Yesterday I observed two surgeries. The first one was a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the removal of the gallbladder. The second one was a hemorrhoidectomy. Both procedures were done by a general surgeon who was training two residents.
I was fascinated by the entire operating room process from the way the room was set up, the procedures, to the coordination of the entire team.
Everyone was professional. One particular OR nurse really impressed me. She had an innate ability to connect with everyone in the room, and in particular the patients. Her ability to comfort them was incredible. I have never observed this before. She obviously had a gift and I told her. This same nurse explained the procedures and answered my questions. She was impressed by my interest.
The highlight of the day was the gallbladder. I have seen gallbladders before but not the human variety. This particularly one was light brown and had some stones and sludge inside it. The nurse let me touch it and feel the stones before she opened and drained it. She then let me see the misery causing stones that were about 8 mm in diameter. The liquid inside the organ was yellowish-green and resembled the liquid I observed in the NG tube I once had.
Everyone told me I would probably faint or gag. No response there. Blood does not bother me, nor do most smells from human bodies, except for very bad armpit odor and dried days old urine on clothing (this particular odor can sometimes make me gag). There were some odors, mostly from cautery, which smell like a combination of burnt skin, blood and hair. – Blood does have an odor, especially when it has been exposed to air for a bit and then dries on surgical instruments. It reminds me of beef liver that has been sitting on a kitchen counter for a bit too long.
This experience has been one of my life’s dreams. I always wanted to go to medical school. Unfortunately that never happened due to mental illness.