Today I had to opportunity to spend the day in the OR again, this time watching cataract surgery. In the US, all residents are trained in the technique of phacoemulsification (or phaco, for short). Here in India, residents are trained in phaco and SICS (Small Incision Cataract Surgery). So today I spent the day in the fellow OR watching SICS surgeries. Phaco requires a very expensive machine but SICS is done essentially manually so it is much less expensive. This technique is also used for cataracts that are so dense that phaco is difficult.
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| Dense brown cataract from today. It was the consistency of a frozen m&m (ie, very hard) |
Last week I spent a few days in the retina ORs. It was interesting to see the difference in the vitrectomy machines between the retina ORs. They seem to be from different eras! I honestly expected that the paying patients would be operated in the room with the newer machine and the non-paying patients, but that was not the case. I saw both paying and non-paying patients in both ORs which goes along with LVP's mission "to provide equitable and efficient eye care to all sections of society."
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| OR 3 |
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| OR 9 |
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| Not evidence based medicine...I took this picture from the ante chamber outside the OR. Apparently the head nurse in OR 3 feels that 6 is the maximum number of people allowed in the room when the patient is under general anesthesia. Sometimes it's hard to find an OR with fewer than 6 people at UNC! |
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| I'm also unsure of the evidence supporting this rule. No shoes are allowed in the OR. Everyone has to wear these flip flops which are communal property. I choose the oh so fashionable look of socks with sandals. The idea of wearing shoes that 100 different people have worn is just a little too much for me! |
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