better people.
Why has your program inspired so many people?
There are many reasons. One Christmas Eve, my chief resident and his
father and brother, who were both orthopedic surgeons visiting from
Germany, teamed up to fix a dog with a crushed pelvis. I called the resi-
dent the next day and told him to buy his family lunch on me as a way
of thanking them for their help. He politely declined, telling me the sur-
gery was a gift to them. He said his father, who was the most stoic man
he knew, had teared up when they were heading home after the opera-
tion. I have an idea why. During the procedure, the father had looked
over at me and said it was his only chance to operate with his two sons.
Can you apply the lessons learned during the
animal operations to performing surgery on humans?
Absolutely. Fixing animals involves creative, improvisational problem
solving. We repair fractures without the use of a C-arm, making do
with K-wires, Steinmann pins and sterilized locking plates I've
removed from human patients. It's incredible fun and reminds us sur-
geons that we can think and operate at the same time.
What's next for you and your mission?
Physicians and facilities from across the nation are contacting me to
find out how to launch and run similar programs. That's incredibly
heartening. I'm going to run out of gas at some point, and don't want
efforts to help injured and unwanted pets to end with me.
OSM
Dr. Keating (surgeonforstrays@gmail.com) is an orthopedic surgeon at
WellStar Atlanta (Ga.) Medical Center and founder of Surgeons for Strays
(surgeonsforstrays.com).
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