Virtual Surgery
My eight-year-old performed surgery today. She started with knee surgery on a man in his seventies, and then moved on to a hip replacement. She let me watch the hip replacement. I was fascinated, since I work in a field that sees people recovering from joint surgeries all the time. She viewed the X-ray and made sure she had the right size parts for the job. Then she drew on the hip to mark the point of incision. The next part is a little graphic, so the faint of heart should beware. She used a scalpel to make the incision, and used a zapper (clinical term) to cauterize the bleeding. She separated the fat layer with spreaders, then cut back the muscle tissue, being careful to avoid the sciatic nerve. I could go on, but it gets complicated. I actually learned how they do hip replacements through an internet video game. The site is called EdHeads ( http://www.edheads.org/ ) and is sponsored by Ohio State University Medical Center. Edheads is a non-profit organization, which creates unique...