I never really had an answer before, and gave some sort of response along the lines of, "I like them all!" I know, I know... eye roll with a side of cliché. But it was true.
Not anymore! I love the Carotid Endarterectomy! It is a very sophisticated surgery, and as Dr. Babu says, "It must be done technically perfect." In other words, the stakes are high. But that being said, a very nice Carotid can be completed in an hour or so, depending on the dissection required and if shunting is required. Sometimes 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Not bad for a really beautiful surgery.
I stayed post call at the hospital this morning to do a Carotid with the Master, Dr. Babu. I'd probably stay post call to do any case with Dr. Babu, but a Carotid... wild horses couldn't keep me away from that.
Here are a few of my Carotids thus far in residency. The one from this morning is there on top. The plaque extended much further than we were expecting based on the preop imaging requiring us to extend our arteriotomy along the artery both proximally and distally. We eventually just had to say enough, because we could have just kept on going. It delightfully left me with quite an impressive arteriotomy to patch up at the end. Really nice case. And at the end, Dr. Babu thanked me for staying and I thanked Dr. Babu for the opportunity to learn from his technical perfection and improve on my own.
The Carotid Endarterectomy
Much Love.
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