The Making of a Surgeon

It’s 8:20 on a Friday morning, and surgical resident Jennifer LaFemina, MD, is in Massachusetts General Hospital’s operating room number 10, alongside attending thoracic surgeon, Henning Gaissert, MD, and the rest of the operating room (OR) team.

In this, her first case of the day, Dr. LaFemina will replace a tracheal “T-tube” in a 47-year-old patient who relies on this simple device to keep his airway open. Under the watchful eye of Dr. Gaissert, Dr. LaFemina does most of the hands-on work, occasionally getting tips on technique from her more experienced mentor, who has performed this procedure countless times.