Monday, April 14

plastics: wk 1 day 1

plastics guys are nice.

that makes such a big difference. i'm going to enjoy working in this elective. the chief has this great laugh. a sudden release of unbound happiness. it's great. it would make anyone smile. such a free laugh is rare in this hospital.

the case: sacral ulcer. small innocent looking ulcer. but it's hiding a long tract of infection. we went in to dig and dig and dig to take out all infected tissue and leave only viable tissue. the problem is, there is no real easy way to if you are took out all the infected tissue. so we make up for the uncertainty by taking out wide margins, until all the tissue is red and bleeding, signs of healthy tissue.

the worst part of the case was when we took out chunks of the sacrum. we used a tool that looks something like pliers to grab (with a crunch!) and then YANKED whatever we grabbed out. it just seemed very imprecise, low tech. very barbaric. this is a recurring theme, i find. there is definitely room for improvement in techniques and tools. yo, VEE, when are you going to do the tech stuff to make this happen?! get ON it, already, bme dude!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AILEEN!!!

yakob at 11:53 PM

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