NSx updates

Week 2 of neurosx of Loyola and am continuing to see some great cases. Saw a repair of a Chiari malformation (suboccipital craniotomy with duraplasty). All I can say is it is so cool to see the arachnoid after dissection of the dura - the CSF pushes it up, so it is like glistening saran wrap...and I'm still not quite used to the practice of using drills, which seem to be the tool of choice whenever a neurosurgeon needs to go through bone. I also saw an embolization of a dural fistula (between a small branch of the left PCA and a vein that dumped into the transverse sinus), which was embolized with that space-age substance called...you guessed it...glue. Yep, no matter how advanced medicine gets, there's still nothing like a little crazy glue in the brain...

I've been impressed with the neurosx attendings at Loyola, they are quite nice and answer questions readily. The residents, while busy, are about as laid back as you can be when 12-hour shifts are considered "short" days...they are also willing to teach and are remarkable, well-adjusted people. I've also been impressed with the scope of neurosx, never considered, for example, that they do PNS procedures (like decompression of left common peroneal nerve which I saw last Friday). Whether it's the head, spine or down in your legs, there's nowhere these physicians can't go...

Also nice to see some fellow Midwestern medical students out at Loyola - I've spotted at least two colleagues (both doing anesthesia). I don't get out on the floor much, so if they aren't in the OR or Specials, I won't see them (morning rounds start at 5:30 AM and finish around 7:15 AM, when others are just getting started). There are a decent number of residents who also have "D.O." emblazoned on their lab jackets, which is nice to see...

One thing that is weird - Loyola medical students get white coats that are as long as attending coats...what's up with that? They do have really nice facilities for their medical school, which is right next door to the main hospital.