When I arrived at the hospital at 7:30 am this morning, Naudia had a procedure set up for me to go observe in the O.R. that was going to take place in just a little while. This patient is one that is very dear to Naudia's heart, and after meeting her, I completely understand why. This patient drank a corrosive liquid that was sitting in a bottle when she was a toddler, and the corrosive acid from the fluid eroded her esophagus. As a result, she developed esophageal problems from the ingestion of the corrosive liquid. The procedure that was going to be taking place today was called an esophageal dilation procedure, which allows the doctor to dilate or stretch a narrowed area of her "esophagus." While waiting in pre-op, this sweet girl would not let go of my hand, and we played eye spy together while she was waiting to be transported back to the O.R. After all that playing tired her out, she fell asleep and soon the transport team came and wheeled her through the bunny tunnel and into the O.R. From there, the anesthesiologist gave her gas through a face mask and then proceeded to start her IV. Since I was standing near by, I could easily see what was going on, and once her IV was started, she was intubated with a tube that went through her mouth. Next, the nurse in the O.R. gave me lead to wear over my body so that my organs would be protected while they took x-rays of the patient's chest during the procedure. These x-rays allowed the surgeon to see what he was doing while the bougie (a thin, flexible surgical instrument for exploring or dilating a passage of the body) was placed down the patient's throat. Additionally, this procedure is an endoscopic procedure, so the surgeon did not have to cut into her to open her up. Throughout this procedure, there were about four bougies that were used to open up her "esophagus." Once this portion of the procedure was done, the surgeon stated that he thought she looked good, so they could wrap up and get her in recovery. Thankfully, this patient has been doing well recently, and this current procedure gave the surgeon positive signs of recovery, so this patient was going to get the good news that she would not have to come back for about six months. Woohoo!
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AuthorMy name is Caroline Rogers, and I am a current rising senior at Hutchison School. This blog is dedicated to my summer internship through Hutchison Leads at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, TN. Because of my passion and interest for all things medicine, I decided to explore the field of nursing with Family Nurse Practitioner Naudia James who works with the Anesthesiology Department at the hospital. I aspire to attend nursing school as a college student, and I am thrilled to begin studying medicine and exploring a topic that interests me greatly. |