Week 1 - Ashley

Week 1 of summer immersion has been amazing so far! My mentor is Dr. Lane who is an orthopedic trauma surgeon at both the Hospital for Special Surgery and NY Presbyterian. He specializes in atypical fractures in the human body. Upon meeting Dr. Lane he was full of energy and excited to be taking me on as a mentee, and planned my entire first week with me.

I've shadowed Dr. Lane in his clinics and was able to meet a wide variety of patients. The most interesting case was a patient from Saudi Arabia who was sent by her country to receive care for the osteogenic sarcoma located in her ankle. Due to the location and size of the tumor, Dr. Lane gave her two options to proceed with. He could operate and remove the tumor leaving her with a limb that she would not be able to walk on, or he could proceed with an amputation that would later lead to a prosthesis that would allow her have full mobility again. I was shocked to hear that these two options were the only things that would cure her of cancer. Later that week, the pathology department had confirmed that her tumor had not metastasized and reached to other parts of her body. This was great news because either option she would choose would free her from cancer. During the patient consultation, I was thinking about how BME has transformed the area of prosthetics. Essentially if she chose the amputation below her calf, her prostheses would allow to her to continue living a normal life consisting of wearing heels, dancing, running, hiking, etc. The only difference being that depending on the activity, she would have a different foot to wear to optimize her experience.
It's amazing to know that our field has allowed people to continue leading normal activities without having the limb they were born with.

Following Dr. Lane during surgeries was a completely unique experience! The first surgery I watched was an above the knee amputation as a result of paralysis. I couldn't believe that at the end the limb was completely removed from the body. The most exciting surgery I watched was a total knee replacement done with a navigation tool. The navigation tool provides the surgeon with a 95% success rate! A representative from the engineering company was there to guide the surgeon during the surgery, and I was able to see how people from industry are translating science in to the operating room.

Overall, it was an exciting first week! Dr. Lane has been an awesome and inspiring mentor with so much enthusiasm. He really makes an effort to personally connect with his patients and the families involved. This is going to be an amazing summer immersion experience.