Playing Surgery Posted by yelena on Nov 8, 2011 in language
A couple of days ago I went on a tour of «операционные залы» [surgery rooms] at a local hospital. It was absolutely fascinating, mostly because I remember nothing of my own first-hand experience of being «на операционном столе» [on an operating table] when I had a surgery. Which, I guess, is really a good thing.
So first, we were shown into the pre-op area. In case you ever have to translate “pre-op area” to a Russian patient, it’s called «отделение больницы, проводящее предоперационную подготовку». That’s a mouthful! “Post-op” would then be «отделение больницы, проводящее послеоперационную терапию». In case you don’t want to memorize all this, the short-cut would be to call the former area «предоперационная палата» [a pre-op room] and the later – «послеоперационная палата» [a post-op room].
It’s in pre-op that «пациент подготавливается к операции» [patient gets ready for the surgery]. His «показатели жизнедеятельности» [vital signs] are taken, including «пульс» [pulse], «давление» [blood pressure], «степень насышения крови кислородом» [blood oxygen level]. Adult patients are also started on «капельница» [IV drip]. But that all happens after the patients are changed into funny-looking «халаты с завязочками на спине» [here: medical gowns with ties in the back].
Then a man or a woman of the hour appears. I’m not talking about «хирург» [surgeon]. «Я имею в виду анестезиолога» [I mean an anesthesiologist (appears)]. And you have a nice chat in the course of which the anesthesiologist figures out how to make sure you won’t remember a single thing about your procedure. After all the pre-op work is done, the patient is moved to the surgery on «каталка» [a gurney].
On a tour we visited 5 rooms set up for 5 different procedures. First up was «нейро-хирургический зал» [neuro surgery room] set up for removing «опухоль головного мозга» [a brain tumor]. Kids (I guess I should’ve mentioned, this was a tour for children) could even try to hold a drill that surgeons use to, well, drill through the skull bones.
All «хирургические инструменты» [surgical instruments] were laid out as they would for a real «операция» [surgery]. And we could touch all of them except, of course, for «скальпели» [scalpels]. We were explained that since «хирург» [surgeon] doesn’t look at the instruments, but instead calls for the ones he needs, his «ассистент» [assistant] must know and quickly recall the names of every single instrument in the surgery, including all the «ранорасширители» [retractors], «щипцы» [graspers], «зажимы» [clamps] and various «хирургические иглы» [surgical needles].
The next room was set up for «операции на сердце» [heart surgeries], specifically for «коронарное шунтирование» [a coronary artery bypass]. Notice, how in the Russian name for the procedure the word “шунт” is used to describe the “bypass” part . Maybe that’s why I never stopped to think what is being “bypassed” and how. Turns out, since a patient’s heart has to be stopped for at least an hour, «кровообращение» is maintained with «аппарат искусственного кровообращения» [a blood circulation machine] to which the patient’s blood is redirected. The technician operating this machine is called «перфузиолог» [perfusionist].
One thing that I learned in this room was that throughout the surgery nurses keep count of everything being used, from instruments to «хирургические салфетки» [surgical drapes]. This way, they know if something is left inside the patient. Each of the drapes has a single bluish thread in it that shows on «рентген» [X-ray] if it does get left behind after all.
You’d think this whole business of opening «грудная клетка» [a rib cage], «остановка сердца» [stopping the heart] and such sounds a bit grim. Well, I thought it was pretty awesome. What really gave me a shudder was the next room for «костная хирургия» [bone surgery]. It was set up for «операция по замене коленного сустава» [a knee replacement surgery]. Maybe it was the fact that it finally dawned on me that “replacement” here is not a real joint, but a titanium one which looked pretty scary. Or it might had been the nurse mentioning just how messy bone surgeries could get. Whatever it was, I was glad to be out of that room.
The last surgical room was that for «ЛОР-хирургия» [ENT surgery]. Now, Russians have three ways to say “ENT doctor” and all three are commonly used – «ухогорлонос» [lit: ear-throat-nose], «ЛОР» [an abbreviation for «ларингооторинолог» which means that same, only in Greek], and «отоларинголог» (which is an easier to pronounce and is not abbreviated).
So the room was set up for «операция по удалению гланд» [tonsillectomy]. It was ok, if a bit less exciting than the previous rooms. But it had all those interesting tools for reaching deep into one’s nose. Made me think of the old movie «Вспомнить всё» [Total Recall].
Of course, the coolest room was saved for last. It wasn’t set up for any particular surgery though. Instead, there was a sign on the door reading «Роботизированная хирургия» [Robotic Surgery] and the kids speculated whether they would see a surgery done by a robot or done on a robot. Of course, it was the former. There was a real «хирургический робот» in a room and we all got our chance at practicing some simple movements with its three arms.
And then, with the tour finished, we were back in the «комната ожидания» [waiting room] for some «газировка» [soft drinks] and «печенье»[cookies].
By the way, such “open house” event in is called «день открытых дверей» in Russian.
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Comments:
Delia:
Yelena! What a great post! A lot of useful vocabulary. I was pretty excited to read it especially because I recently had a surgery. I think I want to add a couple of new words. After a surgery one usually has a scar “шрам” where you had sutures “шов” or staples “скобки”.
yelena:
@Delia Delia, we’ve missed you on the blog. Your comments are always very helpful. I hope you’ve fully recovered from your surgery! Yes, you’re right, I should’ve added the words “шрам” [scar] and “шов” [sutures]. Surgical staples (скобки) is another excellent word to know, especially since it’s very practical (comes up in all sorts of situations, such as MRI scans, security scans, etc).
Ryan:
Yelena,
Great post, but didn’t you mean to say that the Russian phrase for “coronary artery bypass” omits the word for ‘artery’, and not ‘bypass’?
yelena:
@Ryan Ryan, great catch. Actually, the full name of the surgery “аорто-коронарное шунтирование” so the word for “artery” is there. I goofed on the word “bypass”. In Russian “шунтирование” is exactly that – bypassing. It’s a pretty technical term, so not used a whole lot and I forgot about it. I fixed the goof.
steve:
It’s very strange to see a version of Operation in a different language, because in the original most of the body parts that are removed are based on idioms that won’t translate into other languages: Adam’s Apple, Charley Horse, Bread Basket, Butterflies in the Stomach, etc.
yelena:
@steve Steve, that’s exactly what I was wondering as I tried playing Operations (in English). I am going to try to find a list of all the English idioms from Operations and see how they translate into Russian.
Colin:
Another useful and interesting post (even for those of us who have a horror of hospitals). BTW, it’s dawned on me, not donned – these pesky homophones:-)
yelena:
@Colin Colin, thank you so much for the correction. I fixed the grammar 🙂
Robert Long:
THANKS for your continual blogging and websites… i love it… keep em coming… you’re doing a great service in the effort to spread this beautiful language !!
Spaciba,
Robert Long
yelena:
@Robert Long Thank you, Robert!
David Roberts:
For my Russian-born friends, whose English is way better than my Russian: surgery, when we mean what a surgeon does to you, is never accompanied by “a”. So you have surgery, you don’t have a surgery. When we use the word surgery to mean the place where a general practitioner sees his patients, we can use “a”. Likewise when we talk about the event “our doctors practice holds a surgery every Saturday mornings”. Other people besides medics also have surgeries in this sense: our MP has a surgery every month (i.e. he/she comers up from London and sees constituents to discuss their issues.
Ryan:
David, that may be the case in the UK, but American English allows for you to have surgery or a surgery. A place for surgery, however, is just a clinic.
steve:
yelena,
This is from Wikipedia, who very helpfully explain all the terms:
Adam’s Apple: in the throat; The Adam’s apple is a colloquial term referring to the thyroid cartilage surrounding the larynx that becomes more visually prominent during puberty. (100 points)
Broken Heart: a heart shape with a crack through it on the right side of the chest. The phrase “broken heart” refers to an emotional feeling in which someone is very sad for a reason such as a breakup with a romantic partner. (100 points)
Wrenched Ankle: a wrench in the right ankle. (100 points)
Butterflies in the Stomach: a large butterfly in the middle of the torso. The name comes from the feeling in the stomach when nervous, excited or afraid. (100 points)
Spare Ribs: two ribs fused together as one piece. “Spare Ribs” are a cut of meat or a dish prepared from that cut. (150 points)
Water on the Knee: a pail of water in the knee; colloquialism for fluid accumulation around the knee joint. (150 points)
Funny Bone: a play on the anatomical name for the upper arm bone (the humerus), and a reference to the colloquial name of the ulnar nerve. (200 points)
Charley Horse: a small horse resting near the hip joint; a play on the real charley horse, which is a sudden cramp in the leg or foot that can be cured by massage or stretching. (200 points)
Writer’s Cramp: a pencil in the forearm; refers to the real writer’s cramp, which is a soreness in the wrist that can be cured by resting it. (200 points)
The Ankle Bone Connected to the Knee Bone: This is not a plastic piece, but rather a rubber band that must be stretched between two pegs at the left ankle and knee. The name is taken from the African American spiritual “Dem Bones.” (200 points)
Wish Bone: located on the left side of the chest. A wish bone is a chicken bone traditionally used by two people for making a wish. (300 points)
Bread Basket: a slang term for the stomach. It is a very small slice of bread, with only a small notch taken out of the top for grip. (1,000 points)
Brain Freeze: an ice-cream cone located in the brain; refers to the experience of “brain freeze”, a headache felt after eating frozen desserts too quickly.
yelena:
David, thank you for the clarification. Articles are still very difficult for me even after years in the US. As I was writing the post, however, I kept thinking of the “Doc Martin” show – everyone referred to Dr. Martin’s office as “a surgery”. But in the US I do hear things like “I’m having an outpatient surgery next week so I’m taking a day off” all the time 🙂
David Roberts:
It may well be that American and British are diverging when it comes to surgery!
steve:
yelena: “I am going to try to find a list of all the English idioms from Operations and see how they translate into Russian.”
Wikipedia to the rescue! They even give explanations:
Adam’s Apple: in the throat; The Adam’s apple is a colloquial term referring to the thyroid cartilage surrounding the larynx that becomes more visually prominent during puberty. (100 points)
Broken Heart: a heart shape with a crack through it on the right side of the chest. The phrase “broken heart” refers to an emotional feeling in which someone is very sad for a reason such as a breakup with a romantic partner. (100 points)
Wrenched Ankle: a wrench in the right ankle. (100 points)
Butterflies in the Stomach: a large butterfly in the middle of the torso. The name comes from the feeling in the stomach when nervous, excited or afraid. (100 points)
Spare Ribs: two ribs fused together as one piece. “Spare Ribs” are a cut of meat or a dish prepared from that cut. (150 points)
Water on the Knee: a pail of water in the knee; colloquialism for fluid accumulation around the knee joint. (150 points)
Funny Bone: a play on the anatomical name for the upper arm bone (the humerus), and a reference to the colloquial name of the ulnar nerve. (200 points)
Charley Horse: a small horse resting near the hip joint; a play on the real charley horse, which is a sudden cramp in the leg or foot that can be cured by massage or stretching. (200 points)
Writer’s Cramp: a pencil in the forearm; refers to the real writer’s cramp, which is a soreness in the wrist that can be cured by resting it. (200 points)
The Ankle Bone Connected to the Knee Bone: This is not a plastic piece, but rather a rubber band that must be stretched between two pegs at the left ankle and knee. The name is taken from the African American spiritual “Dem Bones.” (200 points)
Wish Bone: located on the left side of the chest. A wish bone is a chicken bone traditionally used by two people for making a wish. (300 points)
Bread Basket: a slang term for the stomach. It is a very small slice of bread, with only a small notch taken out of the top for grip. (1,000 points)
Brain Freeze: an ice-cream cone located in the brain; refers to the experience of “brain freeze”, a headache felt after eating frozen desserts too quickly.
Brain Freeze was added in 2004, when Milton Bradley allowed fans a chance to vote on a new piece to be added to the original game during the previous year.
yelena:
@steve Thanks, Steve! Sorry, took a while for your comment to appear. It got sent to the Spam folder and I just fished it out (I only check Spam once in a while). This is very helpful and probably calls for a separate post.
Minority:
Great post. Though I doubt you will meet any “pre-op room” in Russian hospitals, so no need to translate at all. I had surgeries when I was a kid. ENT surgeries were made without any anesthesia (хотя сейчас, вроде, аденоиды и гланды иногда удаляют с анестезией; тогда даже не предлагали). When I had an appendicitis there weren’t any special room, they brought me to the surgery room, and made an injection there. And no funny medical gowns too.)
John DiCarlo:
Fascinating post!! And so much vocab that is used in daily life in Russia and much of Ukraine. Love it!!