Surgery

Yesterday I scrubbed into surgery for the very first time! It was so much fun. The only way that I can describe it, is like finally taking the training wheels off of a bike and riding on your own for the first time. I went to my VACS rotation expecting to perform the usual duties of physical exams, inducing and monitoring anesthesia and recovering animals along with watching and being quizzed about the procedure. However, our professor felt confident enough in all of our abilities to scrub in and assist. I was the first of my group members to scrub in. I had a little bit of trouble with the closed gloving but did it properly. The procedure that I assisted with was an ovariohisterectomy (aka Spay) on a dog. I positioned the instruments in the appropriate places and with the help of my professor used the blade to remove the tissues.
It made me realize just how much I love veterinary medicine!