The beginning to the new week of my internship with Dr. Huff started out great! After meeting at 7:00 and changing into our scrubs, we made our way into the operating room for the first case.
In the first procedure of the day, Dr. Huff had to repair a rotator cuff. In the operation, Dr. Huff used a scope with camera along with a variety of tools to help cut, snip, and trim any tissue needed to complete the procedure. All of the procedure was done through two small incisions in the patient’s shoulder. After locating the tear within the shoulder joint, Dr. Huff used a suture to mark the tear from below the rotator cuff so he could find it later in the procedure. After doing so, he then moved above the rotator cuff to repair the tear. To repair the shoulder, Dr. Huff used a bur, similar to a grinder, to trim away the bone spur inside the joint. If he was to skip this step, then the bone spur would cause the muscles to tear again. After he took away the spur, he then used a suture to tie the tear together. Along with the sutures, he also used biodegradable anchors to securely fasten the sutures into the muscle tissue. These anchors would dissolve after about a year.
Another interesting procedure from today was fixing a Stener lesion which is also known as “gamekeepers thumb”. Stener lesions are caused due to repeated stress. Because of the stress, the ligament that had originally connected the metacarpal, the first thumb bone, and trapezium, the thumb knuckle, was torn. To fix the ligament, Dr Huff drilled two pins into the metacarpal. He then tied the suture to the ligament and to the end of both pins. Following this, Dr Huff pulled the pins through the metacarpal bone which threaded the suture through the metacarpal. The suture was then tied on the lateral side of the metacarpal, so the ligament sat firmly against the medial side of the metacarpal. During recovery, the ligament would heal and develop tissue to secure itself against the metacarpal. Then the stitches would be able to be removed.
After talking about hunting, fishing and summer plans in the break room, we entered our final surgery of the day. This surgery was very quick. The patient had a MRSA infection which had caused a fluid buildup in the elbow and wrist. During the operation, Dr. Huff drained the fluid by making a small incision.
To cap off the day, we walked over to his office after a quick lunch break. We then met with patients. Again, like I have mentioned before, I particularly like this part of the day because it has allowed me to see the personal relationship between the doctor and patient. Today was another great day working with Dr. Huff and I look forward to another exciting day tomorrow!
Rotator cuff repair