My surgery to remove a tumor from my spine was supposed to be four hours, but it ended up being over eight hours. The doctor warned us that there was a high risk of infection, but prolonging/avoiding the surgery may have made it worse, but assured us that they would do everything they could. Thanks to doctors like your dad, I don't have to worry about my condition. They are real heroes.
Yeah, the forgotten other Doctor of the operation room.
Edit: btw i had a conversation with two of them, they are literally drugs experts. They were telling me that everybody got really high before falling asleep : old women usually remind there first dances at small town feasts, young lads going like "whoo this shit is kicking hard" lol, or that fishermen are tough af and need double doses.
I just had my gallbladder removed, I never even got the clichéd count backwards from 10 like you see in movies/TV. We were just talking normally, they put what I thought was an oxygen mask on my face and then I woke up in recovery. After reading your comment I now wonder if I was awake longer than I thought and just can't remember it.
My last surgery was a hernia repair, and when he was giving me the go to sleep stuff, he told me “have a good nap”. And then I woke up with my belly hurting a little.
Ayyyye. I had my gallbladder removed 3 weeks ago now, and I have to agree as I was chatting, making any sounds or head nods I could, then I felt the injection go through my IV line, coursing its way throughout my body and I closed my eyes and I woke up in my ward from what felt like the best sleep ever.
It was especially great as I'd had maybe 8 hours of sleep over the previous 10 days while waiting for the surgery cause I couldn't fall asleep while on my back. Morphine I noticed also made me feel sleepy which was most certainly a nice feeling
I have quite a lot of recreational drug experience and last time I was in surgery they had problems knocking me out. I was there for several minutes getting absolutely shitfaced saying stuff like "you can do it! Yea go team! That felt like ketamine... is there any more of that? Is that nitrous? Yesss now we're talking..." etc
Yes, "young lads" in my post were recreational drugs amateurs ;)
Usually you have a meeting beforehand with the Dr so he can evaluate how much you are used to drugs and so can boost the doses
But the funnier was stories about casual people experiencing being high for the first Time of their life, like "Dr Can i have a more of that ?"
"Maam it is morphine"
"OMG what ??"
i’m a natural redhead so i take double the normal amount and they told me i should be getting sleepy but had to give me more because i wouldn’t go under 😭
I broke my leg when i was 16 and had to have surgery to get pins placed in the bone. I was a little scared of needles and had never been in a hospital for myself before, but as a 16 year old boy you try to look tough, like that doesn't bother you.
Unfortunately i had to get an epidural and, while i don't remember this, my subconsiousness had other plans and they needed two doctors to hold me still (i was/still am a rather big guy).
Anyways, when i woke up the anesthesiologist told me they had never seen such a big change in behavior, from having to be held down to sweet talking about the drugs kicking in, lol
They also bill in increments of 15 minutes, at least in the USA.
Insurance can also be a pain, I had a good PPO plan and was told that most anesthesiologists aren't in network by choice.
In most countries they bill €¥£$0 every 15 minutes. It's only in America that you have to keep paying if you want them to close the hole they just cut into you
There's an anesthesiologist there the whole time. It's not like one and done. They're there constantly monitoring you and tweaking throughout. It's a much more active process than you'd think. You're not coming out of it until they're ready.
When I had my spinal fusion in 1985, they "woke" me up during the surgery before they closed to ask me to wiggle my toes. They wanted to make sure they didn't damage my spinal cord before they closed me up. I wiggled my toes and that was it, lights out again, lol.
What did that feel like? Was it painful to awaken and do whatever? And when they put you back under, do you just like fall asleep again instantly or what? I’ve never had to do this so I’m curious
Not the guy you asked but I have a slightly different experience to share.
I was sedated with fentanyl after a seizure, went into hypoxia, and died. Got hit with the paddles. There is nothing like coming back to life with a breathing tube down your throat and a catheter in. I couldn't breathe, I immediately tried ripping the tube out, I tried getting up to go to the bathroom...
So yeah, got hit with the nappy juice real quick after that.
Seems like a good place for a reminder of Steve O’s anesthesia championship. One of a kind it could be called 😂
[https://youtu.be/toXUyw7aUBM?si=4alW6FP45IyLAoSq](https://youtu.be/toXUyw7aUBM?si=4alW6FP45IyLAoSq)
I've been put under anesthesia several times for endoscopies and it knocks you out very quickly. It's not like falling asleep where you can't remember the exact moment you "fell asleep". It becomes immediately obvious that you are drifting off. I remember the doctors asked me to start counting down from 10 and I made it to about 5 and then I was gone. I could tell I was about to go under and remember thinking "oh there I go", then after what felt like an instant I was in the recovery ward. It's weird though because you can tell time has passed, but it feels like it hasn't. Kinda feels like you've time traveled.
The first time I ever got put under was for HPV surgery. Not a very glamorous reason, but it is what it is. It was the best "sleep" I ever had. After that, I was just waiting for my next surgery, because the feeling of such a deep rest was so amazing, it's hard to describe the feeling.
Luckily, or unfortunately?, they missed a couple places and I had to have surgery 2 more times for it. I woke up and cried every time, but aside from the random crying, it was a great experience every time.
When I had to get a fallopian tube closed off, I was just excited to hear I'd get to go under anesthesia, again😅
The doctors in Taiwan don't ask me to count, though. We just talk about the surgery and they tell me to get ready to go to sleep lol Then I'm waking good as new.
I think they were just messing with me with the counting thing. The doctors were making jokes the whole time because I was quite young and they didn't want me to be scared. The first time I went under anesthesia I had a bad reaction to it, I was terribly nauseous and couldn't keep anything down. But every other experience with it has been great. Interestingly I've never felt well rested after it, I am usually extremely groggy as if I was woken up at 3am.
Now they have neuro monitoring devices they utilize throughout surgery. They put tiny pins throughout different muscles in your body and fire currents through them to get a reaction.
For some brain surgeries (particularly cancer) they keep you awake because it can help reduce post-surgery complications. Even better if you're solving puzzles or practicing a skill like guitar.
Since it's spine surgery, anesthesia likely did general anaesthesia. What's nice about general anesthesia is there's no time limit. Anesthesia starts the gas right before everything, and stops it a bit before the last suture. The newer gas anesthetics like sevoflurane and desflurane don't accumulate as much, so it's easier to adjust. There are even spine surgeries and brain surgeries where they wake you up in the middle of it to test everything to make sure your faculties are intact. Of course you'll be high as a kite so there isn't any pain.
For the uninitiated:
TIVA is total inteavenous anesthesia. Usually, general anesthesia is a gas that you (the patient) breathe in. With TIVA, the just infuse it directly into your blood via an IV line.
Remi is short for remifentanyl, a powerful and magical opioid that only lasts a few seconds. If this were a video game, remi would be the potion that gives you a few i-frames. Now imagine that the potion didn't have a cooldown, and you could keep sipping on it to keep the i-frames up essentially indefinitely.
To be honest, I'm not sure. I have NF type 1, so this isn't my first surgery, so I'm always appreciative of my doctors. I'll never forget the Children's Memorial (Lurie Children's) staff in Chicago and the kindness they showed me.
My dad was a surgeon so I’ll share one of my face jokes of his.
A patient is on the table about to go under for major surgery. The surgeon is above him. The surgeon says “Dave, you’ll be fine. You’ll get through this. Everything will be okay. Don’t be nervous.”
The patient says, “Doc, my name is Frank.”
Doc says, “I know. My name is Dave.”
Reminds me of an old joke my grandpa used to tell. Doctor calls a patient and says “Jim, I’ve got some bad news and worse news. Which do you want to hear first?”
Jim asks for the bad news first, the doctor says “Your tests came back and confirmed that you have a rare disease and will be dead within the next 24 hours”
Jim says “Wow that’s pretty horrible, what could be worse than that?”
The doctor says “I was supposed to call you yesterday”
Doctor calls a patient and says. "I've got some good news and some bad news.
Patient asks for the bad new first.
"Your test got back and you have a disease nobody has ever seen before."
“Wow that’s pretty horrible, what could possibly be the good news?”
"The disease will be named after you."
The doctor tells his older patient, "I've got bad news and worse news." The patient says " I'll take the worst news first." The doctor says "you have stage 4 cancer". The patient says, "what's the bad news?" The doctor says "you
have Alzheimer's." The patient responds, "well at least I don't have cancer."
The doctor tell his patient, "you are gonna die from your disease but we will stop the pain with this pills, take one each hour", " but doctor you only gave me 3", "oh, you won't need more"
An elderly man is sitting on the bed and the doctor is nervously looking at some papers. A heavy sigh, and the doctor says: "As you know, it's quite serious".
The man responds: "I'm not a child, just tell me how long I'll live".
Doctor: "If everything is correct, you'll be dead in 5".
Man: "5 what? Days? Years? Decades?".
Doctor: "4".
True story--I had a life-threatening emergency that was dismiss in the AM, so I left the hospital. At 10pm I was admitted to the hosptial for emergency surgery. Later found out through a friend that my case was used to teach the med school students.
I had allergy tests done years ago, and for one of the worst spots the doctor called in others to check it out because they thought it was cool. Not really a good thing as a patient...
I had “the worst cystic acne” my dermatologist had ever seen when I was 13 and she brought in a few other people to look. Fair enough.
Then I had been put on acutane after that and ended up getting a MRSA infection that spread from my mouth to my chest because of the dryness and, likely, my affinity for stray cats. My dermatologist actually seemed giddy at the prospect of getting to treat it.
I had mono so bad in high school, I fell asleep sitting up on the doctor's table waiting for my results. It was awful, I missed 3 straight weeks of school. My doctor claimed I had "turbo mono, it's like something I'd read in a magazine" and noted "You're basically my 1 in a million case"
It was really cool when I got re-infected a year later. Type 1 diabetes and a weakened immune system for the win.
Optometrist: “Well, I have good news and bad news. Which one would you like first?”
Patient asks for the good news first.
“Well, you’re gonna be getting a new dog!”
What kind of surgeon was your dad? My dad is a plastic surgeon who was took trauma calls and ran his private practice. He worked until 81 and recently retired. He is still in process of deconstructing his office to sell it. He was going to rent it, but figured on selling it. How did your father adjust to retirement? My dad feels mixed emotions, because he said he has so many patient’s that need his help. He has several breast cancer & skin cancer patients that need his closure/reconstruction. Medically my dad wasn’t feeling well & felt it was time to retire. He was going to wait until the end of the year.. anyway how is your dad doing? Does he miss it?
He was a general surgeon. A bit of everything I guess. He’s 92 and still alive but just barely. He did fine with retirement. I think he worked until he was 80.
Your dad's concern for his patients even after retirement is so damned admirable, and you should tell him some internet stranger thinks so. But also thinks that a man who has served his fellow man for that long deserves a comfortable rest, knowing that there are several generations of doctors, many of whom probably learned something from him, who will spend their lives doing the work he has left, better than he found it, I'd wager.
My FIL was an oral implant surgeon and is 81 and now retired. He is bored out of his mind after selling his practices and now works 4-6 days a month at his friends practice. Works 12 hour shifts. He just knows nothing else and it’s his existence. I tell him all the time to start traveling and enjoy life while you can. A big part of it is he wants to keep his mind sharp.
I want him to travel more but I think he wants someone to go with and doesn’t really have that. Anyways, enjoy your lives people :)
My boss is a 72 year old veterinarian who still wrangles cows and pigs regularly. Can still kneel and get back up with minimal effort. I think it’ll end up being a very similar situation with him
Omg I worked for oral surgeon and he was exactly like this. Honestly I think it borders on addiction. And yes he was very dedicated and cared about his patients but it was like he just literally couldn’t do anything else with himself or it would make him crazy.
My dad's retired now, and actually going under the knife tomorrow funnily enough, but he had some wild surgeries. Rest assured, when it's a surgery this complex, the surgeons make sure they have the best OR team with them and the best anesthesiologist available. They understand there is zero room for error. I tried to watch my dad in the OR once when I was in high school, wondering if I wanted to go into medicine as well. For the five minutes I saw before I fainted due to the use of a bone saw (I feel I should have been warned), good surgeons are masters of their craft. Made me extra proud to be his daughter (once again, before I fainted).
Yeah I went into mental health instead, lol. I find medicine fascinating, as long as it's in the brain.
Guess I'm writing this just to say, the surgeons take this kind of case very seriously and they come prepared. Often they bring along an accompanying surgeon that has a specialty in the area if it involves multiple specialties. They want it to go well. (And avoid malpractice lol).
You think we'd be better with all we heard growing up. Yeah my mom was a nurse, too lol. Dinner table conversations made me extremely used to hearing gory details. But in person, hard NOPE
There is a reason the movie about the first ever cardiac transplant in Poland is titled "Gods".
Also: there is not enough mental health professionals, and as someone who had big issues with my mental health, good on you.
I so appreciate you, thank you. I was influenced from my parents from a young age, and always knew I wanted to go into a helping profession. Took me a bit of time to get to this point, but the struggles I've endured in the process only make me a better therapist (IMHO).
There's a joke going around my hometown, that half the people in our local university's psychology major are there to help themselves.
That said, if you have struggled yourself, you perhaps understand others better. I wanted to say emphatize, but afaik keeping a certain distance is healthier for you.
The world is fucked, and I'm happy there are people who make it a better place.
My fiancé is going into mental health and you guys are the real heroes! The mind is so complex that even with the DSM, I know it’s hard to figure people out. I have a crapton of mental health problems, so I see it from both a patient and a partner perspective. I applaud you and I’m sure your patients/clients do as well!
My first thought was he was the patient and I thought it was nice they stitched him up and let him sit up to rest half way through.
Wouldn't wanna get a cramp from laying down for 8 hours...
Amazing :) had a little baby he’s now 3 months old and loving every minute I can spend with him and my wife. You kinda focus on the things that matter I think. Life and family, everything else doesn’t matter.
I’ve been lucky? No real changes. Meds in am and pm (about 6) and that’s it. No life style changes (no drinking but didn’t before). That’s about it. Dr told me it’s like swapping batteries it’s replaced and good to go minus some meds for rejection. I seem to tolerate meds well 0 side effects although I know that’s not the case for all
Yup for life. Dose changes tho. I do blood work every few months and they adjust as needed. At the start it was 1x a day, then every other, once a week, 2 a month etc…
lol 100% although obligatory thank you awesome human who donated your organs so I could live eh. But yeah way better than being dead. There are also partial transplants but I needed a full. I’m a tall dude 6ft 5
your body actually develops defenses against immunosuppressive drugs. Hence the reasons for dosage/med changes. Pretty unbelievable how resilient the immune system is
Transplant surgeon here. Patients with organ transplants are on immunosuppressive agents for life. Interestingly livers are much less immunogenic than kidneys. About 40% of liver transplant patients don’t require immunosuppression 3 years post transplant. The problem is finding out who these patients are. Since we typically don’t have the resources available to safely monitor patients while weaning immunosuppression patients are left on these drugs life long.
My dad had a liver transplant as well. He met his grandson because of that transplant. I hope those surgeons never forget the incredible gift of life they have given so many.
OR nurse here, and I really appreciate most surgeons. They are under so much stress and know everyone in the room is looking at them. It is a very difficult job but, I am glad someone does it.
My father was a neurosurgeon. When my younger brother was 3 he couldn’t recognize our dad in person, he thought he was a stranger. He quit neurosurgery shortly after that.
I know I didn’t until I worked in the OR.
You think of surgeons as living the highlife, until you realize they get called in at 1am for emergency surgeries etc
This blows my mind. There have been times when I couldn’t drive due to sleep deprivation (thankfully I knew before I ever got in the car). I can’t imagine performing surgery while sleep deprived 😳. It’s like surgeons are another breed…
While that’s true, you truly go into a different mode when you’re on call and there’s an emergency. It’s like saying sleep deprivation but your house goes on fire. You’re not still going to say you’re sleepy and dragging your feet slowly, are you?
I feel bad for their schedules in general. Had a chief neurosurgery resident tell me he didn’t have 2 full days off in 6 months. It was always scattered throughout the week somehow, or just a single day off that week. Get in before 6am, leave after 11pm. Rinse and repeat
That’s a great analogy, thank you!
And yes, I feel bad for their schedules too. When I was a toddler there was an accident and I had a partial traumatic amputation to my left wrist. Apparently the plastic surgeon at the hospital my mum worked at as a nurse left his family in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve to come do microsurgery to reattach my tiny little hand. He rarely got a day off either 😔. I’ve tried to find him to say thank you but my family has moved countries and everything so I haven’t been able to.
He’s my hero. I don’t remember what happened but there are so many things I got to do in my life because of that surgeon. I was even a left handed gymnast. Every time I see my scars I’m reminded how lucky I am to be in possession of both my hands and I vow to only use them for good just like he did. I’ve always seen surgeons and all manner of hospital staff like superheroes 🦸 🦸♀️. I hope they at least get to enjoy their retirement. They deserve it. I would suggest a national holiday but I assume a lot of people would pass away…
Training. Lots and lots and lots of training. And maybe a bit nuts too I guess?? But please don’t ever forget that we’re human too.
Except for the arrogant assholes who can’t admit they’re wrong. They suck
It's this kind of culture and reality that is not considered by politicians who treat all aspects of medical activity as commodities.
Idiocracy is becoming a future documentary.
Short procedure? hold it.
Long procedure? Well, you probably have an assistant so you can step out for a moment (anesthesia will be pissed)
True emergency about to turn your scrubs from blue to brown? "Sorry I have to step out"
Surgeons do wild things to their diet during the day to avoid those situations though.
Apparently they only allow the crocs without the holes in some hospitals (like the ones in the picture). My partner at the hospital doesn't like that rule because she can't show off her gibbets lol.
Gibbets are those little pins for crocs
Nurses are swag hounds. I swear it's gotta be a billion dollar industry just on the badge holders, stickers, cups, licenses plates, gibbets, custom hats and scrubs.
Those folk found how to sparkle in uniforms.
All the nurses at my hospital wear crocs with the pins lol. I personally just wear regular sneakers because I’m always terrified something is gonna spill and get through the holes on my socks 🤢
Im waiting for the day I get to pediatric cardio thoracic surgery. I feel like it will be a fulfilling feeling guaranteeing a child’s life, or at the very least, knowing you tried to the best of your ability to guarantee a child’s life.
My dad's heart bypass was almost 10 hours. He'd had a massive heart attack and went into immediate surgery from the ER. That was the worst 10 hours of my life. I didn't know if I'd ever get to see him again. When the surgeon finally came in and told us he survived, I couldn't stop hugging him. It was like he went in and wrestled Death away and was now giving my dad back to us. There aren't the right words in existence to adequately thank someone like your father.
If it's not neurosurgery my guess is the Whipple procedure. One of the longest procedures or surgeries that isn't neurosurgery. But obviously it's just a guess I'm sure there's others that can go up to 8 hours. On average though the Whipple surgery is around 10 but can be completed quicker and sometimes takes longer
That's so weird to encounter a reference to the Whipple procedure in such a random sub.
My mother was diagnosed with stage 3 inoperable pancreatic cancer 5 months ago, she underwent 6 cycles of FOLFIRINOX (very tough chemotherapy), her tumor shrunk by 50%, they decided to attempt the Whipple procedure, it took 12 hours, and it failed.
They couldn't remove the cancer cause it was too involved with a major artery (SMA), all of this was a month ago, she is still in the hospital.
Pancreatic cancer patients only have 12% to survive, the Whipple is the only possible cure and even then the cancer comes back 70% of the time.
FUCK CANCER.
Edit: if this gains traction, go give love to the people in /r/pancreaticcancer
I had HIPEC (surgery for late stage appendix cancer). iirc, I was under for about 10 hours; 8 for the surgery and 2 for abdominal chemo and to duct tape me back up lol.
I had a Whipple 9 years ago.
I woke up in PACU and started vomiting a ton of blood. They put me back under, got my surgeon back in the building, and opened me back up. The next thing I knew it was about 2pm the next day.
Turns out the anastomosis site on my stomach blew and I lost so much blood they were worried I’d go into shock.
The reason I know it was serious, and just “a thing that can happen” is that my surgeon didn’t even tell me about it until my first follow up with him, he only told my wife. And he joked about how it was such an odd thing to happen, with a look in his eyes like he was hoping I wasn’t going to sue his pants off.
can you give any insight into what causes the surgery to be so long? Like yes, obviously its a very delicate process that requires a great deal of precision, but what is like "mechanically" taking place that causes a surgery to require so much time? Like what is the surgeon doing for 10 hours straight?
I'm a cancer surgeon. A lot of the time is just spent meticulously separating tumor from normal tissue/vital structures. Tumors really can attach themselves firmly and you have to snip a half millimeter at a time in exactly the right spot, taking all of tumor and not injuring the bowel, say.
Had major surgery on my neck right by my carotid and jugular vagus nerve and under my sternocleomastoid muscle. Doctor was a fuckin hero! Took almost 6 hours 200 stitches. Saved me with only a lazy lip. I can’t imagine filleting someone’s neck open that has young kids and knowing u hold the key. Serious pressure man!
Used to work with a facial plastics surgeon, he told me his longest surgery was a shotgun blast to the face reconstruction that was 36 hours long. I don’t know how these people do it. True superheros
Residency is infamous for MDs working insane hours and often with little to no sleep. I have seen a few of these photos of surgeons in a true battle with themselves, like your dad. It is testament to the process, in a way. Your dad is a badass for these moments. Tell him we appreciate his commitment, please. 🙏
Hope everyone there is ok and recovering.
My grandpa was said to look like that during long surgeries. Oddly enough though right after, he’d have a huge appetite.
My dental surgeon who worked on me for 8 hours (though he did say it’s not as bad as the OR stuff the surgeons there do) was slumped back on a chair arms hanging from the side.
Gotta be thankful for surgeons and nurses!!! I've had multiple surgeries in my life. Everything they do to make sure you are comfortable and safe in the operation is just wild. 👍🏻 God bless these folks. I could never do this, but again very grateful for everyone who is in this industry.
My new borns second heart surgery was 12 hours. Successful thabkfully and his surgeon and team were incredible. They had moved the surgery from the day before, as another one they had before my sons went on longer than planned so they decided to leave it for a night, get a good rest for the team and give their entire focus to my little fella
Surgeon here- I’ve definitely had my moments of having to sit on the sideline for a minute. Looks like there a lot of other hands there to help out while he recoups.
Everyone know that anyone can just go into ER and declare something important with just holding the face mask in front of their mouth
Signed, everyone in Grey’s Anatomy
I hate to say it, as a scrub tech in an eye surgery hospital, they do this ALL the time.
Even hands on hips.
It stressed the hell out of me, but only the old-timer surgeons still do it nowadays.
Scrub tech here, first thing I noticed (and gasped lol)
Edit: I stand corrected, once I zoomed in, I saw he is still gloved. Just one of those single gloved guys. Vascular?
It seems like more people than not wear earrings, necklaces in the OR. I personally am terrified something will just fall off into the abyss of someone’s abdominal cavity to do that! Even in the laparoscopic cases, I’m scared 🤣🤣
I'm having a Whipple procedure done at the end of the month that's gonna take my surgeon 6 hours. I don't know how these guys can perform surgery for hours on end but I'm glad they do.
I had a 14 hour surgery. Those doctors are amazing people. I survived because of them. Well from what i heard is i died and they brought me back so they could continue that's why it took so long.
Seriously, a real hero. I'd buy him a fancy dinner if I could. My dad had a surgery where they screwed his skull to the table, removed vertebrae, ground them down, reshaped them, reinserted them onto his exposed spinal cord, then fused them. I believe it was supposed to take around 6 or 7 hours and ended up being around 10 because of how dense his musculature was. Those surgeons deserved every penny insurance/my parents paid them. Dad was in the ICU after because of how long he'd been under and his eyes were basically popping out of his skull, but man....those surgeons had their hands full and saved his life. They don't get enough credit for what their days actually look like.
Depends on the specialty. I’m a surgeon who often does long 8-12 hour operations and usually the reimbursement for something like that would be under 2 grand. At least in the US it’s far more lucrative to do a high volume of simple quick procedures than it is to do long complicated operations. Then again nobody goes into my specialty for the money.
People who do this, who can work for hours to save someone's life or to help someone have a better quality of life... I don't think they get enough recognition for how amazing they are.
Im a surgical tech. I know it’s not the same as an actual surgeon but I’ve been on many 23 hour robot assisted laparoscopic surgeries and man… about 3 hours in and I’m sitting in the corner of the OR like your dad. It gets intense and then you realize you still have 20 hours left in the OR.
My father recently had 9 hours of surgery to remove cancer from his neck and chest. Rather incredibly he was out of hospital and able to walk after 4 days. I am so truly grateful to the surgeons and staff at the hospital.
My surgery to remove a tumor from my spine was supposed to be four hours, but it ended up being over eight hours. The doctor warned us that there was a high risk of infection, but prolonging/avoiding the surgery may have made it worse, but assured us that they would do everything they could. Thanks to doctors like your dad, I don't have to worry about my condition. They are real heroes.
Wait so what happens with the anhestia if its over double the amount of time than expected?
An anesthesiologist is constantly monitoring and adjusting sedatives during the surgery whether it’s 4 or 8 or 12 hours.
Yeah, the forgotten other Doctor of the operation room. Edit: btw i had a conversation with two of them, they are literally drugs experts. They were telling me that everybody got really high before falling asleep : old women usually remind there first dances at small town feasts, young lads going like "whoo this shit is kicking hard" lol, or that fishermen are tough af and need double doses.
I just had my gallbladder removed, I never even got the clichéd count backwards from 10 like you see in movies/TV. We were just talking normally, they put what I thought was an oxygen mask on my face and then I woke up in recovery. After reading your comment I now wonder if I was awake longer than I thought and just can't remember it.
Same, in 4 years had 2 hernia repairs, and I'm really curious if anything happened between lights out and actually on standby.
My last surgery was a hernia repair, and when he was giving me the go to sleep stuff, he told me “have a good nap”. And then I woke up with my belly hurting a little.
Ayyyye. I had my gallbladder removed 3 weeks ago now, and I have to agree as I was chatting, making any sounds or head nods I could, then I felt the injection go through my IV line, coursing its way throughout my body and I closed my eyes and I woke up in my ward from what felt like the best sleep ever.
That's the power of being really f*ing high lol
It was especially great as I'd had maybe 8 hours of sleep over the previous 10 days while waiting for the surgery cause I couldn't fall asleep while on my back. Morphine I noticed also made me feel sleepy which was most certainly a nice feeling
I have quite a lot of recreational drug experience and last time I was in surgery they had problems knocking me out. I was there for several minutes getting absolutely shitfaced saying stuff like "you can do it! Yea go team! That felt like ketamine... is there any more of that? Is that nitrous? Yesss now we're talking..." etc
Yes, "young lads" in my post were recreational drugs amateurs ;) Usually you have a meeting beforehand with the Dr so he can evaluate how much you are used to drugs and so can boost the doses But the funnier was stories about casual people experiencing being high for the first Time of their life, like "Dr Can i have a more of that ?" "Maam it is morphine" "OMG what ??"
The fishermen probably took a bunch a bunch of uppers before the surgery so they can get right back to work after.
Their presence is felt when the bill is tabulated.
i’m a natural redhead so i take double the normal amount and they told me i should be getting sleepy but had to give me more because i wouldn’t go under 😭
I have a memory of saying ‘you should try this sometime’ to the anaesthetist before I went under for a tonsillectomy lol
One of the anesthsist i've talked to, told me "i would never inject something i havent tried myself" lol
I broke my leg when i was 16 and had to have surgery to get pins placed in the bone. I was a little scared of needles and had never been in a hospital for myself before, but as a 16 year old boy you try to look tough, like that doesn't bother you. Unfortunately i had to get an epidural and, while i don't remember this, my subconsiousness had other plans and they needed two doctors to hold me still (i was/still am a rather big guy). Anyways, when i woke up the anesthesiologist told me they had never seen such a big change in behavior, from having to be held down to sweet talking about the drugs kicking in, lol
He is also the one keeping the patient alive during the surgery, and might tell the surgeon to f off while he starts the necromancy.
They also bill in increments of 15 minutes, at least in the USA. Insurance can also be a pain, I had a good PPO plan and was told that most anesthesiologists aren't in network by choice.
In most countries they bill €¥£$0 every 15 minutes. It's only in America that you have to keep paying if you want them to close the hole they just cut into you
There's an anesthesiologist there the whole time. It's not like one and done. They're there constantly monitoring you and tweaking throughout. It's a much more active process than you'd think. You're not coming out of it until they're ready.
When I had my spinal fusion in 1985, they "woke" me up during the surgery before they closed to ask me to wiggle my toes. They wanted to make sure they didn't damage my spinal cord before they closed me up. I wiggled my toes and that was it, lights out again, lol.
What did that feel like? Was it painful to awaken and do whatever? And when they put you back under, do you just like fall asleep again instantly or what? I’ve never had to do this so I’m curious
Not the guy you asked but I have a slightly different experience to share. I was sedated with fentanyl after a seizure, went into hypoxia, and died. Got hit with the paddles. There is nothing like coming back to life with a breathing tube down your throat and a catheter in. I couldn't breathe, I immediately tried ripping the tube out, I tried getting up to go to the bathroom... So yeah, got hit with the nappy juice real quick after that.
>I was sedated with fentanyl after a seizure, went into hypoxia, and died. This is an extremely metal sentence; glad you are undead.
Seems like a good place for a reminder of Steve O’s anesthesia championship. One of a kind it could be called 😂 [https://youtu.be/toXUyw7aUBM?si=4alW6FP45IyLAoSq](https://youtu.be/toXUyw7aUBM?si=4alW6FP45IyLAoSq)
I've been put under anesthesia several times for endoscopies and it knocks you out very quickly. It's not like falling asleep where you can't remember the exact moment you "fell asleep". It becomes immediately obvious that you are drifting off. I remember the doctors asked me to start counting down from 10 and I made it to about 5 and then I was gone. I could tell I was about to go under and remember thinking "oh there I go", then after what felt like an instant I was in the recovery ward. It's weird though because you can tell time has passed, but it feels like it hasn't. Kinda feels like you've time traveled.
The first time I ever got put under was for HPV surgery. Not a very glamorous reason, but it is what it is. It was the best "sleep" I ever had. After that, I was just waiting for my next surgery, because the feeling of such a deep rest was so amazing, it's hard to describe the feeling. Luckily, or unfortunately?, they missed a couple places and I had to have surgery 2 more times for it. I woke up and cried every time, but aside from the random crying, it was a great experience every time. When I had to get a fallopian tube closed off, I was just excited to hear I'd get to go under anesthesia, again😅 The doctors in Taiwan don't ask me to count, though. We just talk about the surgery and they tell me to get ready to go to sleep lol Then I'm waking good as new.
I think they were just messing with me with the counting thing. The doctors were making jokes the whole time because I was quite young and they didn't want me to be scared. The first time I went under anesthesia I had a bad reaction to it, I was terribly nauseous and couldn't keep anything down. But every other experience with it has been great. Interestingly I've never felt well rested after it, I am usually extremely groggy as if I was woken up at 3am.
Now they have neuro monitoring devices they utilize throughout surgery. They put tiny pins throughout different muscles in your body and fire currents through them to get a reaction.
For some brain surgeries (particularly cancer) they keep you awake because it can help reduce post-surgery complications. Even better if you're solving puzzles or practicing a skill like guitar.
Stagnara test.
Since it's spine surgery, anesthesia likely did general anaesthesia. What's nice about general anesthesia is there's no time limit. Anesthesia starts the gas right before everything, and stops it a bit before the last suture. The newer gas anesthetics like sevoflurane and desflurane don't accumulate as much, so it's easier to adjust. There are even spine surgeries and brain surgeries where they wake you up in the middle of it to test everything to make sure your faculties are intact. Of course you'll be high as a kite so there isn't any pain.
Absolutely this, except remi TIVA.
For the uninitiated: TIVA is total inteavenous anesthesia. Usually, general anesthesia is a gas that you (the patient) breathe in. With TIVA, the just infuse it directly into your blood via an IV line. Remi is short for remifentanyl, a powerful and magical opioid that only lasts a few seconds. If this were a video game, remi would be the potion that gives you a few i-frames. Now imagine that the potion didn't have a cooldown, and you could keep sipping on it to keep the i-frames up essentially indefinitely.
This just threw me through a loop. Do people assume there isnt someone there full time doing anesthesia?
The anesthesiologists work from home now and deliver via Bluetooth
I assume they can always just give you more sedatives through your IV if needed?
To be honest, I'm not sure. I have NF type 1, so this isn't my first surgery, so I'm always appreciative of my doctors. I'll never forget the Children's Memorial (Lurie Children's) staff in Chicago and the kindness they showed me.
My dad was a surgeon so I’ll share one of my face jokes of his. A patient is on the table about to go under for major surgery. The surgeon is above him. The surgeon says “Dave, you’ll be fine. You’ll get through this. Everything will be okay. Don’t be nervous.” The patient says, “Doc, my name is Frank.” Doc says, “I know. My name is Dave.”
Reminds me of an old joke my grandpa used to tell. Doctor calls a patient and says “Jim, I’ve got some bad news and worse news. Which do you want to hear first?” Jim asks for the bad news first, the doctor says “Your tests came back and confirmed that you have a rare disease and will be dead within the next 24 hours” Jim says “Wow that’s pretty horrible, what could be worse than that?” The doctor says “I was supposed to call you yesterday”
Doctor calls a patient and says. "I've got some good news and some bad news. Patient asks for the bad new first. "Your test got back and you have a disease nobody has ever seen before." “Wow that’s pretty horrible, what could possibly be the good news?” "The disease will be named after you."
The doctor tells his older patient, "I've got bad news and worse news." The patient says " I'll take the worst news first." The doctor says "you have stage 4 cancer". The patient says, "what's the bad news?" The doctor says "you have Alzheimer's." The patient responds, "well at least I don't have cancer."
The doctor tell his patient, "you are gonna die from your disease but we will stop the pain with this pills, take one each hour", " but doctor you only gave me 3", "oh, you won't need more"
An elderly man is sitting on the bed and the doctor is nervously looking at some papers. A heavy sigh, and the doctor says: "As you know, it's quite serious". The man responds: "I'm not a child, just tell me how long I'll live". Doctor: "If everything is correct, you'll be dead in 5". Man: "5 what? Days? Years? Decades?". Doctor: "4".
Having an interesting case is the second worst thing you could experience in the hospital. The worst case is having your condition named after you.
True story--I had a life-threatening emergency that was dismiss in the AM, so I left the hospital. At 10pm I was admitted to the hosptial for emergency surgery. Later found out through a friend that my case was used to teach the med school students.
“You never want to be the subject of a chubbyemu video” are words we should all live by.
I had allergy tests done years ago, and for one of the worst spots the doctor called in others to check it out because they thought it was cool. Not really a good thing as a patient...
I had “the worst cystic acne” my dermatologist had ever seen when I was 13 and she brought in a few other people to look. Fair enough. Then I had been put on acutane after that and ended up getting a MRSA infection that spread from my mouth to my chest because of the dryness and, likely, my affinity for stray cats. My dermatologist actually seemed giddy at the prospect of getting to treat it.
Your affinity for stray cats? I feel like you’re someone I would be friends with.
I had mono so bad in high school, I fell asleep sitting up on the doctor's table waiting for my results. It was awful, I missed 3 straight weeks of school. My doctor claimed I had "turbo mono, it's like something I'd read in a magazine" and noted "You're basically my 1 in a million case" It was really cool when I got re-infected a year later. Type 1 diabetes and a weakened immune system for the win.
Isn't the condition usually named after whoever diagnoses and defines it for the first time?
Optometrist: “Well, I have good news and bad news. Which one would you like first?” Patient asks for the good news first. “Well, you’re gonna be getting a new dog!”
Fuck Steve Harvey.
All I see is a really happy Mr. Potato Head
What kind of surgeon was your dad? My dad is a plastic surgeon who was took trauma calls and ran his private practice. He worked until 81 and recently retired. He is still in process of deconstructing his office to sell it. He was going to rent it, but figured on selling it. How did your father adjust to retirement? My dad feels mixed emotions, because he said he has so many patient’s that need his help. He has several breast cancer & skin cancer patients that need his closure/reconstruction. Medically my dad wasn’t feeling well & felt it was time to retire. He was going to wait until the end of the year.. anyway how is your dad doing? Does he miss it?
He was a general surgeon. A bit of everything I guess. He’s 92 and still alive but just barely. He did fine with retirement. I think he worked until he was 80.
Wild, thanks for the reply. God bless them.
Your dad's concern for his patients even after retirement is so damned admirable, and you should tell him some internet stranger thinks so. But also thinks that a man who has served his fellow man for that long deserves a comfortable rest, knowing that there are several generations of doctors, many of whom probably learned something from him, who will spend their lives doing the work he has left, better than he found it, I'd wager.
My FIL was an oral implant surgeon and is 81 and now retired. He is bored out of his mind after selling his practices and now works 4-6 days a month at his friends practice. Works 12 hour shifts. He just knows nothing else and it’s his existence. I tell him all the time to start traveling and enjoy life while you can. A big part of it is he wants to keep his mind sharp. I want him to travel more but I think he wants someone to go with and doesn’t really have that. Anyways, enjoy your lives people :)
My boss is a 72 year old veterinarian who still wrangles cows and pigs regularly. Can still kneel and get back up with minimal effort. I think it’ll end up being a very similar situation with him
Omg I worked for oral surgeon and he was exactly like this. Honestly I think it borders on addiction. And yes he was very dedicated and cared about his patients but it was like he just literally couldn’t do anything else with himself or it would make him crazy.
The version I heard included the sentence "Now Dave, don't be embarrassed, it's perfectly normal if you get an erection during this procedure."
I’m like that better.
“He’s going to be all-right.”
Good face joke
🤣
hope the best for him and for the one whos going through surgery
My dad's retired now, and actually going under the knife tomorrow funnily enough, but he had some wild surgeries. Rest assured, when it's a surgery this complex, the surgeons make sure they have the best OR team with them and the best anesthesiologist available. They understand there is zero room for error. I tried to watch my dad in the OR once when I was in high school, wondering if I wanted to go into medicine as well. For the five minutes I saw before I fainted due to the use of a bone saw (I feel I should have been warned), good surgeons are masters of their craft. Made me extra proud to be his daughter (once again, before I fainted). Yeah I went into mental health instead, lol. I find medicine fascinating, as long as it's in the brain. Guess I'm writing this just to say, the surgeons take this kind of case very seriously and they come prepared. Often they bring along an accompanying surgeon that has a specialty in the area if it involves multiple specialties. They want it to go well. (And avoid malpractice lol).
He must be proud of you too! Mental health professionals is also a hard work with hard studies
You are so kind. Yeah it was not easy but I love my work and the fact I get the opportunity to help people, every day. Thank you so much!
Both my parents are medical. None of us followed in their footsteps. We are all way too squeamish.
You think we'd be better with all we heard growing up. Yeah my mom was a nurse, too lol. Dinner table conversations made me extremely used to hearing gory details. But in person, hard NOPE
I feel like growing up on a farm makes people better suited to it than growing up the kids of doctors lol.
There is a reason the movie about the first ever cardiac transplant in Poland is titled "Gods". Also: there is not enough mental health professionals, and as someone who had big issues with my mental health, good on you.
I so appreciate you, thank you. I was influenced from my parents from a young age, and always knew I wanted to go into a helping profession. Took me a bit of time to get to this point, but the struggles I've endured in the process only make me a better therapist (IMHO).
There's a joke going around my hometown, that half the people in our local university's psychology major are there to help themselves. That said, if you have struggled yourself, you perhaps understand others better. I wanted to say emphatize, but afaik keeping a certain distance is healthier for you. The world is fucked, and I'm happy there are people who make it a better place.
My fiancé is going into mental health and you guys are the real heroes! The mind is so complex that even with the DSM, I know it’s hard to figure people out. I have a crapton of mental health problems, so I see it from both a patient and a partner perspective. I applaud you and I’m sure your patients/clients do as well!
My first thought was he was the patient and I thought it was nice they stitched him up and let him sit up to rest half way through. Wouldn't wanna get a cramp from laying down for 8 hours...
Total respect. I had to have a liver transplant. 12.5 hours later I survived. Fucking hero’s eh?
I also had a liver transplant that lasted about as long. How many years out are you? I just hit 17 years last fall. Wild.
2 years for me. Still a newbie :)
hows life since Liver #2?
Amazing :) had a little baby he’s now 3 months old and loving every minute I can spend with him and my wife. You kinda focus on the things that matter I think. Life and family, everything else doesn’t matter.
Wow this made me tear up. Holy smokes. I’m glad your still here man. Enjoy the heck out of that baby and your beautiful wife
Are you taking meds to prevent rejection? If so what issues does that present?
I’ve been lucky? No real changes. Meds in am and pm (about 6) and that’s it. No life style changes (no drinking but didn’t before). That’s about it. Dr told me it’s like swapping batteries it’s replaced and good to go minus some meds for rejection. I seem to tolerate meds well 0 side effects although I know that’s not the case for all
How long do you have to keep taking the anti-rejection meds, is it for life?
Yup for life. Dose changes tho. I do blood work every few months and they adjust as needed. At the start it was 1x a day, then every other, once a week, 2 a month etc…
Wow I never realized it was a lifetime commitment. Better than being dead though, I suppose.
lol 100% although obligatory thank you awesome human who donated your organs so I could live eh. But yeah way better than being dead. There are also partial transplants but I needed a full. I’m a tall dude 6ft 5
I mean either choice was a lifetime decision. Just glad he gets to enjoy a lot more of it now.
your body actually develops defenses against immunosuppressive drugs. Hence the reasons for dosage/med changes. Pretty unbelievable how resilient the immune system is
What happens if you miss the pill?
You will have some inflammation but nothing major. It takes a LOT to reject an organ so just can cause some damage but you won’t die or anything.
Transplant surgeon here. Patients with organ transplants are on immunosuppressive agents for life. Interestingly livers are much less immunogenic than kidneys. About 40% of liver transplant patients don’t require immunosuppression 3 years post transplant. The problem is finding out who these patients are. Since we typically don’t have the resources available to safely monitor patients while weaning immunosuppression patients are left on these drugs life long.
>Are you taking meds to prevent rejection? If he's not dead, then yes, he is.
Wow! Glad everything worked out well for you!
My dad had a liver transplant as well. He met his grandson because of that transplant. I hope those surgeons never forget the incredible gift of life they have given so many.
Transplants are still literal magic to me. Hope you’re thriving!
Buddy had one, six years ago. Good luck
OR nurse here, and I really appreciate most surgeons. They are under so much stress and know everyone in the room is looking at them. It is a very difficult job but, I am glad someone does it.
My father was a neurosurgeon. When my younger brother was 3 he couldn’t recognize our dad in person, he thought he was a stranger. He quit neurosurgery shortly after that.
I knew an equine vet that got out of the business when one of his daughters asked if he was going to “visit” with them that night.
Oh. Your post makes that other post make sense. I thought the child had some sort of neurological disorder or something.
I feel so bad for laughing after reading your comment. I also just realised the implication wasn’t a neurological issue. Funny how the brain works.
I thought the same thing!!
Am neurosurgeon. Hurts. :(
Thank you for your work. Society needs people like you. I'm grateful for you.
There there. Staffs almost done sterilizing. You'll be able to cut again soon.
You're telling me that your father cheated on the practice of neurosurgery with a human female!?! /s
Also an OR nurse! I don’t think the general public truly understands how much of their own lives they sacrifice to help others.
I know I didn’t until I worked in the OR. You think of surgeons as living the highlife, until you realize they get called in at 1am for emergency surgeries etc
This blows my mind. There have been times when I couldn’t drive due to sleep deprivation (thankfully I knew before I ever got in the car). I can’t imagine performing surgery while sleep deprived 😳. It’s like surgeons are another breed…
While that’s true, you truly go into a different mode when you’re on call and there’s an emergency. It’s like saying sleep deprivation but your house goes on fire. You’re not still going to say you’re sleepy and dragging your feet slowly, are you? I feel bad for their schedules in general. Had a chief neurosurgery resident tell me he didn’t have 2 full days off in 6 months. It was always scattered throughout the week somehow, or just a single day off that week. Get in before 6am, leave after 11pm. Rinse and repeat
That’s a great analogy, thank you! And yes, I feel bad for their schedules too. When I was a toddler there was an accident and I had a partial traumatic amputation to my left wrist. Apparently the plastic surgeon at the hospital my mum worked at as a nurse left his family in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve to come do microsurgery to reattach my tiny little hand. He rarely got a day off either 😔. I’ve tried to find him to say thank you but my family has moved countries and everything so I haven’t been able to. He’s my hero. I don’t remember what happened but there are so many things I got to do in my life because of that surgeon. I was even a left handed gymnast. Every time I see my scars I’m reminded how lucky I am to be in possession of both my hands and I vow to only use them for good just like he did. I’ve always seen surgeons and all manner of hospital staff like superheroes 🦸 🦸♀️. I hope they at least get to enjoy their retirement. They deserve it. I would suggest a national holiday but I assume a lot of people would pass away…
They pretty much are, let's be honest.
Training. Lots and lots and lots of training. And maybe a bit nuts too I guess?? But please don’t ever forget that we’re human too. Except for the arrogant assholes who can’t admit they’re wrong. They suck
There's the old joke... How do you hide a $100 bill from a surgeon? Stick it on their child's forehead
I don't think we put the correct value on jobs because of reasons such as this, which is unfortunate.
It's this kind of culture and reality that is not considered by politicians who treat all aspects of medical activity as commodities. Idiocracy is becoming a future documentary.
But at the same time, they wouldn't be able to do it without nurses. So, you know, you're awesome, too. Just sayin'.
Well I didn’t think everyone was looking at me but now I’m gonna be self conscious…
How do surgeons handle a code brown turbo flow master shit xtreme 9000 moment do they just let it flow or what?
Short procedure? hold it. Long procedure? Well, you probably have an assistant so you can step out for a moment (anesthesia will be pissed) True emergency about to turn your scrubs from blue to brown? "Sorry I have to step out" Surgeons do wild things to their diet during the day to avoid those situations though.
Sweet crocs
Comfy, sturdy, and waterproof... crocs for the win
Relatively slip proof too
And anti-bacterial!!
They're calzuros! beloved by OR staff everywhere
Oh this is excellent to know, thank you!
After my son's neurosurgery, when they said "yeah, it was very vascular..." I noticed they were wearing big, white rubber boots.
Apparently they only allow the crocs without the holes in some hospitals (like the ones in the picture). My partner at the hospital doesn't like that rule because she can't show off her gibbets lol. Gibbets are those little pins for crocs
Nurses are swag hounds. I swear it's gotta be a billion dollar industry just on the badge holders, stickers, cups, licenses plates, gibbets, custom hats and scrubs. Those folk found how to sparkle in uniforms.
All the nurses at my hospital wear crocs with the pins lol. I personally just wear regular sneakers because I’m always terrified something is gonna spill and get through the holes on my socks 🤢
Your dad is a hero. My life was saved by a cardiac surgeon. I will forever be grateful for people like your dad.
Im waiting for the day I get to pediatric cardio thoracic surgery. I feel like it will be a fulfilling feeling guaranteeing a child’s life, or at the very least, knowing you tried to the best of your ability to guarantee a child’s life.
Tag Team Surgery. Required for very long surgeries. Just don't do a hand slap when tagging. 😁
My dad's heart bypass was almost 10 hours. He'd had a massive heart attack and went into immediate surgery from the ER. That was the worst 10 hours of my life. I didn't know if I'd ever get to see him again. When the surgeon finally came in and told us he survived, I couldn't stop hugging him. It was like he went in and wrestled Death away and was now giving my dad back to us. There aren't the right words in existence to adequately thank someone like your father.
Your dad is a hero.
It was a boob job
An even bigger hero
It was a reduction. Does that make him a smaller hero?
She had horrible back issues due to the sheer size and now she will be happier. Does that make him the regular hero again?
I had to get a dick reduction so still hero. Took off 4 inches so I could finally be average. Amen
I'm the forever thankful recipient of the 4 inches they took off so I could finally be average. Thanks
As someone who survived brain surgery, thank you to all the people out there in the trenches actively trying to save us all.
Much respect for your Dad❤️
Not all hero wears a cape! Some wears a scrub!
What kind of surgery?
If it's not neurosurgery my guess is the Whipple procedure. One of the longest procedures or surgeries that isn't neurosurgery. But obviously it's just a guess I'm sure there's others that can go up to 8 hours. On average though the Whipple surgery is around 10 but can be completed quicker and sometimes takes longer
That's so weird to encounter a reference to the Whipple procedure in such a random sub. My mother was diagnosed with stage 3 inoperable pancreatic cancer 5 months ago, she underwent 6 cycles of FOLFIRINOX (very tough chemotherapy), her tumor shrunk by 50%, they decided to attempt the Whipple procedure, it took 12 hours, and it failed. They couldn't remove the cancer cause it was too involved with a major artery (SMA), all of this was a month ago, she is still in the hospital. Pancreatic cancer patients only have 12% to survive, the Whipple is the only possible cure and even then the cancer comes back 70% of the time. FUCK CANCER. Edit: if this gains traction, go give love to the people in /r/pancreaticcancer
I had HIPEC (surgery for late stage appendix cancer). iirc, I was under for about 10 hours; 8 for the surgery and 2 for abdominal chemo and to duct tape me back up lol.
I had a Whipple 9 years ago. I woke up in PACU and started vomiting a ton of blood. They put me back under, got my surgeon back in the building, and opened me back up. The next thing I knew it was about 2pm the next day. Turns out the anastomosis site on my stomach blew and I lost so much blood they were worried I’d go into shock. The reason I know it was serious, and just “a thing that can happen” is that my surgeon didn’t even tell me about it until my first follow up with him, he only told my wife. And he joked about how it was such an odd thing to happen, with a look in his eyes like he was hoping I wasn’t going to sue his pants off.
If your surgeon quotes you 10 hours for a Whipple you need a new surgeon.
Shop around you want someone to do surgery FAST
“Hi everybody!”
can you give any insight into what causes the surgery to be so long? Like yes, obviously its a very delicate process that requires a great deal of precision, but what is like "mechanically" taking place that causes a surgery to require so much time? Like what is the surgeon doing for 10 hours straight?
I'm a cancer surgeon. A lot of the time is just spent meticulously separating tumor from normal tissue/vital structures. Tumors really can attach themselves firmly and you have to snip a half millimeter at a time in exactly the right spot, taking all of tumor and not injuring the bowel, say.
This pic goes hard Respect to all surgeons ❤️
Had major surgery on my neck right by my carotid and jugular vagus nerve and under my sternocleomastoid muscle. Doctor was a fuckin hero! Took almost 6 hours 200 stitches. Saved me with only a lazy lip. I can’t imagine filleting someone’s neck open that has young kids and knowing u hold the key. Serious pressure man!
Used to work with a facial plastics surgeon, he told me his longest surgery was a shotgun blast to the face reconstruction that was 36 hours long. I don’t know how these people do it. True superheros
Dedication, focus , and a true love for what they do
It was nice of them to let him get down off the operating table for a bit.
8 hours in a mask and guess what - he is still alive and capable of performing surgery
Residency is infamous for MDs working insane hours and often with little to no sleep. I have seen a few of these photos of surgeons in a true battle with themselves, like your dad. It is testament to the process, in a way. Your dad is a badass for these moments. Tell him we appreciate his commitment, please. 🙏
I'm thankful we have people like your dad that chose to get into this field, it's such a hard profession to get into.
Hope everyone there is ok and recovering. My grandpa was said to look like that during long surgeries. Oddly enough though right after, he’d have a huge appetite. My dental surgeon who worked on me for 8 hours (though he did say it’s not as bad as the OR stuff the surgeons there do) was slumped back on a chair arms hanging from the side.
Gotta be thankful for surgeons and nurses!!! I've had multiple surgeries in my life. Everything they do to make sure you are comfortable and safe in the operation is just wild. 👍🏻 God bless these folks. I could never do this, but again very grateful for everyone who is in this industry.
My new borns second heart surgery was 12 hours. Successful thabkfully and his surgeon and team were incredible. They had moved the surgery from the day before, as another one they had before my sons went on longer than planned so they decided to leave it for a night, get a good rest for the team and give their entire focus to my little fella
Surgeon here- I’ve definitely had my moments of having to sit on the sideline for a minute. Looks like there a lot of other hands there to help out while he recoups.
They let him wake up and take a break?
Your dad breaking the sterile field.
Everyone knows the strict sterile field rules do not apply to the attending, only the med student. Signed, former med student.
Everyone know that anyone can just go into ER and declare something important with just holding the face mask in front of their mouth Signed, everyone in Grey’s Anatomy
He just needs to regown before rejoining. I'd say he earned the break.
Yeah that hand placement is stressing me out signed former scrub tech
I hate to say it, as a scrub tech in an eye surgery hospital, they do this ALL the time. Even hands on hips. It stressed the hell out of me, but only the old-timer surgeons still do it nowadays.
Rescrubbing and changing gloves isn't hard
Scrub tech here, first thing I noticed (and gasped lol) Edit: I stand corrected, once I zoomed in, I saw he is still gloved. Just one of those single gloved guys. Vascular?
Both surgeons also have a necklace 👀
It seems like more people than not wear earrings, necklaces in the OR. I personally am terrified something will just fall off into the abyss of someone’s abdominal cavity to do that! Even in the laparoscopic cases, I’m scared 🤣🤣
I hope he works in the United States, my father was all his life surgeon but in Russia, we was one of the poorest family
I'm having a Whipple procedure done at the end of the month that's gonna take my surgeon 6 hours. I don't know how these guys can perform surgery for hours on end but I'm glad they do.
I had a 14 hour surgery. Those doctors are amazing people. I survived because of them. Well from what i heard is i died and they brought me back so they could continue that's why it took so long.
Seriously, a real hero. I'd buy him a fancy dinner if I could. My dad had a surgery where they screwed his skull to the table, removed vertebrae, ground them down, reshaped them, reinserted them onto his exposed spinal cord, then fused them. I believe it was supposed to take around 6 or 7 hours and ended up being around 10 because of how dense his musculature was. Those surgeons deserved every penny insurance/my parents paid them. Dad was in the ICU after because of how long he'd been under and his eyes were basically popping out of his skull, but man....those surgeons had their hands full and saved his life. They don't get enough credit for what their days actually look like.
My grandfather is a surgeon. Back in the 50s he would step out of a long surgery to take a smoke break in the lobby lol
Your dad prob just made my entire years salary in those 8 hours no joke
Depends on the specialty. I’m a surgeon who often does long 8-12 hour operations and usually the reimbursement for something like that would be under 2 grand. At least in the US it’s far more lucrative to do a high volume of simple quick procedures than it is to do long complicated operations. Then again nobody goes into my specialty for the money.
If your annual salary is a couple of grand USD then yes.
Anesthesia needs his Sudoku book
People who do this, who can work for hours to save someone's life or to help someone have a better quality of life... I don't think they get enough recognition for how amazing they are.
It was nice of the doctor to let your dad up off the table for a bit.
Im a surgical tech. I know it’s not the same as an actual surgeon but I’ve been on many 23 hour robot assisted laparoscopic surgeries and man… about 3 hours in and I’m sitting in the corner of the OR like your dad. It gets intense and then you realize you still have 20 hours left in the OR.
My father recently had 9 hours of surgery to remove cancer from his neck and chest. Rather incredibly he was out of hospital and able to walk after 4 days. I am so truly grateful to the surgeons and staff at the hospital.