First time surgery = fainting experience?

[Guest hickfromsticks]

So last week I was observing my first ever surgery - cataract surgery to be exact - and it was absolutely incredible! However, about five minutes into the first procedure of the day, I found my vision clouding in and my knees getting weak... I was about five seconds away from completely passing out when I sat down and collected myself. Is it common for first-timers to feel this way during their first surgery experience? I know that I'm getting ahead of myself (cause I not even in med school yet), but does this suggest that I would not be 'cut out' for a surgery specialty?

[Guest acropolistica]

To answer your question: no.

 

Just because you felt a little woozy during that first surgery doesn't mean that'll be the case forever. As with mostly anything in life, if you do it enough times you'll become used to it - it won't make you feel faint anymore.

[Guest NurseNathalie]

there's a lot of factors that could make you feel faint in one situation...and not the next... and I totally agree that you get used to these things !

 

When I attended my first birth in nursing school... I almost passed out ( I have a strong vaso-vagal response to intense emotions)... lol :x

 

less than a month later, I delivered a baby girl myself- and was fine...

[Guest Jochi1543]

You get used to it. Actually, when I was considering pre-med, one of the first things I did was go to the hospital where I volunteered and ask to observe several surgeries to test my level of tolerance for blood. I used to feel weak just HEARING about blood and organs in high school bio classes. Next thing you know, I had hardly any problem watching the surgery! My first one was a breast reduction, and the only part where I chose to turn my eyes away was when the surgeon began to peel off the skin. The rest of it was fine with me, however. The surgeon told me he was in fact quite impressed with my tolerance level and said that he's had residents who fainted during surgeries many times in his practice. Moreover, when I first came into the OR, they showed me a chair in the corner right away and made me sit down there, and told me to only stand up if I was sure I wasn't sick. They waited for some half an hour until they decided I was comfortable enough to come and stand right by the patient and the surgeon.

 

So I guess it's not just practice alone, but also age/level of maturity.

 

Choose surgeries that are less invasive at first - don't go watch something that involves opening up the abdomen and moving intestines, etc. Try some laproscopic surgery on the knee, or maybe removing a skin graft - they are not very bloody or high on the nausea-inducing scale.:hat

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

I agree with the above: I think these responses are primarily resolved by exposure to them. I had my first vasovagal during my first observation of a bone marrow biopsy (our preceptor noted that in his experience, ~40% of medical students go down). I also wasn't looking forward to my first OR experience near a cautery iron (the types of fragrances that they produce had never been my favourite). However, do take heart: although I haven't gone to see another bone marrow biopsy, I've since seen many implementations of a cautery iron in the OR and have used it many times myself during excision/grafting procedures without an issue.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest 007]

First procedure I ever got to see was a mole removal. During the procedure I was absolutely fine. When I went back over it with the doctor to fill out the chart is when I got weak and had to lie down and be given orange juice. I remember being super embarrassed....especially since it wasn't even when watching the actual stuff happen AND since it was such a minor procedure to begin with!

 

I've been fine with everything I've seen since then though and I agree with everything that's been posted above.

[Guest dh79]

People often get dizzy or light headed watching their first operation. Don't worry about it.

For a lot of people, it's not the blood that makes them feel queazy. People can get so amazed by surgery that they forget to breathe! No kidding, it happens all the time. If the surgeon is doing something really delicate, people watching can be so captivated by it that they'll hold their breath. Then of course they get dizzy and have to sit down (or fall down). I've seen it several times. Next time just remember to breathe.

dh

[Guest unaffixed]

I have a similar experience! I watched a surgery last year and was feeling a little light-headed. Then I woke up on the floor! All the people in the room were very nice about it and had a little laugh at my expense, saying that it happens all the time. For me, the procedure wasn't very invasive, so I am sure that it was the mask and lack of oxygen that did it. I really don't think it is anything to worry about, some people just need to get used to being in that situation.

[Guest opiedog]

An a seasoned OR nurse, I can honestly tell you it happens more times than can be counted. We had one student who fell sideways on to the cautery machine, and fractured her zygoma. She ended up being slated on the list for repair the next day. What is most important, is to recognise when you aren't feeling 100%, speak up and go sit down, otherwise, that's when trouble happens and you risk injuring yourself or others when you fall. There are no points counted against you if you admit to feeling woosy.

 

The act of putting on the mask seems to change your 02-C02 exchange patterns. Practice putting on a mask while watching t.v or some other benign thing, and experience the feeling that happens just from being masked. Your breathing rate does seem to change, and a feeling of not getting enough air sometimes happens as well until you get used to it. If you are clostrophobic at all, practicing wearing a mask in a non-threatening environment will help you immensely.

 

Always remember though, you won't be the first, nor the last to feel out of sorts in the O.R. or anywhere else for that matter:)

[Guest NurseNathalie]

Thanks Opiedog...that's a very good recommendation...

 

although I still occasionally feel like that (it DOES lessen as you get used to it)...the important thing is to recognize those changes / symptoms as they start to develop....then, only takes a few minutes to do something before they get worse (ie: sit down... remove yourself from the situation... deep breaths... etc)

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

It is also the case that seasoned surgeons or residents can feel light-headed during procedures due to dehydration or lack of food. While in surgery this summer, the staff surgeon often reminded everyone else who was scrubbed in to have a loo or snack break if we were at a slower point during a long operation. Many residents and staff took advantage of these recommendations. (I don't know the precise regulations surrounding nursing OR staff, but if you'll notice, quite often you'll turn to the nurse to ask for a tool and it will be a different nurse than when you asked a short while earlier. So they seem to appreciate that OR breaks are needed, too.)

 

Although I'm not generally a big breakfast eater (well, unless in Scotland!), one thing that I found to be quite helpful, especially if entering the OR first thing in the morning or in the afternoon, was to have a decent breakfast, e.g., bowl of cereal and juice or lunch, e.g., a sandwich and yogourt. They helped keep the glucose up there and the swaying at bay.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest hickfromsticks]

Haha... come to think of it, it very well could have been the lack of breathing! I had never even thought of that before. The procedure was so delicate with the smallest instruments. Thanks for all the replies. I know that I still have at least another year before I get into med school (if I ever get into med schhol, that is), but it is nice to know that a surgical specialty is not out of the question already!

[Guest Ronin]

"I had my first vasovagal during my first observation of a bone marrow biopsy (our preceptor noted that in his experience, ~40% of medical students go down)"

 

Why is this so common? I had the exact same reaction when I saw one, but it's hardly trauma surgery!

 

Have seen a few other procedures that would seem to be more faint-worthy, but they didn't bother me at all. Something about that biopsy killed me though. It kind of sounded like nails on a chalkboard....only wetter *shudder*

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

Re: bone marrow biopsies, out of our teaching group of 5 people, at least 3 of us had to sit/lie down or lean against a wall for support. The moment of weakness amongst the three of us seemed to be at around the time when the core was being taken and the patient began moaning. I imagine that it might have had something to do with imagining that happening to yourself (it did for me as I'm not to keen on having needles). It also didn't help that this clinical experience was one of our first.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen