TheSecretSurgeon - Ask me anything - go for it!

[TheSecretSurgeon]

I am a surgeon in the NHS (and other)

I've been a fully qualified surgeon for 10 + years and I currently mostly do bones/tendons/ligaments,
I treat fractures too. You smash yourself up on the tarmac, I put you back together.

I've trained in plastic surgery, vascular, abdomens and brains. The insides of you, I know it.
Medical, school, junior doctor years, all the guts, all the gore.



AND.... posting from an anonymous account, so no holds barred.

GO for it! Ask me anything

[LargeRed]

can you cure my 'Trigger Finger'

[dontlookdown]

Is there any operation you perform on others that you would not have done to yourself? And why.

[sherman]

Why wont the dvla give me my licence back?

I have been cleared fit to drive (epilepsy) by my gp but the dvla medical group is waiting on my consultant to fill in a form. What takes so long to do some paperwork?

[TheSecretSurgeon]

LargeRed said:

can you cure my 'Trigger Finger'

Yes

dontlookdown said:

Is there any operation you perform on others that you would not have done to yourself? And why.

Boring answer no.
All the operations I do, I would happily do on my near relatives (which isn't really allowed, but you get my drift) Or have done on me.
Some of them have only a 50% success rate, and I think I wouldn't take those odds, but that's a judgement thing.

sherman said:

Why wont the dvla give me my licence back?

I have been cleared fit to drive (epilepsy) by my gp but the dvla medical group is waiting on my consultant to fill in a form. What takes so long to do some paperwork?

Consultants (me) are busy.
Consultants (some) are lazy. But paperwork is paid time whatever it is. Yes I have time paid for paperwork.

[GranpaB]

Why do you were those blue masks in surgery as according to a few people on here they are useless?

T.i.a.

[TheSecretSurgeon]

GranpaB said:

Why do you were those blue masks in surgery as according to a few people on here they are useless?

T.i.a.

A. I don't want your blood/urine/bile/faeces/fat in my mouth.
B. they do cut down on some (largeish) bacteria going into your wound

Interestingly some surgical disciplines aren't too bothered with some bacteria going in the wound, within limits

[Stick Legs]

What colour are bones inside a living person, are they white or does that only happen once you have died and all the blood is gone?

Is it possible to have corrective surgery on bone grafts? I had bilateral Tallipies corrected as a child (last op 38 years ago) but my mobility is playing up now and I am being seen by an Orthopedic specialist but it is early days so don;t want to ask too many stupid questions. I just wondered if you can muck about with bone that has already been grafted, or of once it's been messed with can it be tinkered with again?

Thanks.

[Trophy Husband]

Is there a particular surgery that still stresses you and if so why?

[R1gtr]

Just the man to ask.... I had a high speed heavy impact MTV crash smashing my collar bone, it snapped inwards. Went to hospital and they decided to not operate and just leave it to heal naturally. I did all my physio and am told it has healed but I feel wonky so to speak, my collar bones used to be prominent when looking in the mirror now I can't see this one, it's like it's healed set back a bit. Also if I rotate my shoulder as if I am stirring a huge pot i.e. large circular motions it feels pretty rough, grinding, popping, lots of strange noises that my good one doesn't do.
Is that all normal and just the way it is or should I go back to the docs?
You probably didn't want serious questions but hey ho

[ReverendCounter]

I've just googled something apparently called the xiphoid process - if this is enlarged and deviated, can it be removed or modified so it functions normally (I mean diaphragm + abs attachment)? I think mine is responsible for GERD/GEJ issues which I've had for a long time. I understand there may be the possibility of oesophageal cancer as a result.

[Drezza]

When you first started were you grossed out by blood and guts and if so, over time have you got used to it to the point it no longer bothers you?

I see a grazed knee and go light headed, so couldn't imagine being a surgeon.

[stuthemong]

Was there one op where something complex happened and you just nailed it, smashed it out the park and felt like it was a 1/1000 miracle you pulled it off & felt like a hero(ine)?

[Tango13]

I had a K nail put in my femur 32 years ago, is there an upper time limit for it to stay in there?

[Greshamst]

Has anyone died on your operating table?

[Trophy Husband]

Greshamst said:

Has anyone died on your operating table?

Hmmm!
Great question!
I fear the response!

[Countdown]

How accurate was "Carry On Doctor"?

And what car do you drive?

[TheSecretSurgeon]

Stick Legs said:

What colour are bones inside a living person, are they white or does that only happen once you have died and all the blood is gone?

Is it possible to have corrective surgery on bone grafts? I had bilateral Tallipies corrected as a child (last op 38 years ago) but my mobility is playing up now and I am being seen by an Orthopedic specialist but it is early days so don;t want to ask too many stupid questions. I just wondered if you can muck about with bone that has already been grafted, or of once it's been messed with can it be tinkered with again?

Thanks.

Bones are a creamy white in colour.

Is it possible to have corrective surgery on bone grafts?
Bone is continually turning over, like water flowing in a river, so pretty quickly 'bone graft' turns into bone. So yes.

Trophy Husband said:

Is there a particular surgery that still stresses you and if so why?

Surgery where my knife or saw blade is near an artery or nerve. Tiger Country we call it.
One slip and potentially amputation or floppy leg forever.

R1gtr said:

Just the man to ask....{stuff edited out}
Is that all normal and just the way it is or should I go back to the docs?
You probably didn't want serious questions but hey ho

I dont know is the answer, and I'm not able to do individual medical questions, sorry

ReverendCounter said:

I've just googled something apparently called the xiphoid process - if this is enlarged and deviated, can it be removed or modified so it functions normally (I mean diaphragm + abs attachment)? I think mine is responsible for GERD/GEJ issues which I've had for a long time. I understand there may be the possibility of oesophageal cancer as a result.

Don't know. You need a Thoracic surgeon for this.

No individual medical questions please.

Keep it general, or questions about the grossest thing I've ever cut off

[Sterillium]

What's the grossest thing you've ever cut off?

[TheSecretSurgeon]

Drezza said:

When you first started were you grossed out by blood and guts and if so, over time have you got used to it to the point it no longer bothers you?

I see a grazed knee and go light headed, so couldn't imagine being a surgeon.

For about 30 minutes yes, then no.

Dissection class was year 1 in medical school. So we were are very very hungover and tired.
But cutting up a very dead person quickly becomes normal.

Which is weird in it's own way.

stuthe said:

Was there one op where something complex happened and you just nailed it, smashed it out the park and felt like it was a 1/1000 miracle you pulled it off & felt like a hero(ine)?

Yes, this happens a few times a year.
This is the great thing about surgery, you can rest on your laurels and stick to simples, or find new and challenging things to do, which reap massive reward (but are stressful)
The reason I nail it and smash it out of the park, is however because I overplan for operations and don't reach too far.

Tango13 said:

I had a K nail put in my femur 32 years ago, is there an upper time limit for it to stay in there?

Generally no. They are inert and the body walls it off. I've taken stuff out that was 20+ years in. Bone overgrowth is a pain though, it often needs a lot of chiselling and swearing.

Greshamst said:

Has anyone died on your operating table?

Yes. We operate on some very fragile and ill people.
You have to have a mechanism for dealing with it.
It's terrible. But you have to process/accept/learn and move on

There is a quote from René Leriche, “Every surgeon carries within himself a small cemetery, where from time to time he goes to pray—a place of bitterness and regret, where he must look for an explanation for his failures"

It's this. None are forgotten.