Day in the OR

As I mentioned in the previous post, every single neonate on the PSICU service had some form of congenital heart disease that required surgery within days of birth.  After speaking with my preceptor and my cousin who is an anesthesiologist at NTUH, I was given the unique opportunity of observing a pediatric cardiac surgery of one of the patients on my service!  

The patient was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, which involves four defects of the heart and blood vessels:  ventricular septal defect, overriding aorta, right ventricular hypertrophy, and narrowing of pulmonary outflow.  Surgery is necessary because the condition causes low oxygen in the blood and can lead to cyanosis.  

The image above is of the cardiopulmonary bypass, which essentially takes over the function of the heart and lungs during surgery.  

Pre-made trays of medications put together by the pharmacy for surgery.

These pre-made trays was a system developed to minimize medication errors during surgery. 

I felt very anxious as I watched the surgeons work on the tiny heart of patient.  Each and every maneuver had to be so precise.  It was a bit unsettling to see that the HR was zero during the surgery.  However, it was almost miraculous to see the heart start beating after the surgeons reconnected the heart to its blood vessels.  Now it was time to manage my patient postoperatively!