so many shoulder and elbow operations. That day, I decided to be an
orthopedic surgeon and never wavered in that pursuit. Following medical
school in the Midwest and surgical residency in Pennsylvania, I was
accepted at the sports medicine fellowship overseen by Dr. Jobe, the same
man who had inspired me almost twenty years before. I have traveled with
the Lakers, ran onto the field of the LA Coliseum with the USC Trojans,
lived in a bungalow on Jackie Robinson Way during spring training, and
listened to the plaintive cries (bad back, bad feet) of a now middle-aged
Mike Eruzione in the dressing room of the US Olympic ice hockey team in
their only reunion since 1980 Lake Placid gold. Those experiences, teamed
with guidance from world-class joint doctors, turned me into the surgeon I
am today.
All of us in the operating room wear scrubs, caps, and masks, but only
the surgical tech dresses in her sterile gown as she prepares the
instrument table. My physician’s assistant Ashley and I help Lisa scoot
over onto the narrow surgical table.
Dr. Cohen administers more anesthesia through a combination of
intravenous sedatives and inhaled gases. Our main goal is pain-free
surgery, but we also want the patient motionless so we don’t have to worry
about injuring a nerve or vessel with a sudden jolt. Cohen renders Lisa
unconscious. As the gas mask is held firmly over her mouth, milky white
Propofol pushes into the IV. In the few seconds it takes to travel to the
heart and circulate into the brain, Lisa plunges into the marvel of
senselessness.
Now that Lisa is completely anesthetized, we position her body carefully
on the table. Great care is required: while her body is completely alive, it
is incapable of self-protection and as vulnerable as a newborn.
We position her to minimize bed sores or nerve injury, and then I adjust
the height of the table so that the surgical area matches the height of my
elbows. This minimizes shoulder strain and allows for up-close
visualization. During shoulder replacement surgery, I stand. Once we’re
all positioned, the circulating nurse paints the surgical area with skin
prep chemicals, including alcohol and other bactericides.
While the nurse paints the patient’s shoulder, and after scrubbing our
hands, I perform an intricate dance with the scrub tech, who already has
her gown and gloves on. While facing her, she slides my gown over my
outstretched arms without touching the unsterile parts of my body or
marcin
(Marcin)
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