Day three was fantastic! Like day one and two we met bright and early in front of the hospital to then change into our scrubs. Today was filled with many highlights and memorable moments!
The first two procedures that were conducted were knee scopes. Like I have mentioned in previous blogs before, the knee scopes are done instead of an actual replacement if possible. This is because the recovery time for a knee scope is much less than for a full replacement. However, the second knee scope was particularly interesting. In this case, there was a lesion, or a missing piece of bone, due to impact trauma on the femur. As a result, the patient was limping and in a great deal of pain. To help, Dr. Huff used his camera and variety of tools to find the lesion. After a great deal of perseverance, Dr. Huff finally found the lesion inside of the knee joint. While it was a success to actually find the separate piece of bone in the joint, there was no way for Dr. Huff to successfully attach the piece of bone to the femur. So, to compensate, Dr. Huff drilled holes into the femur in the location of the lesion. The holes went all the way to the marrow. Since he went to the marrow, the marrow would then be able to create new bone tissue around the lesion and successfully heal.
Another interesting procedure done today was on an ankle fracture. Since the fracture could not be healed from wearing a boot, a plate and screws were necessary for the operation. In the operation, Dr. Huff drilled a guide wire into the ankle of the patient. He then used the guide wire, to help direct the screws into a proper position. The reason why I have found the past surgeries to be so intriguing is because of how simple the concept is. If you actually, use your brain and think about what the main goal of the surgery is, then you will be able to figure out the main steps needed to complete the surgery. Sure, this is much easier said than done, but I do believe that it is very beneficial to have an outline of the surgery in your mind.
To wrap up the day, Dr. Huff and I went to his office across the street like on Day 1 and 2. We then met with a variety of patients with a mix of needs. Another reason why I have found Dr. Huff’s orthopedic practice to be fascinating is because of the variety of patients and cases that he sees. Since he is the only doctor in his practice and covers all of Sampson and two of the surrounding counties, he has a constant flow of cases. He sees everything which is what makes his job so interesting. The surgeries on Day 1 were completely different than the surgeries done today.
It was a great week shadowing Dr. Huff, and I am already looking forward to what lies in the schedule for next week!
