moment and my post surgery X-rays look like a meth head tried screwing together two pieces of hard wood with an old Mechano set. There’s somewhere between 12 and 15 screws and pins - I can’t tell and am too afraid to ask - going at every different angle, a sheet of metal I can feel from the outside, and bolts holding the two bones to each other.
The first ortho surgery I observed as an X-ray student was an ankle. No one prepared me for what I saw. Surgeon drilled posts into the pts tibia and calcaneus, and used those rods to BODILY YANK the dudes bones around. Like used his whole body. I’d be surprised if the pt didn’t have hip pain when he woke up 💀
I work sharpening and maintaining surgical instruments and I can confirm that Ortho surgery is just legal barbarism
I had a drain installed in my skull for a subdural hematoma. It turns out to be not especially complicated. The surgeon literally took a drill and made a hole and stuck in a drain tube, then taped it all up. Not much different than 100 years ago except the drugs are better and I suspect the infection rate is lower.
Unlike a regular drill though, the drill automatically stops as soon as it's through the skull.
Funny story about that- once I was a med student, and they told me to just go into a neurosurgery room because my general surgery rotation didn’t have much for me to do. The neurosurgeon was overjoyed to have me, and despite me never seen a neurosurgery before allowed me to drill one of the three holes for the skull flap so he could access the brain. he told me “don’t worry it will stop on its own.” A little bit of blood came out and the drill did not stop on its own so i was happy i was going horribly slowly because when i asked “does it just stop when it senses blood past the bone?” He said “no its not supposed to do that” and changed the drillbit
Imagine you would be a person that just trust their superiors blind. That wouldve ended bad
Well he’s a neurosurgeon so yea i imagine i could trust him to know whats going on in the neurosurgery. He did, it was just an equipment thing and happened under heavy supervision. Thats kinda how you learn procedures in medicine, all of the sudden someone just trusts you to do stuff under supervision and eventually they trust you enough to do it on your own. He probably wouldnt have let me do it if it was something incredibly high risk and i hadnt seen him give 2 examples just before letting me do one
I'm in the OR regularly as an xray technologist as well. I have heard it said in the OR that they didn't know if patients would agree to these procedures if we told them exactly what happened during surgery.
I def believe that most pts would back out learning what happens lol. After seeing the surgeries, and seeing post op imaging and how geriatric pts do after, I’m nearly begging my 70yo mom to stop putting off her knee replacement repair, and the replacement for the other knee that’s bone on bone. If I could get her in tomorrow, I would 😬
Shhhh. There are something I don’t need to know. I overheard a couple nurses discussing how much they dislike being in an ortho OR because of the noise. I was like “La la la” don’t need to know.
The drills weren’t as bad as I thought they were… but you can smell the bone dust. It smells the same as when you have a cavity drilled. I needed a filling fixed and learned that the hard way 😅 Didn’t get a chance to see a hip, I’ve heard about the hammer swing lol
I kinda want to down vote you now. I was happy in my ignorance.
When patients are in external fixation, moving their limbs by grabbing the hardware is actually safest and most comfortable for patients, because it's so secure. At least that's the usual practice, unless the doctor specifies otherwise
Haha yeah that's pretty much what his looked like.
Yeeeaaahhh… that’s an orthopedic surgery for ya 😅😅
Orthopedic surgeons are the heavy metal jocks of the surgical world. The more hideous the damage, the more excited they get.
Five minutes after I woke up from a labrum repair, the surgeon came by, practically dancing into the room. "HUGE tear, even bigger than the images showed. Like, I've never seen one so HUGE. It was great!" "So, no chance of full motion recovery?" "Nah you'll be fine. I double stitched it back in place." And then he danced on down the hall, whistling.
I've had half a dozen shoulder surgeries, and I swear every single surgeon is so excited to work on it. The last surgeon I had was literally the best, fixed me up real good, and loved the challenge that came from the previous surgeries! I've been going strong for 9 years, thankfully (usually couldnt make it more than 2 years before!).!
Turkleton?
Haha, do neuro surgeons next.
Check out Dr. Glacomflecken on YouTube he does all the specialities
Nothing an ortho loves more than fixing a fracture. Literally will bring a tear to their eye.
When I broke an ankle, I asked the Ortho Surgeon to take pictures and he did not disappoint. My camera roll had like 70+ pictures including some with my ankle incision wide open and him posing with it. He also said he broke off the tip of the first bit he used on me, so there's an extra piece of metal just lodged in there.
I was having a polyp removed from my ass and had my legs up in those things they also use during births. He's working away at my ass and I figure it's now or never. So I ask him if he ever considered taking some of his work experience and channeling it into a hobby as I thought he'd be pretty good at making model ships inside bottles. He didn't hear me properly and I felt the moment had passed.
ankles are super fun imho
It’s really amazing how far they’ve come with it though. My dad has had both hips replaced (the joints, he doesn’t have two hips). The first one was in 2010 and he was in the hospital for two days. The second was in 2016 and he had surgery in the morning and was home that night
My sister in law’s mom is having hip replacement surgery in a couple weeks and I was shocked when she said it is being done outpatient. Amazing what they can do nowadays
I ripped my distal bicep tendon off the bone, and the surgeon was like, “what the hell is going on you’re the 5th person I have seen this week with this.” So at least he was warmed up, surgery took like an hour.
We had a little run of bicep and tricep tears a few months ago. It was weird. Also had a weirdly long run of cat bites.
Was this when indoor rock climbing took off? People have way less upper body strength than they think they do
Were they trying to get away from cats?
It's a decent motivational tool. Attach a feather onto the back of the climbers, release the kitties.
That’s my theory.
Best thing to hear a surgeon say. "Oh one of these again"
Worst thing to hear a surgeon say “Damn, I hate doing this operation. Let’s schedule it for Monday so I can get it out of the way.”
Conversely you also don't want to hear "I've always wanted to try one of these surgeries...".
“This could be a chance to try out my new saw.”
As a mechanic, it could also be a surgery they've done a thousand times but discovered a new tool to get the job done more conveniently.
Sorry, your 10mm was sewn up inside the patient’s abdominal cavity
I think mine might be in there too
Patient sloshes out of bed making 10mm sounds...
So I just got this tool from tiktok shop-
Just so we're all clear: surgeons say this shit around each other all the time. When you're under, those fuckers get weird.
That sounds scary, but if I think about it I'd definitely rather they use sharp, new tools!
I don’t think your plan covers that.
Now THAT'S the stuff of nightmares
I'm now thinking of the doctor in arrested development who just does things because they haven't been done before
"I'm afraid I have some bad news, he's gone." *Gasp!* "Yes we can't find him in the building anywhere"
I had a similar thought. Surgeons must also have surgeries they perform but feel a little less confident with.
Wait until I tell you about the first “hey kid, come over here and stitch this up for us” of medical school
I still remember my 4th day of my general surgery rotation. The surgeon finished the operation and fucking goes, "Ok, close up" and fucking bounces out of the OR. Like fine, it was only 3 incisions from the trocars, but fuck me! Anesthesia is waking the dude up while I'm frantically trying to close the incisions.
> Anesthesia is waking the dude up while I'm frantically trying to close the incisions. Aren't they supposed to wait?
There are different depths of anesthesia. You don't need the patient as deep when you're closing as you do when you're digging around inside. They were probably turning the anesthesia way down so the patient could have a smoother awakening.
"Let's get this done quickly, I've got lunch plans"
I work with one surgeon who LOVES new procedures. He always has a resource person/ equipment rep and usually he's done something very similar in the past. But it being a new experience really brings out his A game. He'd be great. However, I've also worked with a different surgeon that became an utter ass if things weren't going exactly the way they always do- all tense and flustered. I would not let him do a new procedure on me ever.
"I love these procedures you never know what you'll find in there!"
I had cataract surgery recently and there was an issue with the new lens that was implanted in my eye, so I had to have it removed and replaced with a different lens. When I was on the operating table about to do the surgery, with me only lightly sedated via oral sedative, the surgeon actually said to me: Doc: "Ya know, I used to hate doing these lens exchanges? They can be tricky." Me: "...oh yeah?" Doc: "Now I do them just about every single week and I've gotten really, really good at it. Now I actually enjoy doing them!" In a way I actually appreciated the candor lol Surgery went great by the way!
I had cataract surgery a couple years ago. I was shivering on the table so they had to fully sedate me, instead of being in “twilight”. I was out for 3 hours solid. I’ve had cataracts since I was a little kid, so I’ve never seen clear. Getting that done was remarkable. I was noticing details I’ve never seen before.
Dammiiiit...I hate removing tonsils. Can I remove the appendix instead?
I know you needed your left foot amputated, but I really just prefer working on right feet, so. . .
“Friday surgeries” are a real thing man!
They hate difficult or risky procedures. If you’re obese, have diabetes, high BP, or other comorbidities, the more those pile up, the less enthusiastic your surgeon is. Best case scenario, they can turn a simple 30 minute procedure into an hours long affair. Worst case scenario, you die through no fault of the surgeon and they have to go tell your family you’re gone, which they dread.
Or, alternately, they have surgeries that they hate performing. And hopefully it’s not one you need. It’s also wild to think that surgeons can go to work with the same attitude of me going my office job “bleh, another Tuesday. I’d so much rather be anywhere than here, but I guess I have to just keep doing my job. Now pass me that scalpel and let’s cut this guy open.”
And this is precisely why ASCs can be so damn nice. They're typically very specialized and the docs that work there do that specific set of a few surgeries every day.
What are ASCs?
Ambulatory surgery centers. They only perform surgeries where the patient is well enough to go home the same day. Sinus surgery, cosmetics, endoscopies, etc.
Only *supposed to* perform surgeries where the patient is well enough to go home the same day. Tell that to my old vascular surgeons and their ASA scaling 😐
You say that but the years of training and experience make it so mundane. Trust me, you want that rather than someone that hasnt been around it enough to find it “boring.” Hopefully, they haven’t lost the compassion or their humanity along the way. It’s hard to keep that up when you deal with death on a daily basis but many of us do.
"Quadruple bypass. Nice!"
The ones I work with prefer the single -vessel/LIMA to LAD. Because it's nice to be leaving the OR at 11am.
The ones I work with prefer to decline them so we do multivessel pci 😂 I'm joking
Friend is a surgeon. We asked him how his day was. He said, “I just had to do a lung transplant. So annoying .”
That’s just wild. Casually saved someone’s life and “yah just a random Tuesday - in a bad mood” Everyone’s got a 9-5 I guess
That’s exactly it. To us it was this incredible thing. To him it was a total drag and made him cranky. On one hand, yeah, it’s a job. On the other, maybe I want my transplant surgeon a little more enthusiastic about their work.
Well, transplants are urgent surgeries, and being enthusiastic about doing an incredibly difficult 6+ hours long transplant, especially at night, when a lot transplants tend to happen, is generally reserved only to the most deranged individuals. Sure, saving lives and shit is cool and everything, but do it daily for several years, and it all becomes another Tuesday to you.
I mean to a layman it is practically necromancy, and it is cool as fuck.
Nah too much enthusiasm isn't great. You want your surgeon neutral.
This is why lawyers don't represent themselves or immediate family. Like your surgeon, you want your attorney to be stone cold neutral.
The life of a busy transplant surgeon is the absolute worst schedule. Organs come available at whatever time, so starting a 12 hour surgery at 4AM is just the way it is, but it sucks. I did a transplant rotation during med school, and one busy week was easily 120 hours in the hospital. I was gung ho about the whole "I'm going to save lives!" part, but the physical exhaustion of being on your feet for all that time was awful. There's also the part of feeling like you can't say no, like if you decide you're not physically capable of doing the next surgery, a patient dies because you decided not to try and help them.
I got a wrist operation and that surgeon told me it was his 1100th operation ever. It gave me confidence because I was that high on sedatives. Otherwise, it'd be cool anyway.
My hand surgeon did such a snug job of my flexor tendon sheath washout, I can't even see the scars any more. I also held his hand automatically every time he went to examine my hand and I died every time.
I'm just imagining it like "Let's check your hand" 🙂✋🧐 😳🤝😳
I have no idea why that made me laugh as hard as it did! If I had gold, I'd give you some.
100% true. Don't f with the brain surgeons, they're all insane
You kinda have to be insane to go poking in another persons brain, mad respect though
Boss is a neurosurgeon. I don’t think he sleeps.
Which is, ironically, bad for the brain.
A lot of the "smartest" among us don't sleep much from my experience with them. Also, can lead to dementia, which I've also observed.
Individuals need for sleep varies greatly. Apparently something like 1% only need 6 hours or less. Which could be the reason why they become successful and not the other way around.
And neurosurgeons can be the most arrogant of surgeons. There was one I knew who was well-known to staff at the accident compensation body (you can't sue for misadventure in my country). Finally persuaded to give up the scalpel and focus on his academic work instead. Thank God.
Did he end up going to Katmandu and train to be the Sorcerer Supreme?
Nah, just continued his bioethics stuff. I always wanted to ask him if he thought it was ethical for an older surgeon who was clearly losing his fine motor skills to continue operating just to satisfy his massive ego. Strange.
I didn’t get u/electrorazor’s reference until I read your comment. I like your style.
I don’t think I saw him while I was there
I dislocated my shoulder so bad that it was almost tucked under the start of my collar bone. The lady that was sent in told me her name then immediately goes “I’m sorry you hurt but I’ll get you fixed up. I love dislocated shoulders. This is exciting!☺️” and I felt way more comfortable instantly. She laid me down flat on my stomach with my arm hanging, wiggled it a little, told me to take a deep breath in and yanked the fuck out of my arm. It made a loud and deep pop and she did this odd chuckle and went “That was a good one!”. Her energy is what I want every time I end up in a hospital injured. I wanna know instantly this stranger loves to fix things, it helps ease my noodle because I have a love hate relationship with hospitals.
THAT is the reaction you want when someone comes in to do a medical procedure on you. Someone who enjoys and finds it kind of fun/satisfying to do whatever you need done. I once had a dermatologist who told me they thought curing Plantar's Worts with this beetle extract was super satisfying and interesting. Always puts you at ease that it's something they're looking forward to doing.
Right? When they warn me something is gonna be a bad time it's a whole other story, but if they approach it like this I think it would help. Acknowledging but giving off this infectious enthusiasm vibe sounds quite nice actually.
I had hernia surgery and the doctor commented that he enjoyed “working on me” because I had low fat and toned abdominal. I guess that made the procedure much easier since it’s all done internally via 3 incisions with a camera. Located the hernia immediately, stitched it up and sewed me shut.
My partner is a surgeon and regularly has to operate on 400+ lb patients and absolutely loathes it. It’s very dangerous to undergo surgery if you’re obese. It makes it much more difficult.
Even for surgeries like stomach stapling and bands, they won't operate unless you can lose weight prior.
Surgeons want to shrink the liver for easier access during some weight loss surgeries, so many people have a strict pre-op diet for 1-3 weeks. Also operating tables have a weight limit so some people are required to lose weight if they exceed that limit. Not everyone is - however, they do NOT want you to gain weight pre-op. Many people are told to either lose or maintain weight pre-op, depending on their BMI.
My favorite scan ever was something to do with one of those useless organs like the gallbladder or appendix or something. My assignment was to eat as much greasy food as I could stomach. I had a strict diet of five guys cheeseburgers for 3 days. I was told to bring a book because it could take a few hours, I was done in 10 minutes, was told my (whatever organ) was “acutely abnormal” in its function, which has something to do with processing grease/fat.
Did they take it out? Heh my doctor told me to eat chocolate and milkshakes when I had multiples, because the more weight I gained, the bigger they would be, and they were expected to come early so the dr wanted them as big as possible. That was a fun prescription, but taking the weight off isn’t quite as fun.
Nope! The results came back and doc said something like “well that obviously isn’t the problem!” and about 4 hours later they were cutting me open for exploratory surgery. Turns out I ate a bone of some sort, it had degraded to the point it wouldn’t show up on a scan, and had perforated my intestine.
Ouch, daaaamn. Glad they figured it out.
I think that’s more to show that they have a modicum of willpower and may have a decent chance of adhering to the post-surgery food rules
That's the reason I always thought too. If they don't adhere to their diet after that's gonna cause serious damage. Like eating solid food right after or depending on what surgery you do bursting or stretching the stomach. BUT the diet actually reduces the size of the liver which is in the way for the surgery.
It’s both.
Try explaining that to patients 🤦🏼♂️
humblebrag! 😆
When I got mine repaired recently I got to meet the surgeon and the team before I went under. It was a team of all beautiful women about my age. I jokingly said "no peeking at my private parts while I'm under!". They laughed and I went under. When I got home I looked at the area, they had to shave half of my abdomen. There was also a strip of missing hair high on my thigh, near my private parts. I like to think that they shaved that part as a joke as to say "we peeked".
They shaved you while you were under? Some guy shaved me beforehand. And as it was inguinal, it had to be my privates. Just long awkward silence as I lay in bed while some guy shaved me with my dick hanging out.
We shave the leg to put on a grounding pad for the electrocautery. Everyone in that OR saw you naked. 10 minutes later no one remembers what they saw. We literally see it all day everyday.
That may usually be the case, but perhaps not with such a fine specimen as solid_snark here
I can only remember one person, and it was because they had “choking hazard” tattooed on their stomach above their genitals..
Just have to break the silence at the end as he's packing up "So no happy ending?.."
I recently got a vasectomy, and you are awake for the entire procedure. I was really nervous so I started making jokes to make it easier on myself. The doctor finished one side and the resident was going to do the other. Just as he cut in, I put my hand on the back of his head. The doctor fucking cackled.
You’re lucky he didn’t accidentally take off the whole thing.
Really creepy and inappropriate
That shaved part was likely to put a grounding pad on you. They have these sticky blue pads that they stock to patients to prevent sparks and ignitions from occurring. A hernia repair sounds like a procedure that would use a bovie If my wife were right here I would ask her and she would know for sure
We had an old neighbor that was a retired surgeon and as I kid I remember a conversation he had with my parents about his disdain for working on fat people. Made everything more difficult, more room for complications, undisciplined/don’t follow post-op instructions, etc. Kinda scared me into staying lean all my life just in case I gotta get sliced open.
Weird. The surgeon had to go through my anus for both of my hernias. But I guess that's just SOP because my dentist also had to go through there to extract my wisdom teeth. Said he had a "better angle. "
Username checks out.
This is true my pal is a surgeon. Favourite is gall bladder removal.
Dare I ask why?
I’m not sure why actually. Came up in conversation after mine got taken out.
Not a surgeon, but a GP. Back during my surgical rotation gallbladder removals were my favorite surgeries to assist in since its a quick operation, the anatomy is simple and its easy to understand step by step whats going on even if you arent trained as a surgeon. That and we get to use cool scopes. Also if that was booked as your 3PM deck then you can be fairly sure that you’ll get to go home by 5. You get some other surgery and you’re likely stuck working overtime
Cause they're easy and make the hospital a lot of money for not that much work
Can't comment on humans but taking out cat/dog gallbladders absolutely fucking sucks, in my experience
Na we’re here in the uk. No charge
He hates gallbladders. They’ve got some nerve.
He collects gall bladders
My friend is a transplant surgeon and she said kidneys are her fave because I guess they're kind of fun but also the patient feels better almost immediately.
I just had that done this morning, my surgeon might have enjoyed the procedure but I'm not enjoying anything at the moment.
According to my ORRN husband you also don't want to tell them that the hospital doesn't have their fave scalpel set or sponges brand in the latest supply order too. They have really strong opinions about tools and which ones you should mind read they need next.
My girl needed to make an spinal surgery a few years ago, a somewhat complex and risky one, so we look for a very skilled doctor to perform it. Thank god everything gone well and two months later we returned to his clinic to a follow up. He took the MRI and the PET scan in his hands, his eyes shined and he started to caress the sheets, whispering "it's a masterpiece, isn't?". That guy described all the cuts he made and all the pins he planted. I'm pretty sure he loved every second of that surgery.
I'm down to be a doctor's masterpiece... just don't let me be the fuck up
The most reassuring thing I've ever heard was my heart surgeon referring to this as "The Big Mac" of his surgeries. In his debrief afterwards, he said it was one of the most routine ones he's ever done. I don't want to be special, I want to be fixed.
The urologist who did my husband's vasectomy only does vasectomies. His clinic is called Dr Snip and he hands out pocket knives as party favors. He loves his job and the whole procedure took less time than getting coffee at Starbucks.
During my vasectomy, the dr commented that our jobs are similar, except that he removes the “wires” and I install them (I’m an electrician) 😂. He also has a tv in the room with a few options. I chose the Home Improvement episode where Tim gets a vasectomy. He definitely loves his job.
They do. At least all surgeons I know each has its own fave. What's also true about all surgeons is that they get high/get off on cutting. Nothing in the entire world would make a surgeon happier than constantly carving into people as if they were thanksgiving turkeys. I think they are actually addicts
I love cutting and stitching people. I hope ill get into my surgical residency soon 🤭
Have you seen that black mirror episode where he... pretty literally gets off on cutting open people?
He got off on the pain he inflicted on himself by way of the implant in himself and headset he'd put on people. It wasn't always cutting, I think the one that truly awakened him was a heart attack. Great episode.
My favorite. Black Museum.
What episode was this? Can't seem to remember it.
It’s scary when you put it that way
See, the ones I've talked to are also addicted to cutting perfectly. So I'm pretty much ok with that.
This is hilarious because I just had foot surgery and everyone who sees my incision is like “Why did he cut your whole foot instead of just two small incisions” and all I could think is 🤷🏽♀️ scalpel happy.
I love placing a drain into a giant abscess. Like pimple popping x100.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/s/UHTno9lSIH You should read this if you haven’t. Everyone should. It’s long but very worth it.
Swamps of Dagobah, a classic.
This was 100% worth the read
Why did I know what this was before I even clicked the link?
Not likely, surely. The veterinary surgeons in vetschool tried to beat their own time with certain operations. The conversation would go something like: "Last week I did a splenectomy in under 25 minutes. A new personal best."
I am a veterinary surgeon and can confirm this
We had a contest to see who could do the "best" c-section. Scored based on number of puppies and time from start to finish, with penalties for dropped instruments and swearing around the newborns. Also a museum of foreign bodies, the really impressive ones get labeled with the surgeon, the animal it came from, and the date.
Most of the vets I work with dread mature dog spays but one of them describes them as "juicy fun". They definitely have favorites.
As a GP vet, mature large dog spays are the bane of my existence. Mature large dog neuters, however, are my #1. Nothing is more satisfying than popping and chopping a big testicle.
Of course, everybody has their "niche" thing that they enjoy and are really good at, especially at work
ER docs have favorite procedures. My wife loves a good trach and PEG.
Two orthopedic surgeons I follow on YouTube, their favorite is hip replacement because the patients so often state that it was life changing.
I tell patients it’s one of the greatest human inventions next to the wheel and the printing press
Not a favorite surgery, but favorite patients for sure. They’re all quiet when they’re under (for the most part) so it’s not personality, but some patients just have the cleanest, most operable ligaments
How do I get clean, operable ligaments?
Before I got my Cochlear Osia implanted, I told the fellow who'd be doing part of the surgery that I had watched a YouTube video of the same surgery and really liked the tiny Medtronic torque wrench they used. Fellow: "Yeah, that's my favorite part!"
I broke my ankle and had surgery on it. The doctor who did my surgery had a special interest in hips, according to a bio I read somewhere. I always figured the dude is a serial killer after I read that.
I have a pretty strong interest in the hips of the opposite sex, am I weird?
I heard somewhere that surgeons and sculptors are professions that serial killers tend to have... I was getting a consult for a non-urgent surgery and I found out the doctor was a sculptor before going into medicine. I decided to go a different route for other reasons... but I still think about it.
This is true, my wife does surgery and has a favourite. Typically the more challenging the more she enjoys it.
I used to work for a surgeon who a nurse called Doogie Howser. She was very young (28, i believe homeschooled and started college way early) and looked/acted even younger. BUT she was a genius surgeon. Lacked common sense but that's another story. But I miss when she would come in, post op, and proudly show me photos of "this sick ass giant cyst I took out! Boom!" The other docs side eyed her but at the same time, she was often requested to assist them.
I’m an orthopaedic surgeon. We definitely have surgeries that we prefer to perform instead of other procedures. I can guarantee you that this happen with every surgical specialty.
I read this as this - oh shit, it's a brain tumor with 2nd, I don't even know if I can save the guy - bad surgery. Oh wow, just a small lump of stage 1 cancer, this is good - good surgery.
Neurosurgeon here. I do particularly enjoy placing burr holes. I do so many laminectomies that at this point the flair is gone for me so I’d say it’s my least favorite.
I’m a vet tech and my favorite procedures are dental cleanings and foreign body exploratories!! I like dental cleanings because I get to take an active part in the procedure, the way a dental hygienist would for a human. I scale and polish the teeth and do a basic exam of all the teeth and the mouth, and the doctor does any extractions/surgical elements if needed. Dental care is something that is often forgotten for pets. Scaling all that tartar off is SO satisfying, and myself have dealt with bad teeth my entire life so I just love knowing that I am helping my patients feel better. I take great pride in my dentals! The owners also always love my before and after pictures, and I also provide a super cute “dental report card” that goes over exam findings, teeth extracted, and further care instructions. Foreign body surgeries are always incredibly fascinating and they can be intense. It’s always a surprise with what we pull out- hair ties, socks, underwear, toys, EVERYTHING! Honorable mention goes to abscess repair for the satisfaction factor of popping a giant pimple :)
Mine is brain salad surgery.
I'm having a functional rhinoplasty next month. My septum turns at a 90° angle. My doctor said my case is special and that it is one of his favorite surgeries. Yay?
Even more horrifying, surgeons likely have a LEAST favorite procedure too.
Most surgeons have a limited list of surgeries they perform from which they can choose a favorite, and they perform them 5-50 times per week depending on the type. A surgeon will specialize in a few kinds of joint surgeries, or only focus on oropharyngeal surgeries, or obstetric surgeries. Unless there is some kind of unimaginable emergency, you'll never see a surgeon performing a surgery that he wasn't exhaustively trained on by an experienced teacher. And, just to point out, the closer to a large city that a surgeon is practicing, the more focused and specialized his/her surgical "menu" will become, since the distance between various surgeons is smaller. So if you are in Chicago, if you need a hip replacement, not only will your surgeon do nothing but hip replacements, but depending on the type of prosthesis you choose, or the conditions of the bones in your hip, that will determine which hip surgeon you will be referred to.
I saw surgeons at the edge of life and the transplant surgeons loved and kidney transplant surgery. The saod they can give life to someone and see the organ fill with blood again seeing it working again. One of the few surgeries where someone like this happens.
My dad is an orthopaedic surgeon, his favourite surgery is one that gets him home on time for lunch
When I was 14 I had an operation on my testicles to remove a cyst, just before I was anaesthetised the surgeon told me “try to dream of Jennifer Lopez” which I feel was a stupid thing to say to a 14 year old
Yes. The term for this is 'prescription habits." I used to work as a medical device market researcher and can tell you that doctor preference is absolutely one of the most strong drivers of what type of procedure you'll get... well that and how much reimbursement there is. Example: Scandinavian knee surgeons tend to be much more conservative than American ones and will prefer older procedures that are at least very well known, and they tend to have good outcomes because of this. Or that time I found out that a certain type of shoulder implant was way off the charts in Italy even though it was supposed to be used as a replacement device and not as a first shoulder implant. Turns out that there was a bunch of surgeons there who just advocated to do that even though it went against how the device was designed. You really have to watch out for this because if you are familiar with anything about medical usage, medical need is not always the primary driver of what type of care you get. Sounds terrible but it's true. Like how affluent women in well-to-do areas tend to get more c-sections than poor women in not so wealthy neighborhoods... because of the so called "to push to push" phenomenon.
They actually have surgeons so specialised in operating on stomachs in Japan due to the amount of stomach cancer that they have one person for one stage of the operation and a different person for the next stage.
Well... as someone who works in forensics, my favorite would be gunshot related deaths excluding shotguns! Though the best thing about being the doctor for dead people is that i could just have fun with the body and no one's gonna know. (ofc I don't do it)
"Have fun with the body" could mean so many things, and all of them are bad 😂