The Coolest Observation

So yesterday I worked a half day, did some studying, ate, slept, rode my bike, oh yeah and one last thing: observed a real live ACL surgery from a distance of spitting over the surgeon's shoulder.

Thats right, I got to sit in and observe a complete ACL and meniscus surgery, by none other than my exact surgeon, anesthesiologist and physician assistant. There is nothing like getting to see what they did to you first hand. Nothing. It was beyond cool in every way imaginable.

I am glad I was completely scrubbed up with a face mask on because I am sure my mouth was wide open in shock the entire time. Seriously. It was such an amazing experience that I can not really begin to describe how I felt seeing it unfolding right in front of me. My knee throbbed in sympathy pain, but I couldn't look away, not for a moment.

Warning...gore starts here...
Everything, from the blood dripping onto the floor to actually seeing a drill go into the leg bones was surreal. And FYI, they are not gentle with your leg at all. They jerk it this way and that which just reaffirms my opinion that you should go into the surgery with as much mobility as possible. I kept trying to picture that knee on the table being mine and it was weird. The face is covered, all you see is this one leg with numerous tools sticking out of it and it is so easy to remove the person attached to the leg and assume it is just a leg. But the whole time I was just thinking, make sure you fix it right, so they don't have to do this again.

I can truly say I understand now what happens in an ACL surgery, at least in the type that my doctor performs. I understand exactly what the tendon looks like they insert into your knee and how tough it is (unlike the fragile as a piece of spaghetti theory I had always heard). I also understand how hard it is to tear in the first place (at least theoretically). I feel pretty confident about the procedure and about how good my surgeon's technique is. It would be really hard to stretch or pull out the ACL out with his crossbar technique. Oh and just as I suspected, my doc cranked some mean club rap while he operated. That is how he rolls. He really is a t-o-o-l. Hahahahahaha.

Anyway, my PA hooked me up with the job shadow and seriously, her job is awesome. It just reaffirms my desire to make this my future. Onward I say. If any ACL veterans out there have any specific questions about the process, just ask. I will make something up for sure that sounds right.