![]() ![]() “The problem is, historically patients have paid the price.” (OHSU/Kristyna Wentz-Graff) ![]() “We want people to fail, because that’s how they learn,” says Nathan Selden, M.D., Ph.D. “Great job,” says Nathan Selden, M.D., Ph.D. Finally, he peels away a thin layer of adjoining dura membrane, folds it over the cut in the vein and seals the repair with stitches. The surgeon quickly calls for the gurney to be lowered to prevent more air from leaking in. As he begins to craft a surgical repair to the vessel, another catastrophe occurs: air is being sucked through the vent and down into the patient’s heart. He covers the injury with sterile gauze while applying pressure to stem the bleeding. As alarms sound on monitors, the surgeon has only seconds to assess the situation and save the patient’s life. Known as a venous sinus, this vein carries as much as 15 percent of the heart’s entire output. The surgeon has nicked a large vein enclosed within the dural covering of the brain. ![]() Suddenly, blood begins spurting out of the breach. Setting aside the drill, the surgeon picks up a small tool, called a curette, to pry the piece up and gain access to the brain itself. The piercing whine of a drill fills the room as the brain surgery begins.īeneath bright surgical lights, the surgeon makes small holes so that he can remove a small portion of the skull – a common and usually uneventful step in one of the most sensitive procedures in medicine. A surgeon drills through a 3-D printed model of a skull, as he trains with a brain surgery simulator developed at OHSU, allowing doctors to gain experience without risking the life of a real patient. ![]()
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