@TheScrubSink

Every surgery day starts with a five minute ritual of washing my hands. I share these moments with other members of the surgical team; they are the "water-cooler" conversations of the operating room. Here are a few thoughts, topics, and trends that were on my mind this week @TheScrubSink.

1. Hip'Air. Hip fractures cause a tremendous amount of pain and disability to elderly patients, and also result in huge costs to the healthcare system of any country. French company Helite has envisioned a new approach to preventing these fractures: an airbag. Looks like a user-friendly device with relatively simple technology, I'm interested to see if these will show up at the next meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

2. Free Solo. Earlier this year, climber, vegan, and notorious #vanlife guy Alex Honnold made history. He was the first to accomplish a "free solo" ascent of Yosemite's El Capitan. That means he climbed the 3,000ft of vertical granite, all without the aid of any ropes or other protection. Just a man (or maybe he's a spiderman?) and the rock. Brought to you by accomplished climber and filmmaker Jimmy Chin, his wife E. Chai Vasarhelyi, and National Geographic, this documentary film details Honnold's process, from the birth of the idea, through his training, to the historic moment when he reached the top.

3. The Barkley Marathons. This movie caught my eye the other day; it's available to stream free through Amazon Prime. The world of ultramarathons is full of races that seem to feature extreme conditions, distance, suffering, etc., to the point where they all start to blend together after a while. As unconventional as they come, the Barkley Marathons stand out from the rest. From the film's press release: "A famous prison escape sparks the idea for a cult-like race that has seen only 10 finishers in its first 25 years. This award-winning, oddly inspiring, and wildly funny documentary reveals the sports world’s most guarded secret."

4. Patient Notes. I've been involved as a Team Physician with the US Ski Team for 12 years now. I've long been amazed at these athletes, for their individual drive to compete, for their commitment to the sport, for their perserverance through aches, pains, and even serious injuries. This year, the team has started a new blog series, Patient Notes. The first two installments are from Breezy Johnson, a member of the Women's Alpine Team, who gives her perspective after suffering a season-ending crash while training this summer in Chile. (If you want more along these lines, check out The Climb, a film which details Lindsey Vonn's comeback from her 2nd ACL surgery, and Crash Reel, about snowboarder Kevin Pearce and his recovery from a devastating head injury. Inspiring stuff...)