Surgery

This morning I observed three different types of surgeries. The first type was a cataract removal. It is really amazing how fast the surgeons work. They dilate the pupil and then proceed to make a small incision slanting down, then up, then down again into the pupil, where they then remove the blurry film that has been blinding the patient from seeing. After removing the film the surgeon inserts a new, clear one, giving the patient vision for the first time in many many years, or for the first time ever.

The second surgery I observed was a little more complicated. Their were four doctors working on one person the entire time. The patient they were operating on had a tumor removed from his jaw this past October. When they removed the tumor they put a temporary splint in his jaw to serve as a jaw bone while he healed. Because he's had enough time to heal, today they took bone from his hip and gave him a new jaw bone! When they got out the hammer and started pounding on the hip bone I was a little in shock but that didn't last too long.

I can't imagine being a surgeon, but I'm so glad they exist. (And especially for you, Dad) I think my "favorite" surgery was the removal of a large lipoma off of a man's back. For anyone who may not know, a lipoma is basically a lump of fat cells that have gone crazy because they don't stop multiplying. They are common and not harmful, but if they get too big they can get in the way of something else in the body. I think I liked it the best because now I know what's inside a lipoma. :) It looked somewhat like an orange-white cluster of grapes. Sorry if that is a gross image...Jeanna just read it and said disgusting. I had to laugh later when I went to lunch because one of my friends asked me if I was sick. I asked her why and she said I looked white. Haha, I didn't feel sick or nauseous while observing, but I guess I looked a little pale.