Eli5 why is it that if I cut myself with a knife I bleed like crazy, but when a surgeon cuts into a chest, removes the ribs to perform a major surgery you don’t see all that much blood comparatively?

Question

Eli5 why is it that if I cut myself with a knife I bleed like crazy, but when a surgeon cuts into a chest, removes the ribs to perform a major surgery you don’t see all that much blood comparatively?

In: 562

Answer 1

There are some almost-correct answers here.

There isn’t “someone standing by” to cauterize.

Instruments that both cauterize and cut like plasmablade are relatively rare.

It’a not just someone sopping up blood.

The more complete answer has multiple parts:

1) Surgeons know where to cut to avoid any significantly sized veins or arteries. Anatomic variants exist, but in general they avoid going through these vessels.

2) Skin is usually cut by the surgeon with a scalpel. Then they use a cautery tool to cauterize and bleeding. They wipe/dab with sponges to see where the bleeding is coming from and zap it.

3) Fat, fascia, and organs are usually “cut” with the cautery tool. It’s not really cutting, it’s burning at a higher power to both cauterize and break the tissue.

Source: I’m an anesthesiologist and spend a lot of time watching surgery, and have participated in hundreds of surgeries in medical school.