Pulling Out Your Organ

Neurosurgery had been so so but when we swapped to a general surgeon, it has been fun with the surgery.

The only downside of general surgery is the filter. It was cramped and dark and I was concerned about my coat and clothes of the day get in smelling like a softlan and get out smelling like the armpit of someone who hasn't bath for a week. And the scrub is rather revealing : knickers, chest and armpit. Not sexy!

Anyway we were supposed to be in Dr Asqar operation room but the TV crews have been responsible for us to be in the next few situations.

First, we were waiting to get in the operation theathre after the patient has been prepared for surgery. But then the ECG came out not normal, which means the operation has to be cancelled and since it will take some time for another patient to be wheeled in and prepared for cholecystectomy (removal of gallbladder), we went into another OR to watch a vascular surgery.

I like it.

First and foremost, I get to see the operation.

Bad luck if you got surgeon with big stature coz u'll always end up seeing his back 90% of the time if you are lucky or seeing nothing except the instruments if you are unlucky.

Anyway, this operation is about dealing with the varicose veins.

The valve in the great saphenous vein has been insufficient.

The plan is to get rid of the varicose and the great saphenous vein.

Varicose vein, if untreated can cause compression to small arteries supplying the leg and will bring about varicose ulcer, pigmentation and ugly/uglier leg.

Basically, u can clearly see the varicose vein the patient is standing but when patient is lying on the back, u can't see it (it's all about the gravity that cause the blood to fill in the vein and making it looking like coils of snakes on your leg).

So, to make sure u can keep track of the varicose vein when the patient is on the table, u shall draw some lines corresponding to the vein position when the patient is standing prior to surgery.

To remove the varicose veins, surgeon will make an incision, put the designated instrument into the now accessible varicose vein, and screw it out.

As for the great saphenous vein, it's a superficial vein of the leg.And as known, the leg i supplied by deep venous system and superficial venous system.

This makes removing the great saphenous vein is possible without costing you your leg.

That's why for bypass surgery, we use this vein. And when we have a patient suffering from varicose vein due to insufficiency of valve of great saphenous vein, we can totally remove this great saphenous vein.

Surgeon will make an incision on inguinal region (it's the groin), clamp the vein, cut them, and tie both ends. Anothe incision is made in the calf slightly below the knee. They gonna pull the vein down through this incision in the calf. After both incisions are done, the surgeon put a wire into the great saphenous vein. The wire looks like this. The lumpy end is situated at the inguinal end and the small one is on the other end, and then zap, they pull it out.

When you pull out this great vein, it will take time for your leg circulation to adjust itself. I mean most of the blood has been travelling out of the leg through this great saphenous vein and now, it's gone. It's either you just suture back the incision you made, which mean you don't even bother to tell the blood that this way is closed already. And since blood doesn't think for itself, it'll just accumulate in the tissue causing hematoma. So as someone who can think for ourselves and for other beings, we must bandaged the whole leg to prevent blood pooling.

Done with the vascular surgery, we once again hung over the corridor, watching another surgery behind the see through door. And we saw the freaking gallbladder and were all excited over it (medical students are hyperexcited to see your organ and we really look forward to anything to do with poking the insides of living human bodies ). The gallbladder looks just like a ballon filled with 30ml of water and the colour composition is just like the inside of your cheek.

I have so many things to write down and let's hope that I remember every detail of the procedure that I had the opportunity to look. And unfortunately I decided to ditch my camera and rely solely on my brain to remember the crucial moments I have seen in the hospital.