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Last time, I used: "Anybody need anything while I'm out?" and that went over well. May not make it through this surgery on Friday, so I turn to Lemmy for top-notch suggestions for my potential last words!

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[-] rob_t_firefly@lemmy.world 108 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

True story: The morning before going in for foot surgery, my mom was in a silly mood and wrote "wrong foot" on the other non-surgery-scheduled foot with a marker before putting on her socks.

After the surgery everything was fine, and later when checking up on her the surgeon told her everyone in the operating room got a good laugh out of that "wrong foot" message.

Mom was glad her joke worked out, but later started wondering why they were looking at the wrong foot in the first place and now wonders if her private joke to amuse herself actually saved her from having the wrong foot operated upon.

[-] jasondj@ttrpg.network 72 points 1 year ago

Probably so they could keep an eye on the toenails on the non-operating foot.

There’s a reason they tell you not to wear nail polish before surgery. The nailbeds are one of the best ways to detect cyanosis caused by low oxygen levels in blood.

I’d imagine a “control foot” is probably preferential, and it’s easier to keep an eye on the other foot during surgery than it is to keep an eye on their fingernails.

[-] dingus@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

Meanwhile I got leg amputations where the patient paints their nails before the leg is looped off lol

[-] dingus@lemmy.world 31 points 1 year ago

Medical staff actually DO sometimes write on the appendage that they are supposed to operate on as one of their checks.

[-] Redditgee@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago

Yeah, in my hospital pre-op, we physically hand a marker to the patient and tell them to mark where the surgery will be.

[-] DudeDudenson@lemmings.world 17 points 1 year ago

Does that mean I can just mark myself anywhere and you'll operate on it?

Think of all the possibilities!

[-] propofool@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

The patient has to get exposed and positioned, then padded (so there are no pressure injuries, no errant cables or equipment pushing on skin, etc). Also under anesthesia (depending on the type but I'll assume general/completely asleep) you aren't moving and your body may get moved or shifted into an unnatural position.

It's also nice to have controls as mentioned by another reply, but pulse oximetry is great, and can be slapped on any non sterilized area to assess oxygenation.

this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2023
677 points (96.8% liked)

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