Week 3: MoMA, Coney Island, and Bones

It felt great to start our third week of the Immersion Program during the most infamous day of the week, hump day (aka Wednesday). But before I immersed myself into the intricate terminology and the technicalities of the orthopedic field as an attempt to explain my daily endeavors at HSS, I will give you a glimpse of my adventures during this well-deserved long weekend. On Saturday, we visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) by using the bipolarity of the weather, and its intermittent rain to our advantage. 

During my first time in NYC, I was highly encouraged to visit the MoMA. However, I always thought of it as a popular tourist destination and nothing else. However, my preconception was immediately changed as soon as I walked inside this modern architectural hub filled with timeless art. These are three remarkable memories that I must share from my first visit to the MoMA: admiring the work of Pablo Picasso, daydreaming with van Gogh's starry night, and awakening my high school dreams of being an architect. The museum was filled with art from all over the world, but experiencing the work of Picasso for the first time was a priceless experience. I couldn't believe I was walking on a gallery filled with the paintings of one of Spain's most admired artist of all time. The pictures below are my two favorite paintings of the exposition - "Girl before a Mirror" (1932) and "Les Demoiselles d'Advignon" (1907). 

 


As I walked out of the gallery, I ventured myself into a pretty crowded exposition where two 6.5ft tall bodyguards were standing in front of a painting which I couldn't see from a distance. By getting closer, I began to realize the reason behind the storm of digital photos and the motionless bodyguards. I was standing by pure coincidence in front of Vicent van Gogh most famous work - "The Starry Night" (1889). I was immediately forced to ask the museum personnel the most frequent, yet famous question inside an art gallery, is this the real one? I am pretty confident that the photo of myself trying to get as close as possible to van Gogh's work without compromising the fixed distance determined by the painting's bodyguards should give you the answer. The last portion of the visit to the MoMA brought me some memories by rediscovering the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright who is known to be American's best-known architect. The MoMA had an entire floor dedicated to his architectural work as a celebration of his 150th birthday. Through the exhibition, I witnessed multiple drawings, 3-d renderings, and even furniture from an archive that is mutually owned by the museum and Columbia University. The entire visit to the MoMA was a unique experience which allowed me to experience the true value of history, architecture, and art within the walls of one of NYC greatest museums. 



On Tuesday, friends and I decided to visit Coney Island. After, 24 stops we arrived in NYC oldest amusement park! By being a Floridian, I can assure you that I have visited some pretty good parks with thrilling rides, but nothing compared to experience the Sling Shot for the first time. I was launched into the air inside a metallic slingshot ball accelerating to a full speed of 80 mph in a matter of seconds. The rest of the day was complemented with greasy food, excellent ice cream, a mild unintended sunburn, and great company. During the night, we got to enjoy the stunning scenery made by the 4th of July fireworks from Brooklyn Bridge Park. It is beautiful so see an entire country celebrating its appreciation for independence and the freedom that we get to enjoy thanks to the sacrifices of many heroes within our American soil and throughout the whole world. 



Over the rest of the week, I continued to work in the retrospective clinical research study under the supervision of Dr. Stein. We are currently conducting a chart review of more than 400 patients that underwent a surgical revision due to a periprosthetic fracture. A periprosthetic fracture occurs in patients with a total knee or hip arthroplasty. Our end goal for this study is to investigate the demographic and skeletal specific risk factors for the occurrence of periprosthetic fractures in the cohort mentioned above. Initially, I am conducting research on each patient's medical history before their surgical revision to evaluate the role of the proposed demographic factors and any other coexisting medical condition. 

Furthermore, I visited the OR for the second time during this Friday's morning. An 81-year-old male patient required an open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) procedure after sustaining three fractures compromising the lower area of his tibia, fibula, and a small portion of his medial malleolus. It was a lengthy and complicated surgery despite the fact that the fractures were entirely localized in the lower limb of the patient. As with any fracture, the surgeon had to restore the biomechanical environment of the bone to promote proper healing to withstand the future physical activity of the limb. During the surgery, Dr. Lane spent a good amount of time assessing the length of the locking plate and which type of screw was optimal for the patient. Also, he had to reshape the implant to be able to conform to the shape of the bone on this anatomical site. Otherwise, restoring the mechanical and compressive forces of the ankle could be more challenging than expected. Moreover, this surgical procedure allowed me to realize the importance of time within the operating room. During the placement of the third locking plate for the last fracture, the anesthesiologist and the nurse warned Dr. Lane about the lack of blood flow in the limb. As a result, they agreed to release the pneumatic tourniquet on the leg which eventually made the final section of the surgery more challenging, thus the suturing of the incision. Hopefully, the procedure continued as expected and the medical staff anticipated a quick and successful recovery for the patient.  

As a concluding statement, over the course of the third week, I continued my exposure to the clinical environment of the hospital with an emphasis in orthopedic surgery and the treatment of bone-related traumatic episodes. Furthermore, I was able to make improvement in my clinical research project and got to experience being thrown into the sky at a speed of 80 mph!

       

    










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