Day+2

Harsimran Makkad

Day 2

Operating room with Dr. Snyder

The next day, I found myself back in the operating room. I remember walking into the room and feeling the sudden shift in the atmosphere.

Music was playing, and I heard a male voice joking around. As the procedure finished up, the same male voice boomed with congratulations for the patient and thanks for the nurses in the room.

Dr. Snyder possessed a very unique personality. He believed that the surgeon should adjust to the mood of the patient at all times.

“If the patient is nervous, I like to distract them by talking about the music playing or some other topic, even about myself. Some patients, I find, like it when I talk them through the procedure and what I’m doing.

“Others want to forget where they are. I’ve learned to alter my personality accordingly to make the patient feel more comfortable,” Snyder said.

The interesting point about cataract surgery is that there is a screen in the operating room, which displays what the surgeon sees under the microscope.

Dr. Snyder made sure to explain what he was doing and why as he did the procedure. There were times where he would let me come over and look through the microscope as well.

The variety of cases he saw was amazing. I was able to see anything from removing dense cataracts to issues with calcium buildup on the eye.

In fact, he even let me put on surgeon gloves, which possess impressive dexterity, and feel the substances he would use when he inserted new lenses into the patients’ eyes after he removed their cataracts.

I even followed him on his post-operative runs as he explained what the patients must do in the days to come.

“I usually try to sum up my rules into as few as possible. People are not very good at remembering long lists of things.

“By only giving them three rules, it makes it more likely for them to remember to follow them,” Snyder said.

It was a very different experience from the previous day.

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