Hello Everyone!
This week Sam and I were in the OR department. Monday (7/10), we watched the end of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This operation is performed by inserting a tiny video camera and special surgical tools through four small incisions to see inside your abdomen and remove the gallbladder. Then, we say part of vaginal childbirth. But, the midwife ended up asking us to leave which she explained to us later was because the mother and baby were in distress and she didn’t want us to witness a baby or mother passing away. Luckily, the baby and mother both survived and were healthy. Then, Monday afternoon we went to the ICU and helped take vitals, and bathe patients.
On Tuesday (7/11), We say another C-Section and a total hip replacement. C-sections are always fascinating to watch because they’re surprisingly quick, and it’s always a big relief when the baby comes out healthy. The total hip replacement was my favorite surgery I’ve seen by far! What made this surgery so interesting was that the patient had already had a full hip replacement, but there was some kind of complication. So the surgeon had to remove his already healed, and fused implants from his body, and implant new ones. When the orthopedic surgeon assistant came in to set up the instruments for the operation it could easily have been mistaken for Ace Hardware power tools! The surgeon used hammers, and saws to remove the old implant. And, the operating room looked like a scene from a horror movie, bone fragments and blood got everywhere! We ended up not being able to see the end of the operation because we had to go home. But, it was fascinating to watch.
On Wednesday (7/12), we say another C-section. And then in the afternoon, we watched two circumcisions. In the Philippines, they perform circumcisions when the patient reaches 9-12 years old! So, that was a little odd to watch but an interesting part of their culture to witness.
On Thursday (7/13), there weren’t any surgeries in the morning so we just helped clean and restock the OR. In the afternoon we saw the beginning of a low anterior resection (LAR) with total mesorectal excision (TME). Total mesorectal excision (TME) is a common procedure used in the treatment of colorectal cancer in which a significant length of the bowel around the tumor is removed.
On Friday (7/14), it was the hospital’s 25th anniversary so they had a basketball tournament where all the different units compete against each other. I woke up that morning and wasn’t feeling well so my supervisor said I didn’t need to come in. But, later that night I had to trek up to Manila since we had a flight to Tokyo, Japan at 4 am!
Saturday (7/15) at 2:30 am we left for the airport! We landed in Tokyo at 10 am, the flight was 4 hours but there’s a time difference. When we landed we navigated the train system into Tokyo and explored the area around our hotel until we could check in. The area we were in was called Asakusabishi. We got ramen from a small, cute, local restaurant. Then, we walked across the Sumida River to a real Sumo gym! We couldn’t go in and see the sumo wrestlers but the arena was very impressive. Then, we checked into the hotel, showered, and took a little nap. After our nap, we went and explored Shinjuku. Shinjuku is an area of Tokyo that has a lot of restaurants, and bars. We sat at a restaurant/bar that had a DJ and it was a lively environment and entertaining.
Sunday (7/16) we explored Harajuku, Shibuya, and the Ginza area. We did a lot of shopping, and just enjoyed the energy and busyness of Tokyo. Later that night we went to Tokyo Bay to watch the Sunset.
