Bismillah
Being a Houseman in the Obs and Gynae department means having to assist the MOs and Specialists as they carry out Caesarean sections. And 2 nights back, God had been kind enough to bless me with a kind MO for me to assist with her procedures.
I'm writing this because I was severely cut out from the Operating Theater in my early days due to my lack of experience and being paired with an MO who was just not that cool. Haha, I was Caesar-phobic for almost a month and a half because of that. Ish. Wasted my time to accumulate skill aje.
Anyway, the part which you have to carry out without being told to includes: preparing the antibiotics, write on the board the patient's particulars, putting on the catheter and scrubbing in.
The assisting starts as patient is started on spinal/GA.
1. Painting. ie, cleaning the op site. This is mostly done by MOs. Done in 3 layers, using a sponge forcep and a few pieces of gauze, twice with iodine, once with alcohol, then clean with a clean gauze. Be generous with the iodine/alcohol. Start from the op site, going from the lateral part of the patient away from you, towards the lateral part near you. Paint in linear pattern, till the umbilicus where you swap a little more so you dont miss out any folds, then go a little bit higher with your linear motions till the fundal area. Then you can move on to the thighs, from the lateral side away from you, to the side near you, and paint cranial to caudal, up to mid/ three quarter thigh. Then clean the mons pubis and and the labia. Repeat with second wash of iodine and then with alcohol, Then clean off the liquids over the op site with the clean gauze.
I think I must integrate a photo with this one. Hehe. Will draw and upload later. Work is calling.
Learn and share shall we? ;)
