This week I continued to make as much progress as possible in the lab and ask as many questions as possible in the OR. With our immersion experience coming ending next week, I find myself in a mad dash to complete/learn as much as I can with the little remaining time. The immersion experience has really taught me a great deal, which I will take back with me to Ithaca.
In the OR this week I observed a knee reconstruction with local flap repair, multiple wound cleanings of a patient who was hit by a car, repair and skin graft of a below knee amputee, skull closure of a brain tumor resection, as well as a repair of a vaginal reconstruction. Dr. Spector has made a point to keep me closely involved while the surgeries take place and make sure I see a variety of procedures, which I really appreciate. I has been a great experience working with Dr. Spector. I have had the opportunity to see a wide variety of operations as reconstructive/plastic surgeons are called to assist and close in a range of surgeries. Also seeing more patients many weeks after surgery in post-op during office hours with Dr. Spector has allowed me to truly understand their cases and see the impact of surgery on their lives. This has been perhaps the most impactful part of my experience.
In the lab I have begun my final round of experiments that will finish just as we leave. After discussing with Dr. Spector, I have well defined goals for my final weeks and my project. I plan to collect some nice data on the effect of matrix stiffness on vessel integrity and cancer cell intravastion with my last week. I hope that this model be very helpful to other lab members and they can use it much more for future studies. I also hope that my work here this summer will lead to a collaboration with Dr. Spector's lab and my lab back in Ithaca.
7 weeks down and 1 more week to go.
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