Today was my first day getting to observe Dr Youssef in surgery. I got to observe two disk fusions, and one repair of a nucleus pulposus herniation, which is the soft cartilage inside the disks, that helps to absorb shock and protect the spinal cord. I thought the disk fusions were the most interesting because I was able to see what he was doing; he used the microscope to be able to see, and what he saw was projected onto a television via the microscope.
It was interesting to compare and contrast spinal surgery and orthopedic surgery. For example, orthopedic surgery seemed to happen on a much larger scale than spinal surgery. Spinal surgery was so delicate and in such a small portion of the body area, that Dr Youssef had to use a microscope to finish some of his procedures, whereas orthopedic surgery seemed much more open and large-scale; it involved several mechanical parts, and a somewhat unnerving amount of pulling and pushing that was necessary to make sure the piece fit correctly in the knee.
Tomorrow I will be observing Dr Youssef in surgery again.
It was interesting to compare and contrast spinal surgery and orthopedic surgery. For example, orthopedic surgery seemed to happen on a much larger scale than spinal surgery. Spinal surgery was so delicate and in such a small portion of the body area, that Dr Youssef had to use a microscope to finish some of his procedures, whereas orthopedic surgery seemed much more open and large-scale; it involved several mechanical parts, and a somewhat unnerving amount of pulling and pushing that was necessary to make sure the piece fit correctly in the knee.
Tomorrow I will be observing Dr Youssef in surgery again.
