The Kidney dance!

Now any of you may all be wondering on what the freaking heck is a C-Arm? Well to the sane people a C-Arm is a portable x-ray machine capable of taking live images of the body (AKA a huge ass fluoroscope) and is most commonly used in surgical procedures*. Now for the INSANE, like health care people, C-Arms are heavy, large, annoying, foot crushing, herniated disk creating monstrosities. Orthopedists love them, X-Ray technologists hate them and Urologists just don't give a damn about them.

C-Arms come in many shapes and forms. There's the non portable ones which are commonly found inside rooms that are used for Cardiac procedures, and the portable ones which come in two sizes, either one with a large "C" or one with a tiny "C". There has been a lot of concern about the radiation doses that the patient, the surgeon, the rad tech and everyone else in the operation room receives from using these machines outside their 5 minute dose limit but I think this can get solved if we educate them of the dangers and the proper uses of the C-Arm but of course...some never listen (Or in my case...get yelled at. )**

I am Itty Bitty TINY C-Arm! I like working with extremities, yay!!

Now a few days back I was called to the operating room for a desperate surgeon in need of my x-ray shooting skills, they were doing a Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy which is a fancy word for "The urologist inserts a tube and just sucks kidney stones out of you". So while I try to accommodate HUGEASS C-Arm and the nurses making the last preparations with the patient the surgeon comes in, dresses in the latest fashion of sterile clothes and starts to operate like planned...it was not long until something happened.

Dr.Millionyearsold- Hm? Oh...DG can you magnify that image? I can't seem to see the stone clearly.

Me- Sure.

He x-rays, we get a few cells killed, a bigger image comes...there's 3 HUGE kidney stones

Dr.Millionyearsold- Erm...did you magnified like I told you to?

Me- I did...why?

Dr.Millionyearsold- ...I can't see them *walks from the patient to were I was and stares at the image* Magnify them more!

Me- Doc the C-Arm is at it's maximun magnification! I can't do anything else!

Random Nurse next to me- You seriously can't see the stones doctor?

Dr.Millionyearsold- *stares for like a minute REALLY close at the computer* Hmm...OH! Yea! I see them! Yep! Well...back to work!

So after like half an hour and we flip the patient upside-down, the worlds most ancient surgeon inserts a tiny tube on the patients back and x-rays for an image on were he was, he kept watching the image in live x-ray glory as we all watch in awe (Well...more like horror) as the tiny tube was pocking the poor guys kidneys.

Poke
Poke
POKE
POOOOOKE

His assistant- Um...doctor what are you doing?

Dr.Millionyearsold- Poking the kidney? Why?

His assistant- ....No reason.

Yes that right kidney was poked real good alright! And while the doc is like 100000 years old he still does his job good...despite his blindness and randomness...God-bless the elderly.***


* If you want more detailed information about C-Arms you can always just google.
** Please PLEASE read this article http://www.auntminnie.com/index.asp?sec=ser&sub=def&pag=dis&ItemID=85258
*** If you all are wondering, the patient was fine, his stones were gone for good.