Providence Medical Focus Takes on the OR

Ionne Arakelyan ‘18 and Sandi Assaf ‘18

By Ionne Arakelyan ‘18 and Sandi Assaf ‘18

We had the best experience of our lives! We recently took a trip to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) to watch a brain surgery. Here is how the journey began. Freshman year our Medical Focus Program instructor told us about a student who was able to observe a real life surgical operation. Since that day, we knew that was something we had to see before we graduated. This year we both asked our teacher if it was possible for us to fulfill our wish. He kindly said he would see what he could do. Shortly after, he came to us and said he contacted someone at CHLA and it would be possible! We were ecstatic.

The process of signing up to be an observer was a long one. We had to fill out two applications, provide immunization records, get a Tuberculosis test, send a copy of an identification card, and they even asked for our social security number. Then we had to wait for approval from the Board of Surgery. Shortly after they gave us a schedule of days and asked us for our availability.

After all the pre-approval processes were sorted out, it was finally time to watch the surgery. It was a very early morning for us. We woke up at 5:00 am and traveled from Burbank to CHLA. We met with [PHS alumna] Janet Han Kim ‘05 who gave us a quick tour of the facility and explained the case of the patient who was to be operated on. We then prepared ourselves for the surgery by wearing a bunny suit, tying our hair back, wearing a hair net, putting on shoe covers, and leaving all of our personal belongings in the locker room. When we walked into the operating room, we were the first people inside. Ms. Kim told us that she wanted to bring us in early so we wouldn’t get in the way of the medical professionals when it was time to operate. At 7:30 am they brought in the patient and they prepped him for surgery and the anesthesiologists put him to sleep and intubated him. At around 8am, the neurosurgery fellow came into the room and made sure everything was in order. Then he shaved the patient’s head and put on the trepanation clamp. As soon as everyone was in place and the patient was fully prepped, we got to go into the room and stand behind the surgeons as they did their job. As soon as they were inside and it was time to remove the tumor, we went back to the sub-sterile room and watched the operation on the screen.

It was so surreal to watch and understand what was happening. It was like an entirely different world. These professionals were literally saving someone’s life. We both agreed that when they brought the patient in, it was difficult to put our emotions aside and just focus on the surgery. However, when they prepped him, no part of him showed and he was fully covered. Five minutes into the operation, it was no longer a personal case, but it was a job. It was amazing to see what we have learned about the brain in our classroom come to life! It was one of the best experiences of our high school career and we are so thankful to have had the opportunity to observe the miraculous work of these amazing doctors.