Georgetown MedStar

Hello Mrs. Cross,

Thank you for helping me with the mentorship programat Georgetown MedStar Hospital. I had recently completed my one month shadowing there, and overall, the shadowing was fantastic. I had gotten to see a total of 15 surgeries that were involved in Neurology, Cardiology, Plastic Surgery, and Urology. Not only was I able to see surgeries, I also had the opportunity to ask different surgeons, residents, and medical students about the procedures and diagnosis in these particular surgeries. Every time I ask questions, they were happy to answer them thoroughly.

One of the most intriguing surgeries that I have seen over at Georgetown MedStar Hospital was the Laminectomy Thoracic. Overall, the surgery took over five hours to complete. This procedure was used to treat spinal stenosis or narrowing of the spinal cord. Basically, the procedure is to remove the lamina and bone spurs, which can then alleviate pressure from the spinal cord and nerve roots. Then screws and rods were inserted above and below the gap of incision to fix the spinal curvature and deformity.

Once again, thank you, Mrs. Cross, for helping me with the mentorship. In the beginning, we were having some problems arranging a hospital for me to mentor, then we were having trouble with getting a response back from the hospital. But after not giving up and continuing to try, we had finally done it.

Thank you so much!

Sincerely,

MaoQi Yam