RKYHS students participated in Liberty Science Center’s Live From Surgery program, one of only four schools selected to participate. Through video conferencing into a live surgery at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey, the students were led through a surgical procedure known as a laminectomy, the removal of one or more vertebrae, usually to give access to the spinal cord or to relieve pressure.

Students asked the surgeon and his team questions while he performed this operation on a 72 year old male patient suffering from loss of balance and weakness in his left arm. The C3-C5 vertebrae were removed and titanium rods were inserted to relieve the patient’s symptoms caused by stenosis, the narrowing of the spinal canal. RKYHS students and the surgeons discussed a variety of topics such as the importance of keeping the operating room and supplies sterile, various tools used throughout the procedure, 3D printing options, possible complications, bone grafts, monitoring the patient’s vitals, anesthesia levels and recovery.