WENATCHEE — Be glad this roomful of surgical technologists is riveted by topics that the casual visitor might find gooey and gross.

Treatment of diabetic feet, tiny cameras for colorectal procedures, robotic surgery for urinary systems — yeesh. Wouldn’t they rather be strolling a riverside trail in this gorgeous autumn weather?

Well, maybe. But, on Saturday, keeping up with operating-room advances — new procedures, new instruments — captivated about 50 surgical technologists from around the state for the group’s fall workshop at the Wenatchee Convention Center.

Several local doctors gave, um, cutting-edge presentations on surgical techniques. These included Drs. Tony Kim, Rachel Lundgren, Rudy Linterman, Joseph Pazona, Jason Loewen and Roger Starkweather. The presentations aid technologists in becoming recertified.

“It’s important we keep pace with the latest surgical science,” said Sherridan Poffenroth, vice president of the 500-member Washington State Assembly of the Association of Surgical Technologists. “In surgery, we can be the difference between success and failure — we can make it or break it.”

As seen on TV medical shows, surgical technologists are the operating-room specialists at the elbow of every surgeon — slapping their palms with the needed scalpels, clamps and retractors as tension mounts and music swells.

“That’s us,” laughed Libby McRae, president of the state’s AST and instructor in the surgical technologist program at Yakima Community College. “But we’re much more than what you see on TV. Our job starts with ensuring a sterile environment — from the table tops to instruments to, sometimes, the patient’s skin. We’re the first line of defense against infection.”

Mary Ellen Grevstad, 49, a Wenatchee surgical technologist for 23 years and AST treasurer, said instrumentation is constantly evolving as technology advances. “Robotics has brought the biggest change,” she said, “along with laparoscopy and using electronic navigation systems to guide surgeons and machines to exactly the right spot in a patient.”

Robotic and laparoscopic surgical devices allow smaller incisions and less invasive procedures, which can mean quicker healing times, said Grevstad. Her specialty is traditional and laparoscopic surgery on joints at Central Washington Hospital.

Grevstad, along with other AST members, is also active in lobbying for legislation to require state certification for surgical technologists in order “to guarantee patients the highest skill levels in the operating room,” she said. “Anything less than that isn’t always safe — they might not have learned the latest techniques.”

Just right behind her, for instance, Dr. Rachel Lundgren lectured about aortic aneurisms, the 13th leading killer of aging white men, and how to repair them. Often a result of smoking, the aneurysms — a ballooning of the arterial wall — have high mortality when they eventually burst, said the doctor. Then she explained how to prevent that very thing.

So should young people searching for a career consider surgical technology? Students in the two-year, surgical tech program at Yakima Community College graduate with an associate degree and a long list of job possibilities, said Grevstad. The average hourly wage for surgical technologists in the state is $20.69.

“If you’re interested in the human body, this is the perfect profession,” said Grevstad. “It allows you to explore — literally — the ins and outs of the body and, more importantly, help people get healthier.”

Mike Irwin: 665-1179

irwin@wenatcheeworld.com