Friday, April 6, 2012

Observing Surgeries

On Wednesday I was able to observe several surgeries: a couple cataract removals and some inguinal hernia repairs.  Honestly, I didn't do well during the cataracts.  Since the work is so delicate, the surgery is performed with a microscope and the image is projected onto two big screens in the room.  You can see one of them in the picture below.  It was disturbing, but I was just fine with the hernias.  Plus, one of my ship moms was the OR team lead for the hernias so I got to talk to her. :) 





What struck me most about the surgeries was how simple it was to completely change a person's life forever.  The cataracts took 5-10 minutes to remove and replace the lens, giving sight to the blind.  A hernia surgery was about a half an hour to an hour.  These people have lived most of their lives with some disability that is usually so simple to fix.  My problems honestly cannot even compare, they're not even on the same playing field.

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