It is the surgeon’s duty to tranquillise the temper…”
Sir Astley Cooper
Is this the most used instrument in the operating theatre? It can be seen in use by surgeons, assistants and scrub nurses. Most anaesthetists have one in their hand, or just nearby, during the intubation/extubation phases of anaesthesia. As a medical student, it is probably the first instrument you will be allowed to wield in an operation. The fickle nature of surgical assistance can be readily taught with this sucker. Both careless inattention (suck,suck, just b… suck!) and dangerous overzealousness (get the f… sucker out of the way!) can be identified and corrected in timely fashion by an experienced surgeon and this simple tool. Sidney Yankauer was a New York ENT surgeon. Around 1904 he produced several prototypes before settling on the final design of his eponymous suction device. The key was the non blocking, fenestrated, mushroom-shaped tip. It was perfect for clearing the throat and upper airway of secretions and blood. I suspect there is not a hospital in the world that doesn’t have one. #memorylane #letsmakelemonade
Pen Paint and Scalpel 