hi there! first off, i'm not a doctor i am just a patient looking for some input! so please delete if not allowed but i can't find a better thread or community for this.

i had a successful microdiscectomy on monday! but i am still experiencing facial flush/redness/hot to the touch cheeks. would anyone have an idea if this is related to my body working on healing or if it's still some effects of getting off anesthesia? i'm just curious as to what it is! it's a very similar sensation to when someone gets facial flush for taking a medrol/steriod pack or the lupus "butterfly" rash for example. i do have a form of lupus as well so my assumption was it's a mix of everything going on.

The beta blockers have just worn off so now I can feel my arm again and it hurts so much. I don't think the painkillers they gave me with even touch the pain! Reddit is keeping me distracted for now 😭😭

Ps. At least Nigel the pug is looking after me 🥰

I believe I have a Bucket Handle meniscus tear. It happened in spring of ‘24 and I just damaged it again on Monday. I have a second MRI scheduled next week, and if that MRI says that I’ve torn the meniscus completely would any of you recommend surgery to clean out the knee? For those that have had surgery, but we were experiences like?

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A DOCTOR, AND DONT HAVE ANY DEGREE IN MEDICAL

Hi Reddit. So i have something to share in hopes that it might help some people that were in the same situation as i was.

I am a norwegian 21 year old healthy male. English is not my first language, so i apologize for typos or wierd sentences. I have been struggling with shin splints the last 5 years, and as a former talented football (dont even dare to call it soccer) player, i was really bummed out. I tried everything from stretching, to different treatments, spend thousands of dollars on physio, and the shin splints always came back after a while. I had to quit. Now doing sports your whole life, and just quit sports like that aint easy, so i was looking forward to a comeback in sports, and now in football.

After a doctor visit i got approved surgery if i wanted to take that. After some days of thinking i took it, just because the thought of no pain in my shins furthermore in life. You can call me an anxious person. I like to be in control. So i get anxious about flying for example, since i dont have the control myself. Now when the surgeon told me i would be in general anesthesia, i started to get anxious again. Scared of not having control, and scared of not waking up. I started doing some research and lets just say that the breathing tube did not help to calm me down at all.

Fast forward a couple of months i had the day of the surgery. The night before i could not sleep at all, and was staying up all night reading reddit tips, and reading other peoples stories about going into GA. It helped, but it didnt help the anxiety. DONT BE ME.

I arrived at the hospital, met with the anesthetist, and told her i was feeling anxious and scared to not wake up. She gave me some good points. For example she had been doing this since 1979, and she has only had two complications over the years. And that if there were any risks of going into surgery, the doctor would not have let me. Which helped my thoughts to calm down. She also gave me some pain medication beforehand, and a pill that made me more calm, but not drugged out or anything. I was chilling in the waiting room, and got my legs shaved and got ready for the surgery. Almost felt like its your turn down the scary water slide. I met up with the nurse that was going to help me throughout my surgery. Not this surgery was about 1.5 hour long. So not a biig surgery, but not a small one either. This woman came with the energy and openness to me, and filled with joy! She was very trustworthy, and told me that the anesthetist told her that i was feeling anxious and scared about the operation, and told me not to worry. She would be there with me the whole time.

Now going into the cold surgery room is a big feeling to feel. It was scary, but at the same time i could not back out in front of the whole surgery team waiting for me. They all talked with me, and the nurse i met earlier stayed with me, and told me to just relax and breathe. I got on the bench, and they put on all the monitor stuff on me, and connected the IV. It did not really help with breathing exercises, so i asked the lovely nurse to hold my hand lol. She totally understood, and did so. That actually felt very comforting. I got some deep breathes throughout an oxygen mask, and that my friends, that is the best oxygen i have ever taken a breath of. Oh my, that was really some good oxygen. Either way, she started to up the dose with GA in my IV. She started at a small dose and asked if i was feeling anything. "no nothing". She said okay, i am going to turn it up a little bit, and oh my god i felt it. But it was a really good feeling. The feeling i was worrying about was actually a beautiful feeling. Whole body was relaxed and tired, and i was just chilling, buzzed out of the room. For the first time in the last 48 hours i was really relaxing. A great, great feeling!

I remember she said when buzzed out "If you stay awake for 15 more seconds i will buy you a six pack of beers". I remember saying "15 seconds? Easy", She proceeded to count down. 15... 14... and boom. Out like a light. I have a vague memory if getting rolled out of the operation room, and the next thing i know i am in the room i started at again, with a blanket, water, crackers, and a glass of juice. Some nurses came by and talked with me, and checked upon me. Then while chatting nonsense i remember things getting more clearer and i remember me realizing i did not remember what i said 3 minutes ago. Which was really wierd, but its a part of the game, and you are high as a kite so it does not really matter anyway. After a couple of hours of taking small naps here and there i was able to go home.

Overall, the feeling and the anxiety i was battling was so much bigger in my head than it really was, and it is 100% bigger in your head than it is. Doctors will never allow you to operate if there is any kind of risks. If there are risks, then they value on how important the operation is. If i was in any risk, i probably would not have been allowed to take the operation either way. GA has a come a long way the last 50 years, and if you are young, there is so few world wide cases of GA going wrong. Nothing to be worried about at all. One of the nurses also told me that there are a bigger chance of getting hit by a lightning strike, than something bad happening while going under GA. It was really just a good feeling, and very good feeling to get it done, and i had a fun time being buzzed out for a few hours.

I can also mention that my dad had to do a surgery, and refused to go under GA, and instead use local anesthesia. He told me that he still regrets it to this day, because of just how awful it felt under the operations. So if your doctor recommends the GA, take it! You wont regret it. I am going back into surgery in a couple of months to do my right leg as well, and i am kind of looking forward to it. Still some anxious about it, but not in a million years as anxious as it was yesterday. Now i am fine, my leg needs some weeks to recover, and the real work starts! Just go on with it. It feels so good when you wake up from it! Trust me.

Best regards.

Anteverted concha

Hey all - there are a few different threads here on salaries, but it's all over the place and does not have the full context of comp - e.g., including shifts, schedule, PTO, benefits, location, etc. to make it useful. We all know that medicine needs more transparency and this is information we all need to make sure we are fairly paid. All the salary reports out there are just not useful - they are either too broad and not specific to our situation or cost $$$.

A few months ago, my anesthesiologist friend tested a spreadsheet format in the Anesthesiology sub-reddit and has crowdsourced >500 anonymous salaries for the community. It has become an extremely helpful resource for them to ensure they are being paid fairly. I have worked with him to extend the sheet and the questionnaire to other specialties as well. Looks like there are ~25 surgery specialty salaries added already.

So, let's do it together as a Community. This is fully anonymous, so it really decreases the taboo of discussing our comp.

Here is the salary questionnaire - https://marit.fillout.com/t/vfyw8PEHj2us

Let me know if you have any feedback on questions in there. And you see the data collected so far here. Add your comp info if you are willing, and it will unlock the full spreadsheet. The more data we get in there, the more useful it will be for all of us!

PS: This is for physicians and APPs in the US only

Hello! I'm 15f and I have a surgery upcoming friday and I'm pretty nervous

I've had a surgery this year april already for my knee and the upcoming one is for my other knee, the surgeries are for patella alta and patella luxation, the surgery is called 'anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction' I thinkk.

Altho I already had a surgery before which went well, I'm still kinda nervous for the upcoming one as its so soon 😅

((Update: I got trough the surgery, it went well, got some extra pain meds while I was asleep as requested.

got x-ray to see if nothing was wrong, was good and could go home the same day, I was at the hospital frommmm 6:30am-2:30am I thinkkkk

my mum says I feel a bit warm but I do feel fine, felt sick a few times but I feel okay now))

Postoperative myoclonic movement (PMM)

I had this apparently 2 weeks ago when I was being wheeled into recovery after a 12 hour scab flap surgery. I actually don’t remember (too out of it ) aMy son saw my side of my neck twitching hard and he was quite concerned. Staff never mentioned it. I’m not worried about it and doing great, but just curious if I’m correct in thinking it was PMM and what causes it, and why it happens. Just curious

My mother (68) has this disease and just recently went through a brain bleed (intracerebral hemorrhage) and had an immediate surgery. After this surgery she was diagnosed with dAVF and was recommended a second surgery to disconnect the dAVF. Since it’s a rare disease there’s not too much information to research so I’m reaching out to see if other people can possibly share any information about the surgery/disease. We were informed by the doctor without the surgery there would only be a 7% chance that the it would bleed again. I’m not asking for advice but just more information on risk factors and what other people who may have gone through this have experienced.

Has anyone had a complete tear of the calf muscle? What was your recovery like? Did you have to have surgery?

My husband has a complete tear of distal aspect of the medial head of gastrocnemius muscle with severely attenuated/absent distal fibers and partial tearing of the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle.

I have a torn penile suspensory ligament confirmed on Mri that the veterans affairs hospital is greatly delaying my care and I must find someone who can save my penis before it's too late

I have been sick almost every day since I’ve left that operating room. I’ve had to go to my PCP weekly and the ER like a revolving door… I throw up everything I eat, I’ve lost 40 pounds in 2 months, I literally feel like I’m just shriveling up and dying…!

Edit: this was written in a very low of my bipolar and it may seem irrational and snobby but the thumbs down are just diabolical. I’m feeling cornered about my health and here goes you guys hopping on the fucking internet trying to beat someone whose already on the ground…. Read the comments before judging.

Hi everyone,

I'm interested in finding affordable laparoscopic equipment to practice at home. Specifically, I want to know if instruments purchased from AliExpress are suitable for training purposes. Are there any recommendations for reliable sources or tips for acquiring this type of equipment on a budget?

Thanks in advance for your help!

I live in Canada and the wait time to just see an orthopedic surgeon is 2 years. Any suggestions?

Hello everyone, I’m looking for some quick advice for my daughter. She initially had two small warts, and her podiatrist tried using beetlejuice treatment twice, but instead of shrinking, the warts grew significantly within about a month. Now, surgery seems to be our next option. Has anyone experienced this or have any suggestions? Thank you in advance for any guidance.

I’ve already ignored it for 2 days

Got a rhinoplasty in Medellin, Colombia on the 25th. Last night I I took my 10pm medicine then a few min later my heart rate was through the roof and I was shaky and told my mom I was about to pass out and to get help asap. I really felt like I was going to die I could barely breathe. My mom had to hold me and coach my breathing while calling every number possible. I was panicking more cause I was like If I pass out I can’t breathe through my nose how tf is my mom going to keep me alive with enough air.

A long time passes litterly 2 hrs and we get to the ER because family friends living near by picked us up. I’m crying really thinking I’m dying, and still trying to breathe, My oxygen levels are a bit too low. They do multiple tests and EKG’s on me, gave me 2 bags of Medicine and 1 saline and after all that I was clean and clear and the doctor asks for all my medication and the last one I took was a acetaminophen but it has high levels of caffeine in it!! So she said thats why what happened.. happened and to stop taking that.

TELL me how the emergency ambulances here wont help people who had elective surgeries and especially if you bought insurance. They were the first number my mom called for help and she STRESSED to them I was going to faint but nope. Not 1 person can check in for help. They made her call 5-6 different numbers and not 1 replied. Thank God we know people here.

After this I deeply appreciate USA’s 911 emergency services and their quickness to help anyone😭

Hi all, am alone with the second I enter the hospital for a procedure I need to leave. Had surgery 8x and 20 plus procedures. I’ve properly taken my IV out, never left AMA after surgery but give everyone the chase to get out. It’s just so many things go wrong and I feel unsafe. Stopped getting sedation for colonoscopy so it’s a short procedure. Anyone else? Thoughts on why?

We are OMFS (maxillo-facial surgery) residents exploring a novel method of teaching human anatomy to medical students and would love your input! This takes only 2 minutes and any background is invited to share his thoughts on this form: https://forms.gle/KABRUjdiAsJethzU7
Thank you so much for helping us!

Hello community. I am a USAF trained Surgical Technician with 35+ years experience. As a Certified Surgical Tech Lead I’ve recently taken on more duties in addition to scrubbing including ordering supplies, staff scheduling, vendor coordination, preference card maintenance and much more. Like many of you I’ve noticed a trend in the industry of expanding duties for Surgical Techs in the Operating Room as costs escalate and fewer experienced technologist are in the job market. We must do more with less.
I am currently working on a passion project that revolves around improving communication and knowledge sharing in the Operating Room. If you work in Surgery (Surgical Technician, Anesthesiologist, Surgeon, OR nurse etc.) & would like to participate please DM me and I will send you a quick survey. Thanks in advance.

I’m 17 and I’ve always wanted to be a surgeon for some reason it just felt like my calling. But ever since I’ve gotten diagnosed with cancer I felt like Orthopedic surgery was my calling. So anyways I have a wound vacuum right now due to surgery from cancer and when my home nurse came to change it I almost passed out from the sight of my surgery wound. I’m concerned if I won’t be able to be a surgeon because of my weak stomach? I’ve been taking biomed classes at the start of high school and duel enrollment just for a headstart.

I'll be going under a jaw operation in a couple of weeks, I'm very much afraid and I don't quite know what will happen before or after. Or how to take care of myself after. Anyone advice or tips ?

I had my appendix removed and was obviously completely under, but when I woke up, I was alert and just tired. Not the “high” you see like other people waking up or those coming too from wisdom teeth removal. What’s the reason for that? Is it different anesthesia? Was really a let down, my family had their phones out ready for some funny content and I just had nothing to deliver lol.

First off sorry if this is an insensitive question to ask, this is for pure curiosity and not at all to offend to ask. What’s the highest streak you have gone without a fatality?