Watching the Surgery

One of the fun and unique privileges of being an anesthesiologist is being able to watch the surgery. Because we work with many surgeons in different fields, we get to see everything, from lithotripsy of a kidney stone to a hip replacement to delivery of a baby by C-section to biopsy of a brain tumor. In some procedures, I can't really follow what the surgeons are doing; despite watching multiple sinus surgeries, I'm never sure where we are. But many times it is imperative that we follow what the surgeons are doing. In my thoracic rotation, for example, I follow the manipulation of the lung carefully. Not only is it fascinating to see an organ so central to anesthesia practice, but what they are doing matters. When the surgeons are close to large blood vessels, I make sure they don't injure any of them, and if they do, I am ready to respond to a rapid massive blood loss. When the surgeons enter the thoracic cavity, I watch to make sure the lung is isolated and deflated so they don't accidentally injure it. When they are finishing the lung surgery, I watch as I inflate the lung to make sure that everything inflates appropriately. The same principles applied when I was on my cardiac anesthesia rotation where manipulation of the heart and great vessels had many direct anesthetic implications.