Let’s Do Surgery

A Surgical Scenario is a structured, realistic clinical storyline used to teach, plan, analyze, or guide surgical decision-making.

Think of it as a constructed case that follows a patient from presentation through postoperative outcomes—designed to simulate or rehearse the real-world elements of surgery.

A Surgical Scenario is:

A case-based framework that presents a patient’s condition, diagnostic findings, disease progression, treatment options, surgical pathway, and outcome considerations—allowing surgeons, students, teams, or technology platforms to work through what would happen clinically and operationally.

What a Surgical Scenario Includes:

  • • History

    • Symptoms

    • Past medical/surgical history

    • Risk factors

    • Initial exam findings

  • • Labs

    • Imaging

    • Clinical reasoning

    • Decision tree (operate vs observe)

  • • Why surgery is recommended

    • Alternatives

    • Timing and urgency

  • • Approach (open, laparoscopic, robotic)

    • Access points

    • Equipment selection

    • Manufacturer variations

    • Surgeon preference cards

  • • Pre/intra/post-operative medications

    • Antibiotics, anticoagulants, analgesia

  • • Key steps

    • Pitfalls

    • Anatomy variations

    • Critical decision points

  • • Recovery pathway

    • Complications

    • Discharge planning

    • Follow-up strategy

  • • What could go right

    • What could go wrong

    • Lessons learned