Surgery’s past, present and robotic future
June 24, 2009 § Leave a comment
Check out this interesting TED talk by surgeon and inventor Catherine Mohr, tracing the history of surgery from pre-anesthesia to the newest inventions in robotic surgery.
Hat tip to Vijay.
Summer Hibernation
June 15, 2009 § 1 Comment
I’m gradually slipping into blogging summer hibernation (photo credit). Vacation is drawing nearer, and I find myself spending more time outdoors than in front of screens. I suspect I’ll be posting very infrequently in June and July. Have a nice summer everyone!
Top 50 Surgical Blogs
June 9, 2009 § Leave a comment
Check out iScrub’s comprehensive list of the top 50 surgical blogs. I feel honored to be included in this company!
No Breath
June 1, 2009 § Leave a comment
Filming a radio frequency ablation (RFA) for liver cancer a couple of weeks got me thinking about the hierarchy that exists in the OR. Especially between the surgeon, or in this case radiologist, and the anesthesia personnell.
It’s probably an everyday situation in the OR, and not remarkable in any way, but I found it a bit strange. Just an observation.
« Read the rest of this entry »
Turning the Pages
May 28, 2009 § 1 Comment
The National Library of Medicine hosts a great web project called Turning the Pages. Using a flash-based interface, they let you read old medical tomes like Andreas Vesalius’s De Humani Corporis Fabrica and Ambroise Paré’s Oeuvres by literally turning the pages. The books are also filled with curator’s notes on the text and illustrations. This is as close as most of us will get to a hands-on experience. Excellent!
The illustration above is from page 559 of De Humani Corporis Fabrica.
1800s Surgical Kit Explained
May 21, 2009 § 1 Comment
Head over to More Hand Drill Brain Surgery
May 20, 2009 § 1 Comment
Nicholas Rossi (13) after the emergency craniotomy.
A year ago I wrote a post on a British neurosurgeon who regularly travelled to Ukraine to operate, having to use a household hand drill for the craniotomies due to a lack of surgical equipment in the country. This week, a doctor in rural Australia saved a boy’s life using the same kind of tool. « Read the rest of this entry »
Breaking the Ice
May 14, 2009 § 4 Comments
I usually meet a patient for the first time when I show up to take some photos or shoot a video. The doctor or nurses treating the patient will have informed the patient and asked for his or her permission. But although they have agreed, most patients are a bit nervous of a camera (and yet another person in scrubs) entering into their hospital life. By the time I arrive, ice have formed. « Read the rest of this entry »
YouTube Surgery: Total Hip Replacement
May 12, 2009 § 12 Comments
My father-in-law had a total hip replacement a few weeks ago. I’m glad he didn’t watch this video before his surgery. This is why I usually remove all OR sound from my videos and have my pictures show actual surgery and not just a big red blur with metal instruments in it…
This game, on the other hand, was very educating.
Nauseated
May 11, 2009 § 2 Comments
I read this interesting article by an American surgeon on getting used to cutting people, and it got me thinking of one of the most common reactions I get from non-medical colleagues and friends when talking about or showing my work: Don’t you get nauseated?
My office is the office closest to a door used by all the smokers in my department. I usually work with my door open, so whenever I’m editing and someone’s on their way to a smoke, there’s a lot of OMGs and yucks to be heard. A few are intrigued and stops for a while, but most rush past, making sure not to watch the computer screens. They cannot understand how I can stand working with this stuff. « Read the rest of this entry »
The Sterile Eye 