Distractions During Surgery is Common

Patients often consider surgery to be performed in a setting where there are no distractions so that the surgeon can focus on the task at hand. Unfortunately, this impression is far from the truth where distractions abound and sometimes can approach on the chaotic. Although anecdotal stories can be told, perhaps it is better to mention a few studies where third parties observed the goings on in the operating room. A study done in 2013 observed 3,557 distractions over 32 separate surgic…

8/28/2014 0

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Are Surgeons Dumber than Anesthesiologists?

The British Medical Journal in 2011 published a multicenter prospective comparative study comparing the intelligence of orthopedic surgeons and anesthesiologists. Before I give you the answer, a little history... Traditionally, orthopedic surgeons have the unfortunate stereotype in the medical community of being  strong but stupid. Although making fun of orthopedic surgeons is a popular past-time among physicians giving rise to a number of jokes including: What do you call two orthopaedic…

6/11/2014 0

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Awake Endotracheal Intubation Video

It is a common misconception that you need to be completely asleep and sedated in order to be intubated. That is patently false. With good local anesthesia, intubation can be performed on a wide-awake patient without any sedation. Take a look at this  video  where an anesthesiologist instructor essentially intubates himself in front of an audience... I didn't make it, but I wish I did... This little-used technique is a very important skill to have because in certain dire situations w…

7/27/2011 0

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