Week 6 - Samantha Bratcher

The final week! This week I watched a kidney biopsy and ablation and a bone biopsy. Biopsy involves getting small cores of tissues from a tumor or mass. Ablation is a technique used to destroy tumors. This can be done with heat or cold. Thermal ablation can further be accomplished using radio frequency or microwaves. However, when heat is used, the doctor must also account for "burn back." Heat is difficult to control precisely and will diffuse to surrounding healthy tissues/organs back along the probe. Hydrodissection injects saline to push organs away from the burn area, protecting them. The craziest part, though, is that they do this with the patient awake (but sedated) and insert a long needle through the torso. The bone biopsy was similar, but a drill had to be used to go through the bone and cut a small cylinder out of the suspicious area.

For my last weekend in NYC, I went to Luna Park and the Coney Island beach. Personally, the ticket price for Luna Park wasn't worth it, but I guess I can still say I went. I really enjoyed the beach. I also got to go on the Little Island, which is a small artificial island off Manhattan with a park. Finally, I got to experience the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit. It was fantastic. My friends and I got a spot on an elevated platform so we could see the projections on an entire wall and the floor. On Wednesday, everyone in the program was invited to City Vineyard, with a beautiful view across the Hudson River of New Jersey (picture below).

Well, I've made it to the end. This experience has been absolutely amazing. I've seen so many things and learned so much. I will always be impressed by how the clinicians in IR can navigate a person's veins. I will also always be surprised at how rough actual surgery can be. It's been a pretty once-in-a-lifetime experience. Although, I think I've decided I'm not a big city person. It will be nice to go back to the peace and quiet of Ithaca. Thank you to Dr. Talenfeld and Dr. Lee for serving as my mentors!

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