Pediatric Neurosurgery

During my second surgery, I was able to witness a unique collaboration between pediatric neurosurgeons and pediatric neurologists. The patient suffered from surgeries and the doctors were ressecting a part of the brain in hopes of minimizing the seizure occurrences.

To read about my experience, click here.

My Original Work and Final Product are both specializing in hydrocephalus. During my first official mentor visit, I was able to see 2 spinal tap procedures, but in very different scenarios.

To read about my experience, click here.

After completing my Original Work, I was compelled to further understand how doctors and insurance companies work in collaboration with each other to organize and sort the vast amount and types of surgeries and procedures.

To read my analysis of ICD and CPT codes, click here.

Craniofacial abnormalities, more commonly referred to as CFA, refer to a diverse group of deformities in the facial plates and head.

This past week has been quite hectic, but for reasons unrelated to ISM. One thing I am starting to realize is that unless I prioritize my time, the next few weeks are going to be extremely miserable. AP Testing season is about to start and along with all the craziness that comes with that, I will also have to be finishing up Final Product and working on other things. This week, I finished up two EOLs and am also perfecting my portfolio. Hopefully by getting these smaller tasks out of the way, I will be able to focus solely on Final Product in the weeks to come.

It is crazy how Final Presentation Night is less than two months away. It seems the time has just flown by and the end is in sight. This past week I focused on brainstorming ideas for my final product. To some degree, being in the medical field does not allow for a whole lot of creativity or spontaneity. I decided to base my Final Product off of what I did for my Original Work, which was a statistical analysis of the incidences of hydrocephalus in the Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex. After talking to my mentor, I have decided to take this analysis one step further. For my Original Work, I analyzed one aspect of the hydrocephalus - the type. However, for Final Product, what I intend to do is analyze multiple aspects such as recovery period, age, gender, doctor, etc. This is quite more laborious than my Original Work and with that in mind, I hope to begin work on my Final Product very soon.

It never ceases to amaze me how much I learn from each mentor visit. Originally, this past Wednesday, I had a mentor visit scheduled and I was supposed to watch my mentor in surgery. However, my mentors surgery was cancelled and I was somewhat bummed out. But, not for long. The unique thing about my mentor ship is that since my mentor works along side a few other pediatric neurosurgeons, it doesn't necessarily have to be him whom I shadow -- in this sense, I may end up shadowing some of his colleagues as well. And that's exactly what happened this past Wednesday. Although my mentors surgery was cancelled, he allowed me to come in and follow around one of the other pediatric neurosurgeons and it was quite interesting to compare how similar (and also how different) these surgeons are. I started off the morning by analyzing and looking at scans and then followed the surgeon on rounds. After that, I was able to see her preform surgeon on an 8 month old male who suffered from seizures. What surprised the most about this particular surgery was the collaboration that took place between both the pediatric neurosurgeons and the pediatric neurologists. In the operating room itself I was able to listen to the conversation and discussion that occurred between the two professionals and gain some insight as to how the two doctors were able to come to a consensus regarding the best procedural option for the patient. There is a certain thrill and joy that I get from being in the Operating Room. It is actually extremely difficult to put into words the feeling that I get when I am able to step inside an operating room and see a pulsating brain right in front of my eyes. I cannot say that there is any other experience that I can compare it to. As spring break is coming up, I'm looking forward to hopefully spending a few more days in the hospital. At the same time, I must keep in mind that Final Presentation Nigh and Final Product are coming and start working on both of those things. It is crazy how fast time seems to be flying and this is both exhilarating and terrifying. I cannot wait to see what these next few months hold but at the same time I know they are going to pass by quite rapidly.