Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Wireeeee t1_j1z2ub0 wrote

Reply to comment by przyssawka in How do shifts work on really long medical operations? by TerjiD

ah, that's amazing, some superheroic stuff. Crazy what the human body and brain can achieve with practice beyond limits. Do you have sugar/caffeine too intermittently during these work hours or is it just adrenaline/chronic stress

32

przyssawka t1_j1z3ra4 wrote

We eat and drink coffee during shifts, nothing different compared to an office job. Part of resilience is definitely adaptation though, residency is exploitative. My speciality doesn’t have those 20-ish hour procedures (at least none that would be all-HNS team) so no surgeon rotation, if it’s 4-5h in the OT you’re stuck there for 4-5h. Then again, hunger or sore legs is the last thing you’re concerned with assuming you’re actively participating, even more so if you’re the primary surgeon.

58

skisushi t1_j1z6n2a wrote

Head and neck surgeons do orchestrate some of the most complex and difficult surgeries though. You may have several teams doing different parts of a surgery and take turns. I have seen as many as 4 or 5 teams work together. Neurosurgery, ophthalmology, plastics, OMFS and ENT/ HNS all can participate on some large tumor resections and reconstructions. When actively involved you can get so focused that food, pee breaks, etc don't cross your mind for 8 to 12 hours. Then you finish and it all catches up to you.

29

przyssawka t1_j1z731i wrote

Yes but as you mentioned for stuff like anterior or lateral approach skull base surgery or large tumor dissections we do take turns. it’s usually a combined effort by neuro, maxfac and ENT. Compare it to stuff like transplantology where one team usually handles the entirety of the procedure.

17