I have been told I hadnt talked about work stories in awhile. We really haven't had anything to exciting lately, or at least things that seemed exciting to me.
Today we were swamped. This weekend they were busy as heck. They had a run on NICU babies. I think they did surgery on 4 over the weekend. 2 of the babies have NEC. This is an infection in the gut that causes their intestines to die. One baby lost 80% of its small bowel (intestine). The baby wasnt doing well during the surgery so we will see how it does.
I did do an exciting case today. I helped place a VP shunt in a young girl with hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is "water" on the brain, or when a certain part of your brain does not drain spinal fluid properly. Anyway you put in a shunt which directs the fluid off the brain into the abdomen where it is absorbed. This girl has had her shunt for a few years but it became infected about 1 month ago. She has spent the last month in the PICU waiting for the infection to clear. Today we took her back and the neurosurgeon put the shunt back in. It was awesome to watch him burr our her skull (about the size of a quarter). He then took a camera, similar to what we use doing laparoscopic cases in the belly, and went through her brain to find the part that the shunt needed to go in. We tunnelled the shunt tubing from her brain to her abdomen all under the skin. It was quite amazing and definitely fun to be a part of.
We took alittle boy, 23 months, to surgery on Friday. He had a huge lymph node enlarged in his groin, and one on the top of his foot. Once the baby was asleep Dr. J felt his belly and felt a mass in his abdomen. The lymph node was removed and we ordered a CT scan to find out what the mass was. Dr. J felt it was probably some kind of infection. Well, today the pathology came back and the little guy has lymphoma, cancer. So, tomorrow we put a port in him so he can begin radiation and chemo. (A port is a way for them to give him IV medications without having to use/waste his veins) Poor little dude. I guess the good thing is he is rather oblivious to everything.
OK, well Im off to bed. Im exhausted and Im on call tomorrow. Prayin for an easy call night :)
Maggie 4 Months
14 years ago
so my favorite line from this whole thing was "poor little dude"!
ReplyDeletei think most people would say poor little guy...dude just sounds funny!!!!!
i love hearing the cases!!!!!!
Yea for stories again!! I agree with Krista, ...dude?? Is that Arizona talk? Anyway, that is amazing they can go from your brain to your stomach. I can think of nothing worse than listening to that saw go through the head!!!! luv ya.
ReplyDeleteMom- Its not like on TV. They dont get out a table saw and go to down. Its more like a burr hole thingy. Its like a 6mm drill. It only takes like 2 seconds. Then the rest, they chip away with a special tool that looks like an ice cream scoop. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, well everytime I have ice cream now I will think of scooping out the brain!!! I guess maybe that will be my dietary visual:)
ReplyDeleteI love your stories, keep 'em coming. And, your mother is just gross. She wants you to tell about cases and then is grossed out....go figure. Maybe the next one you could talk about all the blood and really get it going!!!!! Keep on nipplin' to keep you energy up. Love ya.
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