Surgery – Curiosity and Stainless Steel
Heading in for surgery
To fix what’s broken….hopefully
It’s too bad I’ll be sedated
Eyes closed, unable to see
The collection of tools they’ll use on me
Instruments of stainless steel
To poke and prod, and cut and seal
Shining soldiers wait in endless lines
Some grotesque and others fine
To saw and drill and pound and tape
Plastic joints and titanium plates
Scissors with complicated names
Mayo, Tenotomy, and Metzenbaum
Short, straight, curved, or long
Retractors in every shape and size
Some hold organs, other eyes
Forceps, snares, and surgical hooks
Levers, clamps, and spatulas
Trephine, Trocar and surgical mesh
Curette, caliper, septum elevators
Bone saws and rib spreaders
Collectively dangerous as they can be
Yet, for some reason, I want to see
Which of these they’ll use on me
Occluder, chisel, and of course the probe
Sternal saw and suction tube
Can’t forget the simple things
Like sutures, sponges, and dissecting
In the hands of people practicing
Modern medicine behind sterile doors
Brightly lit with shining floors
Every person wearing scrubs
An association or a special club
Some training and those shiny toys
And they operate on girls and boys
Who slowly emerge from sedation
Feeling that reverse sensation
Followed by starvation and relaxation
And visions of the stainless table
Fading until the thought unstable
Going home with lots of pills
And of course a hefty bill…
Author’s Note
The names of many types of actual surgical tools are listed in this piece, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg on what surgeons actually could use depending on the type of operation.
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Good grief ! Tis quite a collection of tools Ralph. Some sound pretty scary, but it would be interesting to see them in use. Great work on this surgical poem. If you are heading in for surgery, know that my thoughts for all the best will be with you.
I’ve got one more to go – early November!!
Thanks for the kind words of encouragement
Wow RJ, to put this poetically is quite a marvel, impressive. I can’t say I would want to see such tools at work on me, but I admire your curiosity. Wishing you all the best. Enjoyed it!
Mel
I so relate Ralph, been there, now with bionic knees lol, but I really don’t want to see, and best just wake up and all is done. It is a grotesque image though, all that cutting and sealing and sawing and stitching. Ahgg! have to have my other knee replacement next year. I look forward to it after your poem. lol Great work my friend.
This was a very in-depth and well written poem, Ralph. Good luck with any further surgery.