Doctors Describe What Their First Surgery On A Human Patient Was Like

"Surgeons of reddit, what was your first surgery on a real living human like?" –– This was today's burning question from Redditor Cloverload and our suspicions that surgeons tend to get excited around blood have been confirmed.
Are you surprised?
The adrenaline rush is a thing, you see, and we must be thankful to surgeons for all their time and expertise. Doctors also weighed in.
Warning: If you're easily grossed out, you might want to keep a barf bag at the ready.

"Had so much training..."
Pretty routine to be honest. Had so much training leading up to it and a senior surgeon standing by offering advice and reassurance as needed that it felt almost the same as training. Helped that it was a fairly basic and routine surgery with very little risk.
"My first day of clinical rotation..."
My first day of clinical rotation I scrubbed in a crash c section.
There. Was. So. Much. Blood.
It was kind of awesome though.
"Currently in school..."
Currently in school and experienced the WEIRDEST thing during my first major surgery assisting.
Scrubbed in a le fort 1 downfracture, osteotomy and sinus lift. Basically, a le fort 1 is when they peel the gingiva (your gums) on your maxilla (upper jaw) back then use a sawsall to cut cut from behind the bone that support your last tooth, up, and over through your nasal bone and across. Then they do a "downfracture" which means they intentionally break your upper jaw and push it down towards your lower jaw. They now have access to your sinuses where they can clean them out and get rid of cysts/do whatever they need to do. They then screw your upper jaw back in place with plates and put you back together. Its a very routine surgery.
So basically 1mo into school and I went to go shadow my friend who was a resident at the time. He pulls me into this surgery and next I know i'm holding these metal retractors and pulling this guys upper lip back as much as possible. No shit this guys nose is up by his forehead and I'm looking down this guys nasal septum as they saw his face in half. It went fine. But at one point I remember my vision just cut out. Like it just went gray. I could hear. I didn't feel faint or like anything.
I felt absolutely fine but at some point I was like "ugh guys, not to bother you but I cant see anything." Of course, for them it's not uncommon to have students passing out all over the place. They asked if i needed to sit down and I said that I felt fine, I just couldn't see anything. A nurse brought a chair over and helped me sit down as a precaution and the next thing I knew I could see again perfectly fine. Its not even like my vision "came back" like a saw it do so, more like after 10 sec of sitting there I realized that I could see again. So I just stood back up and we finished closing the pt up.
Truly truly bizarre experience. Not to make a false equivalence but I can only describe it as a brief conversion disorder but I hadn't experienced any sort of trauma that would cause it. Posting because maybe there's someone else who have experienced it. Maybe my brain saw the pt's head in half and was like "oh boy, you ain't wanna see this" and cut the cord even though I'm consciously fine with blood and gore.
"I distinctly remember..."
Not a surgeon, but medical student is pretty close. My first operation was a C-section. I wasn't running the show, but I was what they call 'first assist' meaning I'm the first person on deck if the surgeons hands are occupied. Mostly I was just holding retractors which are curved metal tools that you use to pull back on the skin or whatever might get in the surgeon's way. I distinctly remember not wanting to pull too hard on the retractors but I got scolded for not pulling hard enough. Turns out you can pull as hard as you like, skin is tough shit. Also, when you perform a c-section you need to split open the amniotic sack, which contains a whole lot of fluid. I didn't put on shoe covers because I was so excited to scrub in the first time. My shoes got drenched. I lost a set of shoes, but I learned a valuable lessons about shoe-covers that day.
"I had watched it many times..."
My first surgery alone was an amputation. I was in the ER and the chief told me to go amputate a diabetic foot, so I asked who should I go with(I was just a 1st year cx resident), and he said go alone. I was scared shitless jaja but its a simple procedure, I had watched it many times and assisted, and the scrub nurse was super helpful. At the end I took a picture of the necrotic foot after it was amputated, it just looked so unreal, like out of the walking dead. My first surgery ever as a resident was a fourniers gangrena. Nastiest ever, I can still remember the smell.
"It's all just meat..."
It's not a big deal. They're asleep and draped and you're only looking at the point of entry into the body and the relevant tissues inside. It's all just meat when they're on the table, just gotta put all that meat back together nicely and not harm any vital meat.
"The first operations..."
Well the first surgery I was in the room for was after I graduated high school. My best friend who was also interested in becoming a physician went with me and it was an arthroscopy at an orthopedic surgery center. When the surgeon put the camera into the joint space, my friend got nauseated and sat down against the wall. He's a lawyer now.
The first operations I assisted with as a medical student were spinal fusions in adults and children with neurosurgeons and then pediatric orthopedic surgeons followed by breast reductions and cleft lip and palette surgeries in plastics. With the breasts they let me help peel the skin from the breast tissue to make the pedicle that would become the new breast tissue form.
On kids with severe cerebral palsy needing spinal fusions for posture I would take the spinal joint facets from the back table and separate bone from cartilage and give it back to use as bone graft after they secured the vertebrae to a rod placed into the hips with metal wires. Then I would help sew closed the skin running up and down the back. The adult spinal fusions were similar, had academic discussions and touched almost nothing other than retracting skin.
In plastics when they did facial reconstructions or created tissue flaps to repair cleft lips and palates I basically observed and touched nothing but it was inspirational my cool and the surgeons doing that work were worldly and wise and good at conversation.
After that I did c-sections and delivered babies and did a ton of prenatal care on Obstetric/gynecology clerkship, and assistant with vascular bypasses on the legs of smokers on my general surgery clerkship.
Ultimately after some training in most surgical specialties I decided on general surgery as a career. These days I make individualized sculptures from people's stomachs to assist their weight management goals, remove dysfunctional organs, repair Injuries from car accidents, gunshots, and stabbings, and do a fair amount of life coaching for people with chronic illness related to lifestyle choices.
"My gloves filled up with sweat..."
First surgery was an emergency ruptured diaphragm from being hit by a car. The senior surgeon was on break and they rushed in without any warning and we had to go. My gloves filled up with sweat and got sloshy. But I got the abdomen open could see a straight up hole where the diaphragm has blown out. By this point we are bagging the patient ( squeezing the reservoir oxygen bag to force oxygen into a non breathing patient ) because there's no vacuum in the chest cavity once it's opened to air and the little sacs deflate and stick shut. Perfect timing, the senior came in and repaired the hole and sucked the oxygen out of the chest cavity to create the vacuum again and I bagged the patient and I felt like puking as the adrenaline wore off and I got the shakes.
People Share Their All-Time Best Travel Tips That Most People Don't Know
Now that pandemic protocols have been lifted for the most part, inexperienced travelers should take advantage of the time to visit places they've always wanted to see or dreamed of seeing in lockdown.
Unfortunately, a myriad of excuses can delay one's inclination to wanderlust–including a lack of finances and a fear of the unknown.
But thankfully, Reddit is here to prove it can be a great resource for travel information that isn't generally known to the public.
Inspired by a search for wisdom, Redditor HugeDismissal asked:
"What is your best travel tip that most people don't know?"
Know before you go.
Sharing The Journey
"Let your family back home know your travel itinerary."
– DuckFlat
Price Search Hack
"Try searching for flights in the airline’s original language. I once saved $700 booking tickets in Peru by using Spanish rather than English."
– Huge-Recognition-366
Plan B
"When flights get canceled, don’t stand in line to talk to an agent. Call the airline."
– PebbleBeach1919
For packing, it might behoove you to keep these in mind.
Packing Method
"Roll everything, fold nothing."
– ThegatiX
A Perfect Disguise
"For photo equipment or all kind of expensive stuff: put some duct tape on it. If it looks broken, nobody wants to steal it."
– SensitiveDolphin55
Once on a flight, these tips may come in handy.
Take Note
"Three things; 1.) bring an orange. If someone you are sitting next to smells bad you can open the orange up as a natural deodorizer. 2.) Bring a spare pair of socks and change socks after you are settled on your flight, train, etc. Put the sweaty socks away in a plastic bag. Dry socks after a long day of travel feel luxurious. 3.) Stupid and Cheerful. A cop stops you in a foreign country? Stupid and cheerful. Never be belligerent. A border guard says your papers aren’t in order? Stupid and cheerful. The airline says you are too late to board? Stupid and cheerful. Cheerful always works better than aggressive. And it transcends culture. I knew an elderly couple who literally drove across the whole of Africa and “stupid and cheerful” was their advice. It’s far harder to punish someone if they simply claim ignorance and are smiling."
– daveescaped
The Best Travel Companion
"Who you go with is way more important than where you go."
– AliJoof
Once you reach the destination, now what?
Booking Affording Lodging
"The best room in a cheaper hotel is often better than a standard room in a more expensive hotel. When looking for luxury on a budget, don't overlook the cheaper hotels - they often have fantastic suites for what you'd pay for a standard room somewhere pricier."
– distantapplause
Not Like The Romans Do
"Nobody wakes up early. Like you can wake up before dawn and get fantastic golden hour pics when the city is empty then go back for breakfast and a nap before heading out for lunch."
"Like the best city for this is Rome. No one is around and you can get wide shots that would never happen during the day and the lighting is better."
– ActualWhiterabbit
Expert Advice
"If you're asking for an opinion, don't ask the opinion of someone who's being paid to provide it."
"Want to know where the best meal near your hotel is? The cleaner isn't getting a kickback from the nearest steakhouse, but the concierge probably is."
"Want to know the easiest way to get to the airport? The front desk clerk is going to tell you to hire the hotel preferred transfer, but the barman will probably tell you what train to catch for 1/20th of the price."
– dannyr
Now that you have these handy tips jotted down, there are no more excuses to delay travel plans.
The world is your oyster.
So why not take advantage of it?
Because trust me, once you get out of your bubble, you'll be glad you got to experience the wonder of discovery and adventure you can't find by looking at pictures or videos of the places you've been longing to visit.
Any other travel pearls? Let us know in the comments below.
History is made on a daily basis.
Indeed, there is little more exciting than having witnessed the accomplishments of people like Barack Obama, Stacey Abrams, and Greta Thunberg knowing that they have firmly reserved a space for themselves in history books.
Of course, most of the people who paved the way to make the world what it is today have long since passed away.
Not all of them, though!
It may surprise you to learn that there are people who made an indelible impression on history who are still much alive today.
Some of whom even continue to make a difference to this very day
Redditor enginearz was eager to hear about historical figures people were surprised to learn were still alive, leading them to ask:
"What famous person from history is still alive?"
Forever Leaving His Name In Science
"Yuri Oganessian."
"He's the only currently living man with an element on the periodic table named after him."- snowflake247
Quite The Story To Tell
"Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha."
"Last human to hold the title of Tsar, as leader of the Kingdom of Bulgaria."
"He was exiled along with his family when the Soviets invaded Bulgaria in 1944."
"In 1990, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Simeon returned from exile to Bulgaria and July 2001, was democratically elected prime minister."
"The private citizen is now 85."- DirectionNew5328
Making Nature Cool For Decades
"Jane Goodall."
"David Attenborough."- random_username_96
The Fought For Freedom And Justice
"John Hemingway."
"The last surviving airman of the battle of Britain."
"He is 103 years old."
"Ivan Martynushkin."
"He helped with the liberation of Auschwitz."
"He is 99 years old."
"Benjamin Ferencz."
"He was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials."
"He is 102 years old."- Ashtar-the-Squid
"Traute Lafrenz."
"The last living member of the german anti-nazi resistance group 'White Rose".
"Most well-known members were the sibling Sophie and Hans Scholl, who were executed by the Nazis when they were identified."- ChrisTinnef
The One Who Made One Giant Leap For Mankind
"Buzz Aldrin, and I’m not even American."- mukaltin
Opening Doors For So Many Others
"Ruby Bridges."
"She was one of the first black kids to go to an all-white school."
"There is a famous picture of that first day."- mumwifealcoholic
He Continues To Surprise Us
"Ozzy Osbourne."- CaptinDerpI
Admirably Defying So Many Odds
"Jimmy Carter."
"98 years old."- Back2Bach
We've Still Got Two Out Of Four
"Paul and Ringo"- HMKingHenryIX
Inching Close To The Big One Double Oh...
"Kissinger."- LucyVialli
Who Could Forget About Dick Van Dyke ?!?!?!?!
"Everyone just forgetting about Dick Van Dyke, he's like 97 and still going."
"If you've never heard of him, he played in Marry Poppins, along with a bunch more movies"- Longjumping_Drag2752
And Still Stunning
"Sophia Loren is still kicking."- The_REAL_McWeasel
Continuing To Go Where No Man Has Gone Before
"William Shatner doesn't look it but that dude is in his 90s wtf."- flubberF*ck
Perhaps what's most admirable, is that even when these astonishing people do eventually pass, they will continue to live on and change the world with the remarkable work they did.
We all indulge in fast food from time to time.
Even if we know what we're eating isn't exactly healthy, sometimes the salty, fatty mass-produced food is the only thing we want.
Resulting in our making weekly, if not daily, visits to a nearby chain.
Then, of course, there are the chains that we make every effort to avoid.
We've likely tried places at least once simply because everyone is always talking about them.
But after having one bite, we have trouble seeing exactly what all the fuss was about and vow to never return.
Even if it might be the only option at a rest stop or even the only available food for miles, we instead opt to wait and be hungry.
Redditor BungOnMimosas was curious to hear what people considered to be the most overhyped fast food chains around, leading them to ask:
"What do you think are the most overrated fast-food chains? Why?"
"Food As It Should Be"... Or Not...
"I know it's not technically 'fast food', but Panera Bread pisses me off."
"Insanely expensive for extremely average food." - Reddit
"Panera."
"Their quality has decreased so much in the past few years and they’ve added weird sh*t to their menu like pizza and chicken sandwiches."
"Massive identity crisis and crap food."- asm233
Things Ain't What They Used To Be...
"All of them, now that they charge real restaurant prices."- P00pf4rt5
Golden Arches
"As much as I hate to say it, McDonald's is the only place that I can think of that the quality hasn't changed much."
"I mean, that's a pretty low bar, but it is what it is."- gnatman66
"The majority of them, especially the really big ones (McDonald's, Wendy's, BK, Pizza Hut, etc)."
"The prices are no longer fast food prices and the quality is not there like it used to be."
"Far better local options that cost roughly the same at the end of the day."- senorita_diablo
Consistency Is Key...
"Dunkin."
"You can go to the same location three separate times, have the food made by the same staff, and receive 3 wildly different results."- AndrewLampart
Not So Popular Anywhere, It seems...
"KFC in France became so bad."- SterBout
Likely Won't Go National...
"Idk how wide spread they are, but in the Buffalo NY area there is a chain called Mighty Taco."
"They were even voted best tacos a few years ago."
"It is absolutely terrible food."
"I’ve tried to like it and given them 3 chances."
"Each time I couldn’t eat more than a couple bites."
"Absolutely terrible and I’m disgusted even thinking about their sour vomit in a tortilla."- aa-2020
"Eat Fresh"...
"I think I’ve answered this question before but definitely for me, it’s Subway."
"Nothing but a giant hunk of bread."
"I’m editing this to add that part of my anger about Subway is how good it used to be."
"I can remember the days of nearly a whole can of tuna salad delicious sub."
"And a Veggie sub with Swiss cheese and piles of yummy veggies and the sweet Vidalia onion sauce."
"It’s all gone to sh*t."
"I would’ve been perfectly OK with increasing price but the big drop in quality pissed me off."
"Oh woe is me with my first world problems."- Mysterious-Region640
Quantity Doesn't Guarantee Quality...
"Starbucks is a scam."- cmkeller62
Tasty, But Not Worth It...
"I’m going to say Five Guys."
"Not because the food isn’t good, but because I’m not paying $20 for a burger meal."- 2PacTookMyLunchMoney
"Dairy queen grill and Chill for sure."
"I worked at one for a lil' while and 1 burger combo is $14.56 CAD."- lolidk13
And Not In A Good Way...
Big Kahuna Burger, it kills you."-Darklock2022
No two people have the same taste in food.
Some people know to avoid crappy food, while others eat literally nothing else.
People Break Down Which Movies They Wish They Could Watch Again For The First Time
There are several movies I've watched so many times I think the viewings outnumber the days I've lived.
And much like a favorite tv series or movie, who wouldn't love to start again anew?
Experiencing that first time but with that feeling of... "I'm gonna love this forever."
We never appreciate the first time enough.
But that's life.
Warning: there are spoilers below.
Redditor Jacale1 wanted to discuss all the movies we wish we could experience new all over again, so they asked:
"What is one movie that you wish you could watch again for the first time?"
There are a lot of mystery movies I'd love to redo, just to figure out the killer sooner.
Gasps!
"The Shawshank Redemption."
MisOlga26
"A great nominee. Will never forget gasping when that rock went through the poster, and again when the warden pushed his arm through and ripped it down.... wow."
GalavantingRhino
Over and Over
"Edge of Tomorrow."
jeanrbel
"Is it bad that I got enjoyment knowing Tom Cruise died a lot in that movie. Never on screen, but it happened. Over and over. I hate that guy. How the hell was he the same height as Nichole Kidman in the movies they acted in together. Rhetorical question."
monrovista
"Honestly the whole reason I watched the movie to begin with is that he kept dying over and over."
AutomaticMethod2437
Swooned Away
“'Stardust'- if you don’t know you’ll never know."
jthekoker
"I’m surprised that a fantasy romcom can be so enjoyable, for a straight guy. It’s just the right balance between fantasy, comedy, drama, and romance. Most of the female cast are very easy on the eyes too."
"I swooned when Yvaine glows while dancing on the ship, and when she talks emphatically to the mouse in the caravan. This movie has a lot of A listers, and they deliver. I’m not gonna lie, I have probably watched it half a dozen times."
Redcarborundum
"The book has so much more in it, even having seen the movie you'll feel like a child again."
Beowulf33232
Hail Sigourney
"Alien."
NearDeafExperience
"I watched this with my wife, who has never seen it, and that's about as close as you can get to watching it for the first time. It really displayed just how good the movie is. Also I love Aliens just as much for different reasons."
QueafyGreens
"Came here looking for this! I watched it for the first time with my dad when I was 11, and it’s one of my favorite childhood memories. Amazing movie."
_shes_a_jar
Hey Arnold
"Terminator 2."
lobotomek
"I first watched this as a kid when I knew Arnold was the good guy in movies, and I had not seen T1. I wish I watched T2 for the first time after having watched T1. The mall scene would have been even more mind blowing."
Volvulus
T2 was definitely bada**!! I'd redo that.
Brilliant
"The Departed."
Lineworker2448
"Bro, I'll go further. If I could watch the Nicholson covered in blood scene or the final scene between Damon and Wahlberg, I would be so freaking happy. The sheer acting clout on display for the first is near a masterclass while the last scene was just so business like, I'd love to relive that scene with fresh eyes. I love this freaking movie."
DaBearsMan_72
Originality
"The original Star Wars. Man, that blew our minds! It totally changed movies from then on. We'd never seen such incredible special effects. The story was so fun and the experience was amazing."
Raggmommy
"Even though I’m not a franchise fan, I can get behind this answer. Because when I saw it first run, I was fourteen, and nothing like it had ever been done. I think it was the first movie where the special effects were the movie? Now that’s standard. It’s a reason people see many films now."
"So, for sheer originality, I’d watch it again, but only for the first time. I barely recall the second movie."
Alexbmac
SURPRISE!!
"The 6th Sense. I audibly gasped in the theater. All the clues are obvious on rewatch but that first time, before anyone knew M. Knight Shyamalan was a twist guy... wow."
GalavantingRhino
"I never got to see it the first time. My girlfriend at the time (now wife) inadvertently let slip the ending thinking I had already seen it. I have never seen the point in watching it knowing the ending. But I did enjoy The Village."
failurebeatssuccess
"I watched it again and it was more of a sad film than a thriller."
anotherbarry
Just Beautiful!
"Spirited Away. I was blown away by how beautiful and bonkers it is."
Lizziebunnypie
"Saaaaame! Every single Studio Ghibli film, but Spirited Away especially! I’ve still watched it a million times though, and it’s always special. If I’m in a bad mood that film always cheers me up!"
"Also, Avatar-the last air bender. I know it’s not a movie, but I felt like it deserved a mention. I’ve watched the whole thing several times, and it’s always great, but I do wish I could forget it and rewatch it. I’m 35 btw... lol."
Mimi_315
Great Scott!
"Back to the Future."
dwkindig
"I'd love to watch that in the cinemas... Now from the future."
billieboop
Now I want to go to the movies.