In the middle of the night I remembered that we always need extensions on the IV tubing. For those of you who aren’t medically inclined…the means there is more length (about 12inches) and a 3way stopcock that allows you to inject drugs. Without the extension it’s hard to reach points for injecting drugs. Anyway I got to the hospital a little before 7 am in time to add extensions to the IVs for the 4 first cases. Whew.
As always, the first day starts slowly. We needed to be sure that all documents were signed and narcotics were distributed. My first room was asleep at about 8:15 and my second room was asleep closer to 9 am. The surgeons are experienced but they don’t do these particular surgeries at home so they start out slowly.
As I am beginning to write this blog it is almost 6:30 pm and 3 out of 4 rooms are still working with one that may come out in an hour and the other 2 in 2 hours. The days are always long.
And despite the preparation and experience of each team member, there are always things needed that have to be found along our supply shelves. Since I had no part in placing supplies placed by the nurse anesthetists and our OR nurses, it was and always is a challenge to find things. In some cases, the supplies aren’t there because they haven’t been sent to us. So it goes.
The results of a few cases are impressive. We have 3 rooms of rhinoplasty (nose jobs) for people who have had cleft lip and palate repair as children. As they grow, the nasal septum isn’t as fully developed as in those without the defect and as a result the nose becomes wide and flattened. Our surgeons repair this using a piece of rib cartilage inserted in the nose in addition to other surgical procedures. One room is microtia which is a defect in ear development. The ear framework is constructed from rib cartilage and then placed in position using whatever ear parts exist on the patient and skin lifted off the skull by the ear.
In the meantime, I have been covering the recovery room where some patients need medication for pain or nausea. It’s been a busy first day.
I finally left around 8:10 to go out for dinner. Meson Panza Verde is a lovely spit with delicious food. Margaret and I met at the hotel and walked a short few blocks to the restaurant in the rain. It was well worth it. We had a delicious meal of sautéed portabello mushrooms, then snook meuniere followed by baba au rum. I finally got to relax. Time now to get some sleep and plan for another busy day.
The Adventures of Anne 