A Tuesday spent in the theatre with Dr. Brown. Imagine working in an enclosed, unairconditioned room with scrubs, gown, hat and mask. It is so hot! Everyone’s clothes were soaked through with sweat. First case was a repeat inguinal hernia repair. It took over 2 hours. Besides the sauna-like climate, there were other obstacles and set backs. A lot of the equipment is old, broken, or missing parts. The surgical instruments are a hodge-podge collection of leftovers and donated dull scissors. Three of the light bulbs are burned out in the overhead lamp. At one point, the electricity went out and Dr. Cavanagh had the surgery tech reach into his pocket, get his Maglite flashlight, and shine it onto the surgical field until the generator came. The second case was an open hysterectomy on a woman with suspected ovarian mass. It was at least 2 hours 45 minutes. Though I enjoyed being in the OR and seeing the anatomy, I was also reminded why I did not choose to do a residency in surgery.