On the Bloody Surgery

We were obliged to watch thyroid removal surgery for this surgical posting. It's a long surgery and standing in the operation theater in leather shoes for 5 hours is just not something nice for the feet. But what to do, we have to complete the bloody log book nonetheless.

And so there we were, in the theater looking at a man whom we just felt the goitre from the ward being operated. Slowly the surgeons cut open the structures in the neck one layer at a time, trying to avoid the important structures in the neck, particularly the nerves.

3 hours into the surgery, as they've finally managed to get half of the tumor out, with one nick, suddenly blood started oozing! There were so much blood spurting out, and the whole incision area was flooded with blood. The surgeons were frantically looking for the source of infection.

And before we know it, the patient started crashing. His blood pressure fell from 120/80 to 80/60 to 50/40... The anesthesiologist's face changed drastically. Damn! We're gonna lose the patient!

But alas, the surgeons finally found the source of infection, and stopped the bleeding. Colloids infusion were given. And the blood pressure slowly picked up.

Phew! What an excitement! LMAO.