GI Tract Troubles
If a patient has sharp pain in the lower right side of their abdomen, the surgeon will likely remove this tiny, finger-shaped pouch attached to the cecum of the large intestine
What is the appendix? (Appendectomy)
An athlete tears the major ligament that crosses directly through the middle of the knee joint, preventing the shin bone from sliding too far forward. A surgeon will have to reconstruct this specific ligament.
What is the ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament)?
When a patient has a "heart attack," it means a blockage has formed in these specific arteries that wrap around the heart and supply the cardiac muscle itself with oxygen.
What are the coronary arteries?
A patient gets into a car accident and develops a rapid bleed between their skull and the outer protective layer of the brain. A neurosurgeon must urgently drill into the skull to relieve the pressure caused by this accumulation of blood, known generally as a what?
What is a hematoma (or epidural/subdural hemorrhage)?
A patient has a small, painless fat lump on their shoulder. They want it removed for cosmetic reasons, but it poses zero risk to their health.
What is elective surgery?
A patient loves eating fried foods but experiences intense upper right abdominal pain afterward. The doctor suspects stones have formed inside this small, pear-shaped organ that stores bile.
What is the gallbladder? (Cholecystectomy)
An elderly patient falls and fractures the neck of their femur. Because the blood supply is disrupted, the surgeon will likely replace this specific structural ball-and-socket joint.
What is the hip joint?
If a patient's aortic valve becomes stiff and narrow, the left ventricle has to pump incredibly hard to push blood to the body. A cardiothoracic surgeon must perform a surgery to do this to the valve.
What is a valve replacement (or repair)?
To give the brain room to swell after a severe traumatic injury and prevent fatal compression, a neurosurgeon will temporarily remove a large piece of the skull bone, an operation called a what?
What is a craniectomy?
A patient has chronic knee pain from mild arthritis. Their doctor recommends a routine knee replacement to improve their quality of life.
What is elective surgery?
If a patient has a severe condition like Crohn's disease or a major blockage in the section of the GI tract responsible for absorbing almost all of our food's nutrients, the surgeon may have to remove part of this incredibly long, coiled organ.
What is the small intestine?
If a teenager snaps their bone so severely that it breaks through the skin, it is classified as this type of fracture, requiring immediate surgery to wash out bacteria and prevent bone infection.
What is an open (or compound) fracture?
If a patient's coronary arteries are completely clogged, a surgeon might take a healthy vein from the leg and use it to build a detour around the blockage. This famous open-heart surgery is known by this 4-word name.
What is Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (or a CABG / "Cabbage")?
A patient suddenly loses the ability to speak and move their right arm because a blood clot is blocking an artery inside their brain. This clinical event is commonly called a what?
What is a stroke? (Ischemic stroke / Cerebrovascular accident)
A patient goes to the ER with constant, sharp lower-right belly pain and a fever. The doctor diagnoses them with acute appendicitis that hasn't burst yet
What is urgent surgery? (Must be done today/within 24 hours)
When a portion of the small intestine loses its blood supply and dies, the surgeon must cut out the bad tissue and sew the two healthy ends back together, a procedure known by this "R" word.
What is a resection?
To fix a badly shattered bone, an orthopedic surgeon will use metal plates, rods, and screws to hold the skeleton in place while it heals, a process abbreviated as ORIF. The "OR" stands for Open Reduction; the "IF" stands for this.
What is Internal Fixation?
Instead of opening the entire chest, a vascular surgeon can thread a long, thin flexible tube through an artery in the groin all the way up to the heart. This tool is called a surgical what?
What is a catheter?
A patient is rushed to the hospital after a stroke blocks blood flow to the left hemisphere of their brain. A neurosurgeon evaluating the patient expects to find weakness or paralysis on this specific side of the patient's body.
What is the right side?
A car accident victim is rushed into the trauma bay. They have massive internal bleeding, their heart is racing, and their blood pressure is plummeting.
What is an emergency surgery?
A patient has severe acid reflux that is damaging their esophagus. To fix this, a surgeon performs an operation where they wrap the top part of the stomach around the lower end of the esophagus to strengthen this muscular valve, which normally prevents stomach acid from splashing upward.
What is the lower esophageal sphincter (also accepted: LES or cardiac sphincter)?
A weightlifter attempts a heavy squat and suddenly cannot straighten their leg because they tore the thick band of fibrous connective tissue anchoring their massive thigh muscle (quadriceps) directly to the kneecap. A surgeon must drill holes through the kneecap bone to pull and tie this torn structure back into place.
What is a tendon (specifically the quadriceps tendon)?
A patient presents with a dangerous bulge in the body's largest artery located in the abdomen. If this vessel ruptures, the patient can bleed out in minutes. Surgeons must rush them to the OR to repair this specific vessel.
What is the aorta? (Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm)
A patient experiences a sudden, explosive headache caused by a balloon-like bulge in a weakened brain artery that has ruptured. A neurosurgeon must perform emergency surgery to place a tiny metal clip across the neck of this structure to stop the bleeding.
What is an aneurysm (specifically a cerebral or brain aneurysm)?
A patient arrives at the ER with a severe arm fracture. The doctor notes that the patient's hand has turned completely blue, is ice cold, and has no pulse because a bone segment is crushing the main artery.
What is an emergency surgery? (Must go straight to the OR to save the limb)