Steady hands for surgery?

Question

How imperative is it for a surgeon to have very steady hands? Can he make due or compensate with minor tremors? I have read contradicting opinions from a few surgeons on the subject.

Basically I shake a little bit and I am curious as to if this will stop my dream of surgery. I can't stand to think I have everything to fullfill my dream, the intellect and drive, but my hands could stop me.

Answer 1

I think the severity of your tremor would determine whether or not you should/could. I have an attending (general surgery) who sometimes has a noticeable tremor but he's excellent & it's never been an issue for him & it's not constant. There are specialties like neuro, cardiothoracic, microsurgery, & maxillo-facial where a tremor would definitely be an issue though. Do you shake all the time or just when you are nervous or fatigued? Don't count yourself out but you should definitely get a neurological workup to figure out the cause & how you might treat it. Best of luck.

Answer 2

If your problem is the usual benign essential tremor, there are medications that will suppress the tremor. Essential tremor is adrenaline-sensitive, so the more nervous you are the more you shake.

Now the bad news- there are other conditions that may present in young people as tremor. Before you choose your Residency, probably a good idea to have a Neurologist see you. He can advise you re the cause of the tremor ( hyperthyroid, Wilson's disease, cerebellar disease to list some) and get you on medication. The usual medicine for essential tremor is Inderal, a beta-adrenergic blocker. Primidone, in low doses ( 50 mg) will suppress it also.

The diagnostic test ( not treatment) is the response to alcohol-if a shot of whiskey abolishes the tremor, it is most likely a benign essential tremor. Have seen a lot of people use alcohol as a treatment- don't.  

And you do not need to be steady as a rock in surgery.  Bracing one hand against the other is a common trick - essential tremors are asynchronous, so counterpressure neutralizes it. If it gets WORSE, you got problems.

Answer 3

I can only speak on this, because of a room mate who was going to school for brain surgery... He had to be able to hold a pencil, completely still for 1 minute....

Other parts of the body, obviously are not as sensitive.. but, I would have to say, yes, you would need to have some kind of control over your shakey hands....

Sorry to hear about your predicament, and hope it all works out for you...