wednesday.

I was in surgery all day. I started the day with a surprisingly mellow mini-facelift. Last night, I felt it was necessary to youtube some facelift procedures so I would  know what I was getting myself into. BAD IDEA. I had forgotten Dr. G was only doing a mini facelift (which doesn't include incisions around the eyes, I think) and ended up watching a 30min facelift video. I sat in extreme discomfort as this person made incisions in the eyelid and below the eye. After about 5min, my own eyes started watering uncontrollably as my thespian personality started channeling the pain this person must be in. I successfully finished the video as I prepared to face the limit of my surgical tolerance the next day. One word to describe the day was tiring. I had overslept a bit this morning and headed into the OR with a bad case of yawning. My sleepiness quickly subsided when I overheard a couple of nurses talking about the upcoming season of Survivor and how an OR doctor's (rather attractive ^_^) son was already back from filming it. Anyway, I was really fascinated  by how squishy and jiggly the patient's cheek was after the skin had been lifted. Lunch was really fun because one of the doctors decided get everybody Swett's (southern soul food, yum!!). After our bellies were utterly full, Dr. G's team prepped for a complex surgery. One of the nurses (Bonnie's mom) taught me how to insert a catheter just in case the patient had to...relieve herself. As the surgery progressed, everyone started getting super tired. People were yawning and really quiet. We realized the soul food was to blame. To get everyone back in the groove of things, I found some dubstep and pumped up the volume. It seemed to help a bit. After about 15 min of that, we went back to alternative acoustic station and finished up the 3-part job a little later than scheduled, but hey...you can't rush perfection!

my beautiful mommy

Dr. Michael Alexander Salzhauer, M.D. actually wrote a children's book on teaching kids how to deal with their mothers' plastic surgery. ^_^ The pictures are from Amazon.

tuesday.

Today was pretty great. I was a bit tired, but that just means I need to get into bed earlier. Tuesdays for Dr.G are in the office during the morning and in surgery during the afternoon. I sat in a few consultations and a nurse pre-op debriefing. I also got to play with the implants!! The silicone ones are the most fun. They are so soft and squishy. Being the nerd I am, I ended up organizing the implants by size. It's amazing how just a small decrease in breast size (about 50cc) can make you look a lot slimmer. You meet a lot of interesting people plastic surgery offices. Dr. G says from her experience, a majority of plastic surgery patients have a history of depression. Some people even have a form of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). This is why Dr.G has to review her patients before they get surgery. She does not want people to be unhappy or unsatisfied with their appearance after the procedure. The one thing she dreads the most (other than dictations and face-lifts) is having to deal with a patient who has a skewed perception of their body and the results of the surgery. Some people will just keep getting work done and never be fully happy. Dr.G said it would be helpful to minor in psychology when I get in college because people expect more of a sympathetic, nuturitng, and overall honest attitude and opinion from female plastic surgeons. They expect you to relate and agree with them, however that is not always the case and sometimes the patient may be a bit stubborn. You have to be very persuasive as a surgeon because people may not always know the best operation for themselves. The rest of the day was spent doing a tummy tuck, which wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. After Dr. G left, I was able to watch a hand surgery being done by a neighboring surgeon. It was so interesting to see how different their methods were. After that I chilled in the break room and got to know a couple of nurses. Everyone is really friendly!! However, I am really gonna dread this face lift tomorrow. Anything on the torso or legs is so impersonal because the person's face is all covered up; but, this time, Dr. G will be slicing up someone's face which is a whole other animal to tackle. Thank God she won't be messing with the eyeballs...for now!

infographic of the day.

I find it very difficult to agree with many of these facts. Tell me what you think ^_^

friday.

I can now say I have seen a person's body being sliced up in an operating room. This morning I was so worried something bad might happen. The RN kept asking me if I had eaten breakfast or was prone to feinting. Everyone was reassuring me that if I passed out, they would understand. Those comments made me freak out even more. However, once the 1st incision was made, it was hard NOT to sit down. I wanted to see every thing. Dr. G was impressed with how well I was handling it. The RNs were very nice and explained to me what their jobs were. Good thing I like the color blue because EVERYTHING was blue and no one really knew why. Dr. G was scheduled for a breast reduction and liposuction, so nothing was particularly gory. I learned that communication with the nurses is extremely important. They set up everything while the surgeon is scrubbing in and if the surgeon performs an unknown procedure, they won't have the correct utensils in time. I also learned what each utensil is for and how they use it. There is this one probe, which I forget the name of right now, that sends an electrical current that will burn the flesh in that one particular spot which stops the blood flow. I'm guessing plastic surgery was a really bloody job back then because only now to they have all these methods and chemicals to decrease the blood flow during surgery. It was really cool to see the nurses prep the body before surgery. They had this really colorful iodine solution that they scrubbed on the patient's body to clean it.  It was so odd seeing the lady I had met yesterday just knocked out and completely naked with Dr. G's incision markings and doodles on the operating table. The nurses go through great lengths to make sure the body is completely comfortable using various pads, braces, blankets, and even turning the temperature of the room up and down depending on how the body was reacting. The NA (nurse anesthetist) could see the lady's vitals and how she was feeling depending on her monitor. Many times she turned the heat up, while the doctors where burning up, because the body was freezing cold. Dr. G popped out her iPod and set it up on the room's sound system so that we could all rock out while we were in surgery. Another funny thing was how she blessed each and every breast implant she put in a person with a goofy chant. Overall, the OR was incredibly fun and I'll be back there on Tuesday for a tummy tuck I believe. Also, I enjoyed wearing whatever I wanted to work because I would just change into scrubs when I got there.

ootd:

needs a reality check...