Steady Hands: The World Through a Scalpel

I was never too fond of the classic childhood toys. Quite frankly, beautiful dolls and shiny cars never appealed to me as being anything more than hunks of plastic stacked on a Toys-R-Us shelf. Based on what my parents have told me, it wasn’t until I was about three or so that when visiting my Nana in Arizona, I received a gift that I’d come to consider especially inspiring and significant in helping me discover a passion that I am still pursuing today. A wide variety of mock instruments like a stethoscope, scalpel, plexor, stapler, and much more were bundled in a large, clear doctor’s tote. Curious and bright eyed, I tore into that bag like candy. I was in awe of what all I could seemingly do with a few pieces of equipment in my hands and the right mindset. My play medical kit, which today I happen to have resting behind a wood bureau in the corner of my room, became my pride and joy. I can vividly remember “doctor” being my favorite childhood game. My parents, being as cooperati...

In a matter of seconds, everything had changed. Little did I know that that soccer game would be the last I’d suit up for for a while. The classic “pop” was all too real. In the midst of my body being slapped down to the hard turf, I already knew something was off. My left knee was flung into the air like spaghetti and sandwiched between two people. With little control over redirecting it, there was nothing more I could do than just wait for the damage to hit. When my left side made contact with the ground, my knee still clamped inwards, there was a screaming loud “crack, then “pop” that rung through my ears. The pain was immediate and throbbing. My toes went numb and shock started to set in. Laying loosely on the ground before the medic, coach, family, and friends rushed to me felt like an eternity. Soon enough, I was on a cushioned table being examined by the sports medicine trainer. The swelling set in instantly, making my knee incredibly stiff and that much more painful. Upon ...

To the well trained eye, it seems primitive and routine. Never mind the fact that the procedure I am alluding to can take 3-4 hours, assuming there are no complications, and requires an advanced team of cardiothoracic surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and perfusionists to complete successfully. Technically speaking, Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting, or "CABG", which is pronounced as the food "cabbage", is an open-heart surgery in which a portion of a blood vessel is grafted from the aorta to the coronary artery in order to bypass the blocked section of the coronary artery and improve the blood supply to the heart. Having had the great honor of performing it on an already deceased pig heart a few times before at Stanford University, I can somewhat vouch for those who acknowledge the fact that this procedure is not merely a cut here, few sutures there, then done. Still, only a qualified MD truly understands what is mentally and physically involved when evaluating ...