It's been almost a year since I last set foot in the 18-operating theatre center of UKMMC. It was during Surgery posting last year. Nothing much of a memorabilia in a place where there's everything and you gain nothing most of the time. But this time, I set my foot again, as a 4th year medical student. ENT posting.
And it was eight in the evening.
The on-call doctor had called us to look at an emergency tracheostomy(creating an external opening at the throat to ease breathing) under local anesthesia, a rare case when usually it's being done under general anesthesia. So there we were, our group standing in the OT, with soft music in the background. At least not some hard rock music preferred by some surgeons.
The old patient was anxious, but he soon calmed down after attempts to put him down on the "stage". His laryngeal cancer grwoth was too large that it almost obstruct the whole airway. Being too old, he can't stand GA for too long, so it was reserved for the later biopsy procedure.
The cold air in the OT invoke some nostalgia. Partially Surgery, partially O&G. Was it that long ago? I'd remember that I understand nothing of surgery, being a clown bystander most of the time in hope for a signature. At least this time, I get to understand how it's being done. Surprisingly, the "cutthroat" was not that grueling as it seems. At least not like those cricothyroidectomy done in the movies which looked dramatic and the impending threat of death loomed. Done proper, it finished in no time. The environment began to stir some feelings of the past.
Once I'd thought of being an ENT specialist. Well, perhaps that was one of the many reasons that tipped me in here. My own conditions which had not improved after a long time made me even more determined to find the answer myself instead of being conned by those private ENT docs. Now that I'm here, I'm beginning to seek for the anwers that I had been looking for. Allergic rhinitis, laryngopharyngeal reflux, chronic cough, nasal septal deviation, polyps, some minor obstructive sleep apnea, lack of focus most of the time, mood swings faster than PMS at times, they all fell into pieces. What there may be missing some pieces of the puzzles, at least I got the general picture.
The X-files are not that "X" anymore.
The interest in ENT would grow better if not for the rush of a short posting, and what now lies ahead is a long journey. Would I really want to be an ENT specialist? The thought lingers, but the pre-requisite of a being a Surgeon prior to that is not a welcoming thought. Isn't there an Internal Medicine masters instead? Or dermatologist? One thing for sure, the future is undetermined, and who knows, I might not even be in this field after a long practice? Again and again, only time shall tell.
And it was eight in the evening.
The on-call doctor had called us to look at an emergency tracheostomy(creating an external opening at the throat to ease breathing) under local anesthesia, a rare case when usually it's being done under general anesthesia. So there we were, our group standing in the OT, with soft music in the background. At least not some hard rock music preferred by some surgeons.
The old patient was anxious, but he soon calmed down after attempts to put him down on the "stage". His laryngeal cancer grwoth was too large that it almost obstruct the whole airway. Being too old, he can't stand GA for too long, so it was reserved for the later biopsy procedure.
The cold air in the OT invoke some nostalgia. Partially Surgery, partially O&G. Was it that long ago? I'd remember that I understand nothing of surgery, being a clown bystander most of the time in hope for a signature. At least this time, I get to understand how it's being done. Surprisingly, the "cutthroat" was not that grueling as it seems. At least not like those cricothyroidectomy done in the movies which looked dramatic and the impending threat of death loomed. Done proper, it finished in no time. The environment began to stir some feelings of the past.
Once I'd thought of being an ENT specialist. Well, perhaps that was one of the many reasons that tipped me in here. My own conditions which had not improved after a long time made me even more determined to find the answer myself instead of being conned by those private ENT docs. Now that I'm here, I'm beginning to seek for the anwers that I had been looking for. Allergic rhinitis, laryngopharyngeal reflux, chronic cough, nasal septal deviation, polyps, some minor obstructive sleep apnea, lack of focus most of the time, mood swings faster than PMS at times, they all fell into pieces. What there may be missing some pieces of the puzzles, at least I got the general picture.
The X-files are not that "X" anymore.
The interest in ENT would grow better if not for the rush of a short posting, and what now lies ahead is a long journey. Would I really want to be an ENT specialist? The thought lingers, but the pre-requisite of a being a Surgeon prior to that is not a welcoming thought. Isn't there an Internal Medicine masters instead? Or dermatologist? One thing for sure, the future is undetermined, and who knows, I might not even be in this field after a long practice? Again and again, only time shall tell.
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