Like most docs, Pissy and I have anatomy models lying around that we use to explain things to patients. Last week, while putting the cervical spine away, I dropped it, and one of the vertebrae broke in half.
No biggie. The next morning I brought in super glue from home, and carefully put it back together. Pissy walked in just as I was finishing up.
Dr. Pissy: "What are you working on?"
Dr. Grumpy: "The C-spine model. I accidentally broke a vertebrae, and had to glue it back."
Dr. Pissy: "Where?"
Dr. Grumpy: "Right here" (points to part of model) "It snapped off when it hit the floor."
Dr. Pissy: "Looks good. I can't even see the crack."
Dr. Grumpy: "Yeah, it was easy. I can't believe they pay neurosurgeons so much to do this."
I feel a new Super Glue commercial coming on...
ReplyDeleteYou could probably market a DIY repair kit for the uninsured or underinsured. Instructions on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteLOL Cute, Grumpy. I've had a partial sacrectomy. Now you've got me wanting to ask the neurosurgeon whether he did it by dropping me on the OR floor at just the right angle.
ReplyDeleteThe story goes that a cardiac surgeon went in to get his (very fancy) car's engine fixed. The mechanic gave him the bill and remarked, "You know doc, you and I really do the same thing--we work on what keeps the entire thing running. So why is it that you get paid so much more than I do?"
ReplyDeleteAs the surgeon signed his bill, he simply replied, "Next time, try working on my engine while it's running!"
-Wu
I find this post especially hilarious as you have an ad on the sidebar which says: 'Non-Surgical breakthrough treatment, What Doctors are using to treat their own backs.' with a picture of a spine.
ReplyDeleteneither can we.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the saw about a doctor being her/his own patient?
ReplyDeleteBring on the jokes about the Grumpy toolbox looking like a neurosurgeon's kit!
I dropped the heartworm-infested heart-lung model and the heart broke in half. I had to listen to people singing "you're a - heartbreaker..." at work every time I walked in the room for the next month.
ReplyDeleteAnyone remember the Krazy Glue commercial from the 80s with the guy in a hard hat suspended "in mid air"?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZB7sO5ZoV8
"A broken C-spine" could be inserted in their little poem, with a shot of some neurosurgeons utilizing it as a surgical tool.
Thanks, I needed a good laugh today.
ReplyDeleteTo bring it full circle is the fact that a "medical grade - aka 100X price" superglue is used to close some wounds.
ReplyDeleteI find that the regular grade works just fine for minor cuts near joints on fingers (woodworking etc) that would otherwise be slow to heal due to constant motion.
Note: I am not an MD so the usual "dont try this at home" warning applies.
bwahahahah this is fabulous!
ReplyDeleteOrthopedics is just carpentry.
ReplyDelete