Occasionally I have a request from a patient’s friend or family member to come into the OR to “watch the surgery.” Many times they tell me that they have seen it on T.V. or on YouTube and just think it will be cool to see it in person. The answer is always no and here is why. In the OR, what may look like a relaxed and even fun atmosphere is actually a very carefully planned and executed choreography with several participants front stage and more in the wings. There is me and the scrub tech at the table and sometimes one of the 6th year plastic surgery residents from the University of Washington. Then there is the anesthesiologist keeping the patient asleep and safe and then there is the circulating nurse who helps the anesthesiologist and also opens equipment and supplies as needed. There really isn’t any extra room for a spectator and that spectator really isn’t going to see much because the surgical field is surrounded on all sides by anesthesia, the Mayo stand with the instruments and people on both sides of the table. And we keep OR “traffic” to a minimum because of infectious issues. The more people in and out of the OR the greater chance of contaminating the surgical field. And a lay person has very little concept of the sterile field and probably has not even heard the term “sterile conscious.” Don’t take it personally but we surgery types think lay people are just walking talking fomites.
“Jesus Christ! I think you are doing that wrong!”
And then there is “going to ground” factor. Even the most hardened lay person or even a doctor or nurse may react very differently to the sight of blood when that blood is that of a close friend or a loved one. If that person goes to ground, then we have another patient to take care of!
I have to tell just one little story about a would be OR spectator from my residency days. I was rotating at Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City and doing an infant hernia case with the Chief of Pediatric Surgery, the wonderful Dr. Dale Johnson. One could not imagine a more competent and kind and ethical surgeon than Dr. Johnson. He was and even after retirement is a deity in surgery circles. We scrubbed our hands and arms and went into the OR for gowning and gloving. He noticed an extra person in the OR with a clipboard. (Surgeon’s have a visceral distrust of people with clipboards). Dr. Johnson politely asked this lady who she was and why was she here. She told Dr. Johnson that she was a “patient advocate” there for the patient’s protection. Dr. Johnson politely asked her from whom she was protecting the patient and if she was going to let him know if he was doing something wrong. She became flustered and just left the OR and I have never seen or heard of such a “patient advocate” since then. It was very strange and makes me think if a patient or patient’s parent think they need an advocate in the OR other than their operating surgeon, maybe they should choose another surgeon.
So go ahead and ask to be an observer but just be prepared to hear “no” in the nicest possible way.
Thank you for reading and I would be honored if you followed me on Intragram @sowdermd and @breastimplantsanity. Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder
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Being a woman and a surgeon isn’t always easy but it sure beats the alternatives: Being a woman and not being a surgeon or being a surgeon and not being a woman.
@lisalynnsowder
