Had an interesting day with Dr. Fernando Hakim, Neurosurgeon, over at Santa Fe de Bogota, for a tumor resection.  A lot of the stereotypes are true; neurosurgery is a  precision-based specialty (not that the other specialties aren’t – but at least in most cases, there is a margin to work with**.) but some of them aren’t.. In this case, with a tumor pressing against the spinal cord – there is no margin to work with, no border area around the tumor, so to speak.. but then again this petty much describes a lot of neurosurgery.. requiring careful, painstaking process..something I would find inherently, and incredibly stressful – but Dr. Hakim and his team didn’t; they were focused, precise, but relaxed and well-coordinated with each other.. Definitely not the uptight, high stress stereotype.. (You’d think I would have known better – I’ve seen plenty of surgery, and some spine cases# before – but nothing of this magnitude, and as I’ve said before; neurosurgery is a bit of a final frontier)

(not to give you the wrong impression – surgery is always serious, this just wasn’t the melodrama that stereotypes/ stories sometimes suggest)

Dr. Fernando Hakim Daccach (left), neurosurgery

** ‘margin of tissue’ or area surrounding the tumor, not ‘margin of error’

# cartagena neuro cases were ‘back cases’ or spinal cases for chronic back problems..

Dr. Hakim, neurosurgeon using the OR microscope for precision work