week4

The first three days of my summer immersion week four was spent in the OR. There were eight patients in total that underwent robotic prostatectomy, the oldest was a 78 year old man. The most fascinating thing about robotic prostatectomy with the Da vinci system is the rather early discharge of patients following surgery. Also fascinating to me was the division of labor in the OR, which to me evinces the rather hierarchical nature of the health care profession. As the surgery proceeded, I wondered where a biomedical engineer fits in the "healthcare chain" [doctors being on top] given the presence of the physician assitants, nurses, anesthesiologists, and the Biomedical Engineering Department label on every equipment in the OR.(thought for another day).
Post-op, Dr Tewari follows up on the patients about their sexual function recovery and continence. Also in week 4, I presented a paper on the overexpression of HuR protein and its association with increased cyclooxygenase-2 expression in cystoprostatectomies (removal of the prostate and bladder). For the rest of the week, I spent my time doing literature review on total reconstruction and urinary incontinence.