This past week was somewhat of a bummer, as I caught a cold and had to miss some interesting cases in the operating room. While this week was not quite as exciting as the previous three, getting sick staying out of the OR and clinic helped me focus on research and establishing a stronger literature background for my projects.
One interesting case I was able to observe while I was healthy was a craniotomy for a tumor resection. While I have seen craniotomies in the past for the resection of meningiomas, this case was novel to me, as the patient had a growth just behind their right orbit. The surgeons removed parts of the frontal and sphenoid bones, as well as others composing the right orbit in order to get access to the tumor and relieve pressure on the eyeball. While parts of the operation were performed without aid, most of the surgery was guided by an endoscope. This made the operation much more exciting, as the view of the endoscope was projected on multiple screens throughout the OR. I was concerned for the patient due to the precarious incisions and retraction around the eyeball, however the surgeons appeared confident that they could operate with minimal risks to the patient. I did not stay to see the patient wake up from anesthesia, however I have good faith they will recover well.
A few new undergraduate students and fellows joined Dr. Hartl's group this past week, which gave me a boost of confidence as I was no longer the bottom of the totem pole in our office. I also realized that being here the past three weeks has infinitely increased my clinical knowledge of a variety of spinal surgeries, as I was talking undergraduates through each step of an ACDF (anterior cervical discectomy and fusion) while Dr. Hartl operated. At weekly spine conferences where all of the spine neurosurgeons get together to discuss particularly difficult cases and present imaging studies, I understand 90% of the surgical terminology and can "diagnose" deformities, degeneration, and areas of stenosis with reasonable accuracy.
On the topic of my blog post's title this week, I tried out pho at a vietnamese restaurant close to Olin. As with most food in NYC, it was great.
The immersion term offers PhD candidates in biomedical engineering 7 weeks of first-hand experience in a clinical environment with physicians at Weill Cornell Medical College and associated institutions. Students observe physicians in various settings and participate in clinical research. This blog is a record of these experiences by the term participants.
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