Heart Surgery at Health Fair...

[Guest]

I picked up the Sunday edition of our local paper earlier today to read it...and on the front page saw an article about an open heart surgery demonstration that was given at a hospital right here in my home town...! Sorry I missed it, but by all accounts, seems as if, since it was standing room only, I may not have seen much anyway....

Article can be read here:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/top/e20heart.htm

Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate the pictures online that were on the front page of the newspaper. Pictures showed the pig's valve, etc. It was kind of neat....

Just thought I'd share....


Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 31swm/pig valve/pacemaker
'72,6,9/'81,7.hobbies.chdQB = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/
MC Guide = http://www.chevyasylum.com/mcspotter/main.html
What's it like to buy your favorite car brand new? Wish I knew...

 

[Gemma]

Cool!

I'm glad I read the article. Had visions from your description of the surgeon asking for volunteers from the audience or something .

 

[BillCobit]

if ya like that kinda stuff...

if ya like that kinda stuff...

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/videos/index.html

 

[Guest]

Had visions from your description of the surgeon asking for volunteers from the audience or something .

LOL! Now that would be interesting .


And, Bill...thanks for sharing those, too .

 

[perkicar]

Ohs

Ohs

When I was in nursing school, I got to watch 2 bypasses, different hospitals different surgeons. Both times they let me stand up at the patients head with the anesthesiologist. The second one I watched start to finish--surgeon was very nice and asked me way too many questions (I guess he didn't have a resident with him to drill LOL). Having watched them, though, adds a new dimension of anxiety to knowing that I'm going to be the one on the table. Pretty scary!!

 

[Guest]

Having watched them, though, adds a new dimension of anxiety to knowing that I'm going to be the one on the table. Pretty scary!!

Definitely scary....

I've often wondered what it'd be like to have my surgery videotaped to watch it later. But, that has not been offered to me...and I've been to "chicken" to ask...lol. I'm not sure I'd want to watch it anyway....

 

[Harpoon]

I dunno how "commonplace" it might be, but I do know that some facillities will videotape certain proceedures for record keeping purposes.

They document just about EVERYTHING that is done during surgery on paper, it's a very thorough record that is poured over by the chief surgeons and nurses. The idea being that if there was a complication somewhere along the line, they'd have somethign to go back to and see if there was something that was done or not done that could have caused the situation.

I don't think the general public is really all that aware of such practices. But it's done on at least some level for every surgical proceedure. And it's not just due to the possibility of litigation. Often it's part of the medical records, "we did this, this, and this the last time we opened so and so up" with the intention that they could refer back to it if need be for additional surgery, or other treatments or to follow up on anythign that happened during surgery. Part of the communication between various doctors as well.

I can't say there's a VHS tape of every surgery ever performed in the US in the last 10 years or whatever, but they're probably videotaped rather frequently at least.

More than you might think.

The other side is where the camera was pointed. Most of the situations I've seen set a videocamera above the table with a clear view of the surgical field, that's it. It's a static shot, no panning, tilting, zooming in or out. The camera just sits there, untouched, for the duration of the proceedure.



And typing that last paragraph just triggered a wee little flashback to my time in the hospital (sort of) which wasn't all to pleasant.... Been getting those off and on lately....


Anyways. Personally, I would have liked to have a tape of my surgery(ies.)

Also wish I had a photograph or two of the "infamous" beard I was apparently sporting a few weeks after surgery since no one bothered to shave my face while I was on the vent.

I gather I got one good shave by a nurse, after being extubated. The only other cutting of facial hair was done by myself with an electric razor that just wasn't up to the task of hacking away weeks worth of grizzle....

But I digress.

 

[Harpoon]

Oh yeah, I'll add that I REALLY wish I had a (basically nude) photo of myself when I was released from the hospital. I remember looking over my body few times in the mirror in the bathroom and man was I a wreck. Would be interesting to have for comparison to now...

 

[Guest]

Also wish I had a photograph or two of the "infamous" beard I was apparently sporting a few weeks after surgery since no one bothered to shave my face while I was on the vent.

I gather I got one good shave by a nurse, after being extubated. The only other cutting of facial hair was done by myself with an electric razor that just wasn't up to the task of hacking away weeks worth of grizzle....

LOL! I wasn't even shaved while I was in the hospital. Came home to a nice lil beard. A couple people suggested I keep it...no thank you . That first shave after I got home was nasty...holy crap was it nasty .

Course, the rest of my body wasn't looking so great either .

As for the taping, I can imagine this happens more than we know. What better way to have record of a surgery and the procedures done within that surgery? But...if they are only "static" cameras....that can lead to problems with interpretation. I wonder if they are recording sound, too....I would imagine that they would be....

*shrugs*

With all of the digital/wireless technology these days, maybe someday we'll see cameras similar to that now used at basketball and football games, whereby they "hang" in the air just above the field and "fly" around to capture moments within the game. Heh...wouldn't that be neat for a surgery?!

 

[SHerrin Hutt]

Hi
Well, my mitri valve repaair was taped at Clevelaand Clinic and they gave me a tape of it. It took awhile beforr I could watch it. But I decided to watch it before I had the repair and it was kinda of neat.

 

[Guest]

Sherrin,

Sounds cool to me.... Maybe you could bring that to a reunion or 2, eh? A sort of "show'n'tell" presentation....

 

[geebee]

I asked about having my second OHS taped at Long Island Jewish and found out that they were setting up the ORs for taping but hadn't finished yet (this was in 1982) so they weren't able to tape it.
The surgeon was probably happy afterwards because he lacerated my pulmonary artery clearing a path to my heart. Apparently there was quite a scramble to stop the bleeding.
Would have been interested to see.
Oh well - and I won't say "better luck next time" because I don't want a next time.