Week 8:
The Children’s Hospital

July 18, 2013

This past week I had some more shadowing opportunities. On Monday, I was in the OR again with a different orthopedic surgeon. In the morning, the surgeon performed a spinal fusion. I was very excited to be getting to watch a spinal fusion, since I have read a lot about them for my research project. First, the doctor made a long incision down the back which allowed them to begin exposing the spine. Next, the doctor had to remove the joints in order to make the spine more flexible. After that, the surgeon placed hardware into the spine to reshape it. Finally, the doctors roughed up the bone to allow new bone to grow. Bone graft was also added to help the bone fuse together. Although before the surgery the spine had a very obvious curve, an x-ray after the surgery showed that the spine had become almost completely straight.

In the afternoon, I was able to observe a hardware removal procedure. This patient had a spinal fusion in the past, but needed the hardware removed since it was bothersome. The physician assistant working with the surgeon told me that hardware can be removed after 1 year after spinal fusion, but it is preferred if the patient can wait at least 2 years. This procedure was very interesting because after the surgeons worked to expose the spine, I was able to see the results of a spinal fusion. It was very interesting to see how the bone had fused together.

This week I have also continued to work on my research project. I am working to collect as much data as possible before the end of next week because at that point the plan is to submit the data I have collected for statistical analysis. This has been stressful, because there are still several x-rays that I had ordered which have not arrived. I have also begun thinking about my final presentation. At the end of my research project, I will be presenting information to some of the doctors, as well as the other research assistants (which I am a little nervous about). I can’t believe I only have two more weeks left at Children’s. However, I am excited to be entering the next phase of my project soon.