Eventful Saturday

I work every Saturday but today thankfully it was only half a day. And even a change in scene too. Because of some political mix up (and a long story), I ended up assisting the surgical registrar in a laparoscopic appendicectomy.

It was almost comical, really. When the registrar said "Let's go" I thought he meant follow him for a ward round. We went downstairs to theatre instead. Once at the entrance he told me to get into theatre gear and meet him in the emergency operation theatre ASAP. I was going..what???

First of all, I didn't know where the change room was. I got lost on Level 2 looking for it. After asking for directions I found the room only to find that my ID card couldn't swipe it open. Ayarkk. Had to go find someone to open it for me. I was sweating already by that time and worried that I would be late showing up to theatre (since it was an emergency).

When I finally got ready and entered the operation room, nothing was even ready yet. HAHAHAHAHA. The anaesthetist hadn't even inserted a cannula in!! Sabar je la. In the end I just sat around and let the aircond dry my armpits. Buat penat aje panic and rush2.

Finally I got to scrub in - not without many reprimands from the scrub nurse. Do this do that..no no no! Don't do this don't do that. Manyak kecoh ar. Lain hospital lain cara. How was I supposed to know to throw away the drying towel into a special skip. When later she found out I was a doctor and the registrar wanted me there to help him, baru lah dia senyap skit. I guess she thought I was a medical student.

Anyways, that was my first time assisting in an operation. The most simple one too; I suppose, the basic of all operations. Removing the appendix. Not that I did very much. Just held the retractor, manouevered (sp?) the laparoscopy camera and cut the stitch thread. Hahaha!

But it was fun and I enjoyed it. Got to see real life anatomy. Maybe it's better as a doctor. As a medical student, going to theatre was the most boring thing ever. Just standing around being invisible and not really seeing anything.

After the operation, it was back to boring old ward rounds though. And because I was in OT instead of up on the wards, work was piling up and the nurses were not happy. I really must write about the nurses but that's another story.