Very Long Operations - Curious

[barry1010]

I have heard of people who have operations lasting hours, today I read of a man whose operation lasted 16 hours.
I was wondering how this works for the surgeons and team. Surely one team can't be working throughout.
Does anyone know how it works? Does the first team just clock off and go home after their hours? No reason to know, just curiosity.

[Sqad]

In almost all operations, the "team "that starts the operation finishes it, albeit with a "lunch break" of perhaps 45 mins and little "rests" between. Another team may come in to perform a particular and specialised part of the operation, but who starts is invariably there at the finish.
I have been involved in 8-10 hour operations, with only a break for lunch......usually cancer operations.
Surgery of this type is only for the fit and can only be maintained for 20yrs or perhaps 25.

[pastafreak]

I just found this...originally posted on Quora...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-surgeons-make-it-thro_b_11181004

In my browsing I discovered that the longest surgery in history was 4 days long...now I'll go read about it.

[retrocop]

//and can only be maintained for 20yrs or perhaps 25.//

Crikey. Now that is a long time lying on the table.

[barry1010]

Thanks all, very interesting. It's reassuring to know that the team that starts it finishes it.

[LadyCG]

The Surgeon would have to clear his diary for the day and it would likely be a "combined" procedure.

[Sqad]

barry......

a major procedure would be "knife to skin" at 0800hrs, music would be played at the less stressful parts of the operation and in my case, "Guess this tune" would be popular. No coffee breaks......lunchtime, the wound would be covered by a sterile towel, and sandwiches in the eating area and a complete change of clothing after scrubbing up again.The afternoon starts and the tough get going..........

[barry1010]

Must be difficult to keep focused and the level of concentration needed for those long periods, Sqad.

[Sqad]

No, no problem, one is trained for this and the bottom line is that you have a person, mother, father etc asleep and you are in "tiger country" and everything else is purely secondary.

/////Does the first team just clock off and go home after their hours?///

What hours barry? A Consultant contract in the NHS states that:

"substantially" the whole of your time will be to provide medical care"

[barry1010]

I am full of admiration for all those that 'hold life in their hands'.

[Peter Pedant]

Heroic Surgery

The scrub staff almost certainly work in shifts with hand over meetings.
Anaesthesia: you may put it out to tender ( within the dept, )
Manchester did the aymmetric conjoined twins, that there was all the litigation about but I cant find their paper. 2 anaesthetic

try this
https://www.orphananesthesia.eu/en/rare-diseases/published-guidelines/conjoined-twins/279-conjoined-twins/file.html#:~:text=Inhalational%20induction%20with%20sevoflurane%20is,and%20fractionated%20doses%20of%20opioids.

reattachment of a limb, neurosurgeons start then the arterial, and they go off to bed and the orthopods finish up - 15-20 h