Tyler McNeill - Week 6

This week was very exciting, as I was able to go to the OR with Dr. Bostrom for the first time! There were some extremely interesting surgeries, all of which were revisions associated with different patient complications. I was most fascinated by one particular femoral component revision in a hip arthroplasty. The patient had severe bowing of one of their femurs and, because of this, the standard lengths components did not fit properly and became loose in the medullary cavity. To address this problem, Dr. Bostrom removed the previous implant and replaced it with a new one, which he cut using a diamond blade so that it fit properly within the patient. Being that my Immersion project work has focused on customization in arthroplasties, it was a really rewarding experience to see how this can be applied in the clinic.

In another one of the surgeries that I observed, the patient required a revision because they had not followed postoperative requirements and instructions. This surgery highlighted the importance of patient compliance following surgery. In the final surgery I shadowed during, the patient had to get a portion of necrotic skin that surrounded their knee implant removed. When I talked about this case with Dr. Bostrom, he explained that the patient had previously had an ACL surgery that had caused some complicated scar formation. It was fascinating to see how patient medical history can cause complications in current operations.

I think seeing arthroplasties being performed in the OR this week gave me a new appreciation for my work researching patient-specific instruments in these surgeries. I’ve definitely fallen victim to the research pitfall of losing sight of the clinical relevance of the work that we do, at times. Getting to see the improvements in joint function immediately after surgery was eye-opening to the humanistic aspect of the work that I do in lab each day.

In addition to our work in the OR and in lab this week, I was able to see Wicked on Broadway this week with Garrett and Emily to celebrate Emily’s birthday! I thought that it was a great show; the cast and the performances were incredible. I had listened to some of the soundtrack from Wicked before but had never seen the show, so getting to see it was definitely exciting.