My first cardiovascular sugery experience
According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases are a major cause of death globally. For the past months, I have had one of the most important and amazing medical experience in this area. Through this experience, I was able to have a complete understanding of the role and importance of a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon. I learned about the basic anatomy and physiology of the heart to understand diseases. Cardiothoracic surgery studies both the respiratory and cardiovascular system. During the whole practice experience, I was totally exposed to different heart, blood vessel, and lung conditions that affect human health, such as carotid artery disease, aortic aneurysm, coronary artery fistulae, and aortic valve stenosis. I learned about the different surgical procedures such as saphenous vein extraction, mitral valve surgery and replacement, coronary artery bypass, fem-pop bypass, tracheostomy, amputation, among others.
Through this practice, I also learned how critical is to pay attention to detail, especially, when scrubbing into surgery. To have a sterile environment before performing a surgical procedure is fundamental, in particular for the life of the open patient in the table which can get highly compromised by bacterial and microbial infections if not sterile conditions are given, and of course, also for the health of the surgical team. Basic scrubbing steps start from wearing the proper surgical scrubs, hair cover, shoes and mask to finally follow the right washing and dressing steps. It is also very important to not only have a sterile surgical team, but also a patient. Nurses use a betadine scrub cleaning solution to prepare the patient for surgery. The surgical equipment used in surgery is personalized for each surgery, and required a very intensive washing procedure to be later autoclaved at very high temperatures to make sure is sterile. Some of the main surgical equipment used in main of the surgeries are forceps, bovie, sutures, suction, pads, retractor, and cardio-pulmonary machine. The anesthesia team commonly administer the following medicaments during the surgery: neosynephrine, ephedrine, epinephrine, sevoflurane, heparin, protamine sulfate, among others.
I had the opportunity to not only attend surgery but also attend the clinic. In the clinic, I was able to have a direct interaction with patients. I understood their concerns but also analyze their symptoms and interpret their medical studies. Dr. Garcia did a very great job explaining to me the diseases’ anatomy, and how to interpret angiograms, and the following steps to take depending on the condition. I was a witness of the very personalized, kind, and empathetic work is perform in the office to find the best solutions before considering surgery. Dr. Garcia is a great example of a physician who cares for their patients and treats them as a family, always trying to give them comfort and very thoughtful alternatives to improve their daily life and health. I feel full of joy for this great example of devotion to a delicate and fundamental medical profession like cardiothoracic surgery. After any surgical procedure, patients get relocated in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CICU) area in which they recover from surgery and are highly monitored by the internist and surgeons.
On the other hand, Dr. Garcia Rinaldi’s office is amazing. The team is full of kind, proactive, and hard working people who do their very best to make sure the best medical service is provided to patients. The office is fully organized starting from the administrative assistants, researcher, and nurses who are so great and smart, and always received me with too much love making me feel part of this happy family. I really loved this environment and would love to always keep coming. At the beginning we became friends and now we have turned into family. I really loved how committed is Dr. Garcia with training students like me so we as prospective medical students can have, in many cases, our first interaction with medicine and surgery. I am sure his mentorship is everything to any student who has the chance to work with him. His commitment does not limit to undergraduate students, but also for high school students which every summer have the opportunity to participate in the Garcia Rinaldi Foundation summer program.
I am very thankful with Dr. Raul Garcia Rinaldi for giving me the opportunity to grow up under his guidance. Dr. Garcia is not only an extraordinary and devoted surgeon, but also a great mentor, professor, and an individual. To have the opportunity to explore an MD-PhD environment in the cardiothoracic surgery field was extraordinary. I had a very transformative experience that convinced me one more time, that translational medicine is my passion. I was not only exposed to understand the medical problems but also to understand how research and medicine can combine to solve challenges that both areas not necessarily able to solve apart. I am extremely excited about keeping working hard to become a great physician-scientist as Dr. Garcia is, and especially, to be able to achieve my main mission and passion which is to help save other's lives through medicine and research.
Thank you so much!