So, I have started my first day of the 4 week surgery rotation in the 2nd largest burn center in the USA: Arizona Burn Center at Maricopa Medical Center. This center admitted over 826 burn patients last year, cared for 1,500 patients in the burn E.R., and over 3,500 outpatient visits. This is also the referral center for areas including the entire state of AZ, western NM, NV, western CA, and northern Mexico. Let me tell ya, there is probably no better place to be trained in how to take care a burn patient than here.As I started my first-day today, and considering how busy this place is, I was thrusted straight into the O.R. within about an hour of being introduced onto the service. Within 5 minutes in the O.R., I was holding up someone’s arm (skinless with escharotomies on both medial and lateral surfaces of both arms and forearms), the arm was oozing copious amount of serosanguinous fluids, while ripping out staples from the temporary grafts.
Ok, I am being really careful with my words here. I have to say that I have never seen anything in medicine that’s as graphic as this. I don’t have a weak stomach for things like this, and I am very eager to jump right in there and help with whatever needed help and to do surgery. However, I have got to remind myself that not everyone’s stomachs agree with mine. So, this is one topic I probably wouldn’t bring up around the dinner table!
I have seen what having skin grafts do to the patients, they are wonderful! Even though the surgery itself looks barbaric, the end results for the patients are life changing! I feel so interested in this work and at the same time feeling that I am contributing to these patients’ well-being that they otherwise could not have received. Simply Life Changing!!! Also, God really designed our body beautifully to heal itself, even at times under unimaginable traumatic stress!
My hours are very interesting, like all surgical discipline, they are long. I start tomorrow morning at 4:45am and the end of the day is “whenever.” Normally, I would start at about 5 or 6am, and ending “whenever.” No joke… this is how it appears on my schedule “0600 – whenever.”
I feel very privileged to be able to do a rotation here, because there is probably no better place to learn about burn surgery. And besides, I get to see people’s lives change right in front of my eyes. I have a lot of respect for these surgeons and the work they do.
Good night, I’ve got to catch some shut-eye before the rooster crows.
1 comment:
Hi George! This is Tina- All I can say is WOW, that sounds so intense, and like nothing else you would experience. I wish I could have actually seen what you were describing, I've only briefly read about burns, it sounds extremely interesting, but really sad at the same time.
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