UNIT 4: SURGICAL SKILLS

Venesection

Venesection (Phlebotomy) is the act of drawing or removing blood from the circulatory system through an incision or puncture. It is one of the most routinely performed invasive procedures and is carried out for various reasons: to obtain blood for diagnostic purposes, to monitor levels of blood components to administer therapeutic agents, to remove blood due to excess levels of iron or red blood cells or to collect blood for later uses, mainly transfusion either in the donor or in another person. In this workshop, members shall be taught how to prepare the site for venesection by applying alcohol, applying a tourniquet, inserting the needle and drawing the blood. The technique will be demonstrated on models in the Clinical Skills Lab.


Excision

A surgical excision is a simple procedure done to remove growths such as lesions, tumors, and moles on the skin. The growth is removed with a sharp razor and soothed with antibiotic ointment to encourage healing. Sometimes an electrode is used to “feather” the edges and make the scar less noticeable. This workshop educates the members on the procedure of removing any tissue with a sharp instrument, such as a scalpel. We deal with a lymph nodal excision, using the raw materials of gelatin pads and seeds; The gelatin simulates the different layers of the skin, and the seeds, the enlarged lymph node. The seeds were introduced in between the layers of the pad. The attendees of the workshop are taught how to dissect around the hypothetical node, remove it safely, and close the incision.


Local Anesthesia

Local anaesthesia is a technique to induce the absence of sensation in a specific part of the body, generally for the aim of inducing local analgesia, that is, local insensitivity to pain, although other local senses may be affected as well. A local anaesthetic works by temporarily blocking the nerves that carry pain signals to your brain. It allows patients to undergo surgical and dental procedures with reduced pain and distress. In many situations, such as caesarean section, it is safer and therefore superior to general anaesthesia. It is also used for relief of non-surgical pain and to enable diagnosis of the cause of some chronic pain conditions


Dissection

This workshop aims to educate our members on proper techniques of surgical dissection, including incision, identification of surgical planes and approaches, as well as identification of important anatomic structures. Surgical dissection requires understanding of proper instrument use, including scalpel, cautery, forceps, and scissors. Residents must gain expertise in both sharp and blunt dissection, and be able to identify tissue structures, such as vessels, nerves, muscle/fascia, joints and bone. This workshop will also enable our members to further their training in soft tissue suturing and closure.