Adventures of an Xray Intern

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So I was in surgery a few weeks ago at the facility I am currently interning at, doing c-arm (live fluoroscopy/xray imaging) coverage for a ?body part replacement and augmentation? procedure (we will call it that to protect the innocent?..keep this as vague as possible). A company rep from a firm that sells allograph bits to hospitals popped into the room and asked me where the surgeons were in the course of the procedure. I filled her in and she flitted to and fro in the room, showing stuff to the circulating nurse and making sure all of her samples were present and accounted for. BTW: Allograph bits are pieces of sterilized donor tissue, in this case, bone?.solid bone, spongy bone and so forth taken from cadavers. Surgeons use these borrowed bits to encourage strong new growth in their patients, and to shore up the structures around them (like spines).

Anyway, the sales rep from ?bits are us? got bored waiting for her moment and decided to duck out of the operating room. About ten minuets latter the surgeons were ready to begin inserting the sample donor bits?..but no rep to be found. Anywhere. They sent people to look for her, they paged her on the surgery floor, then they overhead paged her on the hospital PA system twice, no rep. They gave her a few more minuets and then had to press on without her. The surgeons had the nurses riffle her bags and found most of what they needed, but there were some pieces missing. Fortunately I am naturally nosey and curious, so I had picked through one of her other cases while we were waiting for action and read the info on the packages within. I was able to find the rest of the bits they needed, and we were in business again! About an hour later, after the procedure was over and they were closing the patient, we passed the rep out in the hallway. She wanted to know if they were ?ready for her yet?. Sorry honey, a little to late. Hopefully her product proves more reliable for the patient.