What is a Carotid Endarterectomy?

In the first unit of our 3rd sophomore STEAM class called "Cure," we learned about surgery, kind of. I have been looking forward to this class since the beginning of freshman year. I could not wait to flaunt my extensive surgical knowledge. To my disappointment, we did not really talk about surgery in the first unit. We still have to do this action project though. In our first unit, we learned about cells and cell reproduction and division, as well as conic sections, which I am not sure how that relates to the class, but they are very fun. We took an FE to the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago. I love this museum. It is in a beautiful old house on Lake Shore Drive. We got a tour of the museum and then got to explore it on our own. For this project, we had to pick a surgery and analyze it. I went all out and actually did the surgery which I am very proud of. We had to make a slideshow and explain all the organs, tissues, and cells affected by the surgery. I had a really hard time deciding which surgery to do. I choose a carotid endarterectomy because it is a cool procedure but it is not super complicated.

I really wanted to go all out for this AP, so I decided to use my surgical app called "Touch Surgery." I found this app about a year ago and it has greatly improved my skills and understanding of different procedures. I used the screen record on my phone and then recorded a voice memo and overlayed it onto the video. I think it came out really great. 

If you would like to view the script of the video, you can use this link.

In the end, this is definitely my favorite action project I have ever done. I am disappointed in the lack of surgery talk in class, but we still got to do this project. I struggled with choosing a surgery, and I did doubt myself several times throughout the process, but I am happy with the procedure. I had a lot of trouble with recording the video. I didn't realize that the screen capture on the iPhone does not record audio, so I was talking to my phone for an hour like an idiot. I also had trouble with the screen capture working, as it would keep shutting off in the middle of the procedure. In the end, I am very proud of this project, but I still wonder if I could have done more.


Works Cited:

Alberts, Bruce. “Blood Vessels and Endothelial Cells.” NCIB.gov. U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26848/

“Cell Anatomy.” Home Science Tools.com. Home Science Tools. n.d. https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/anatomy-of-a-cell-science-lesson/

Dr. Pounds, C, Lori. “Carotid Endarterectomy.” Vascular.org. Society for Vascular Surgery. n.d. https://vascular.org/patient-resources/vascular-treatments/carotid-endarterectomy#description

Mayo Clinic Staff. “Carotid Endarterectomy.” Mayo Clinic.org. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. 3, April 2018. ttps://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/carotid-endarterectomy/about/pac-20393379

“What is a carotid endarterectomy?” My Cleveland Clinic.org. Cleveland Clinic. n.d. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/16849-carotid-endarterectomy