TEE?

Sorry it's been a while. I've been on vacation for three weeks... but it's not really a vacation because I've been studying for anesthesia boards (third time around.. yikes, wish me luck)

Anyway I was watching Discovery Health (flipping past really... I rarely WATCH it) and there was a cardiologist talking about a test they "rarely" do in the ER. A TEE. A TEE stands for TransEsophageal Echocardiogram. Break it down -- basically a picture of the heart using soundwaves with the probe being in the esophagus (your feeding tube) Then they have the patient talking about it and him being scared and they show a picture of a medical instrument and you're supposed to assume it's a TEE.

BUT IT'S NOT!!!

They show what is probably a gastroscope -- a camera used to see into your stomach. And I can guess why they used that instead. It's kinda like a TEE, almost the same shape, put down the same tube, but more melodramatic because it's got a light at the end of it and they pointed the light into the camera and it faded out to the next scene and ooooh.... aaaaahhhh....

Anyway NOT the same

Tip of gastroscope probe	Tip of TEE probe
Images used without permission fromFujinon Singapore and St. Michaels Hospital respectively

Sixteen Kids?

Just got done watching a bit(most) of a show on Discovery Health called "On the road with 16 children." It's about a family vacation of a family with 16 children.... that's a lot of kids! It's interesting, but I'm uncertain of why it's on the "Health" channel.

Death

I'm watching a documentary filmed at my hospital a few months ago. I've written about it a few times in the past. I've critizized it for being a bit melodramatic and ignoring anesthesiology. That's all okay. Today the showed someone who almost got a liver transplant twice and had it unable to be done for various reasons. Then they showed him dying after having life support withdrawn at somepoint after that. I think they did a great job actually showing that not everything turns out well in the hospital. Not the usual perfect outcome that's usually portrayed. Even though I've seen death in the hospital before it still hits you. Rest in peace.

Television

I just saw the side of my head on TV.

Cool eh? I'm famous!

Well not really. The Discovery Channel was at my hospital a few months ago filming stories about residents. I help in part of a heart transplant, so you can see the side of my head over the surgical drapes. Not that I want to be on TV, but they seem to gloss over the anesthesia portion of these cases a lot. Oh well. Surgery makes better television.

Discovery Health

I'm watching Discovery Health Channel. I try not to watch medical problems when I'm at home since it's all I see at work. But the hospital I work at is featured. I remember the camera crews walking around a few months ago and it's interesting to see how things are portrayed. Seems like most of the things focused on are surgical procedures. I guess that makes good TV. Being an anesthesiologist I see that they gloss over much of what we do. Oh well. It's also all very melodramatic too. Not that the situations aren't critical, but things are so black and white on TV. I remember speaking to one of the camera women. She said to me, that it's a few hundred hours of footage for every hour of television. I guess you can tell any story when you can edit so much out.