Sorry for the lack of recent updates! I've been busy with assignments for school, along with studying for and taking exams. Plus, my rotation hasn't been overly exciting recently. I mean, I still get to see and do really cool things, but it's a lot of the same kind of things over and over again, and therefore not really worth blogging about. But, I did see some cool surgeries yesterday!
The first one I saw was an arteriovenous fistula creation. That basically means that the surgeon takes an artery and a vein, and sews them together. They're used for patients who need to get dialysis because the vein becomes strengthened as a result of the fistula creation, and this makes for a better site to stick people for repeated dialysis treatments. Needless to say, the surgery was all very small cutting and sewing, but luckily I was allowed to sit right across from my preceptor and watch the whole thing, and also hold instruments and generally be helpful during the procedure. And after the surgery is done, the patient has what's called a "thrill" that you can feel under the skin. It's basically like a more diffuse pulse that kind of feels like what a cat purring sounds like, if that makes any sense. This particular fistula was so successful that you could feel the thrill right after everything was all sewed up. It was awesome!
The other surgery I saw yesterday that was new and exciting for me was a laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication. This surgery is used for patients with serious chronic acid reflux, and basically acts by wrapping the top of the stomach around the base of the esophagus to help prevent the backflow of acid from the stomach into the esophagus that causes the reflux symptoms (heartburn). The surgery isn't too complicated technically, but because of the area it's in, it can be a stressful procedure for the surgeons (the area where they're working is very close to the heart and lungs, among other things).
Something I really like about this rotation is that there are no other students here. That means I get all the attention from not only my preceptor, but the other doctors in her practice, too. I also get to scrub in on almost every case, and I get to suture nearly every case I'm scrubbed in on (that means I'm getting really good at suturing, which is an important skill for a PA!). According to some of my classmates that are also doing surgery rotations right now, that's pretty rare. If I was in a city, or a location with a nearby medical school or PA program, I would have to share all of these resources with not only other PA students, but med students too. I really like having it all to myself so I can learn the most! I have about a week left here, and I'm definitely going to make the most of it. :)
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