Archive for January, 2008

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Makes a grown man writhe

Posted in Medicine, Reflections with tags , , on January 31, 2008 by Øystein

On most occasions I know exactly what to expect when I’m heading out to film some procedure or other. Operations are routine work and I know how patients tend to react to different biopsies, infusions etc. But one recent assignment really caught me off guard.

PDT - red light treatment

There is a treatment option for skin cancer which sounds easy and gentle. Most cancers can only be treated with major surgery, radiation or massive chemotherapy schedules. But for skin cancer patients, a treatment involving light has emerged the last 15 years.
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Different shades of red revisited

Posted in Videography with tags , , , on January 29, 2008 by Øystein

Bloodless operative field

A while back I wrote this post about the problems video cameras have with reproducing the insides of our bodies. The blood running through our bodies cause most tissues to be some shade of red.

This week I got an excellent opportunity to visualize this. Read more »

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Lucid medical comic strip

Posted in Links with tags , , , , on January 23, 2008 by Øystein

Lucid TV #9

I have to recommend my long time favorite webcomic Lucid TV.

According to Comixpedia it chronicles the professional lives of the resident staff of the “Jim Belushi Memorial Hospital” in Juneau, Alaska. Both staff and patients in this comic represents common stereotypes taken to the extreme. Read more »

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Check out SurgeXperiences 113

Posted in Links, Surgery with tags , , on January 20, 2008 by Øystein

Historical picture from an OR

SurgeXperiences 113 is up at Counting Sheep, the brilliant blog of an anesthetist nurse.

Check it out for some interesting tales of after hours surgery, accompanied by historical photos from the OR.

Edition 114 will be hosted by Anesthesioboist on February 3rd. Send in your posts now! You should also consider hosting an edition yourself.

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A false alarm

Posted in Reflections, Surgery with tags , , , , on January 19, 2008 by Øystein

“Have you ever fainted,” is a question I often get. Fortunately I have not. There were a couple of close calls during my first year in this job, but my body has adapted and I’ve learnt some tricks along the way. Falling unconscious over the patient with camera and all, that would really be a nightmare.

Some time ago I witnessed a senior resident having her worst nightmare come true. Almost.

Midfacial degloving

I was filming a midfacial degloving. This is an approach used to get access to the nasal cavity. Read more »

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PrimeSkills in Surgery

Posted in Links, Surgery with tags , , on January 16, 2008 by Øystein

Dissecting forceps exercise

Wikisurgery, a free encyclopedia of surgery, contains the very interesting PrimeSkills in Surgery. Originally published on CD-ROM, this is a training program in basic surgical skills made by British general surgeon Michael Edwards. Read more »

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DeBakey’s surgical film stand

Posted in Videography with tags , , , on January 12, 2008 by Øystein

It’s a little-known fact that Michael E. DeBakey, world-renowned pioneer of cardiovascular surgery, was also one of the first surgeons to capture his operations on film. I only discovered it recently myself. Having heard the call for DeBakey forceps in the OR a lot, it was interesting to find out he had also invented equipment for filming surgery (photo credit).

DeBakey film stand side

In the 1960’s DeBakey started capturing some of his operations on film for educational purposes. Read more »

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Blunt dissection of bacalao

Posted in Surgery with tags , , , on January 8, 2008 by Øystein

Blunt dissection of a piece of bacalao

For New Year’s Eve I prepared a casserole of salted and dried cod cooked with potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, olive oil and cayenne peppers. In Norway we call this dish “bacalao”, which is the word for cod in Spanish. The dried and salted cod is called “klippfisk” in Norwegian. This literally means “cliff fish”, as it was traditionally dried on the cliffs along the coast. Read more »

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Darkness on the edge of wound

Posted in Videography with tags , , , , , on January 7, 2008 by Øystein

If you’ve watched any videos of open surgery you’ve probably noticed the apparent darkness of the OR. The lights seem to be turned off, except for the surgical light which keeps the surgical field brightly lit.

Laparotomy

And yet, surgeons don’t perform open operations shrouded in darkness, do they? Read more »

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SurgeXperiences 112

Posted in Surgery with tags , on January 6, 2008 by Øystein

Welcome to the 12th edition of the one and only surgical blog carnival. Your guide to brilliant surgical blogging around the web.

Surgeon and nurse exchanging glances

Being a non-surgeon I find it truly a privilege to be hosting the first edition of SurgeXperiences in 2008. Take some time to enjoy this varied buffet of blogging, sprinkled with some photos of mine.

Let the carnival begin: Read more »

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