there is no way that is going to fit through that small hole......

As most of you know, i am half way through my OB/GYN rotation... during the course of this rotation so far my amazement of the how the human body can tolerate stress is absolutely ridiculous. Today is no exception. While rounding on one of our consults who has been in the hospital for the past 4 days with abdominal pain without alleviation, medicine has consulted everyone from surgery, to gastro to gyn to determine the cause of the pain that doesn't get better even pain meds only reduce the pain. Anyways, this is a process we like to call the TURF. A friend of mine is currently rotating on internal medicine, and has been trying to TURF the patient for 4 days. She is a handful and difficult to examine and a pain for the nursing staff. First medicine TURFED to surgery, surgery did not accept and attempted the TURF to gastro who sent back to medicine. Medicine tried for two days unsuccessful to TURF to gyn, and today we decided this is getting annoying so let's just poke a hole, stick a camera in the belly and find out what is causing the pain. Before starting surgery my attending secretly hoped to find an inflamed appendix so he could call surgery and give them the TURF. Unfortunately for us, its a gyn issue. She has an ovary attached to the abdominal wall, its oozing brown pussy fluid into the pelvis....she is now our patient....the successful TURF!


The highlight of my day is the surgery itself, i got to handle the laparoscope, i got to irrigate and suction (its kinda a big deal for me as a third year student) and I LOVED IT!!! i knew playing video games would pay off....so tell your kids to play their video games because it makes operating with a laparoscope a lot easier. (you get to watch it on TV while using your hands....so fun!! and to think one day i may actually get paid for this :) ) While washing the cavity the dr warned me to be careful because i could potentially perforate the bowel, bladder or something else...for a moment during surgery i forgot that its a patient and not a computer or something...a little strange, but since only a tinny bit of skin is actually visible it makes sense that you don't realize its a person under the blue drape. The coolest part is when we removed the ovary..i always wondered how they got an organ out one of those tiny little holes..and now i feel like i am in on the secret...they put the ovary in a little bag they placed through the hole. Then pulled the bag (like an empty balloon) through the hole....the ovary did get stuck, but with a little maneuvering we managed to pull it through the belly button!!! it was awesome!! who ever would have thought that an ovary can fit through a hole in your belly button...

well another day down....only a few weeks left :(