Unproductive Participation and Protection Against Germs: Technical-Ritualistic Practices in Heart Surgery

Abstract

There is a debate in the social sciences about the character of the effectiveness of techniques and performances in the surgical field. The literature is divided into different postures, which highlight the ritualistic aspects of techniques and procedures (Katz, 1981; Rawlings, 1989; Hirschauer, 1991) or emphasize their pragmatic efficacy and the purely antiseptic character of sterilization procedures (Collins, 1994). During ethnographic research conducted in the field of cardiac technology production, I observed that these spheres are, in fact, intertwined. Additionally, I believe that it is necessary to consider that the formation of the surgical field (a procedure that will be explored in the following article), as well as the employment of other hygienic procedures are not simply rituals to keep microorganisms away, but are also part of the conditioning of the “surgeon's body”. Surgeries are risky procedures that require the development of techniques in order to avoid contamination with both microscopic agents and unproductive involvement. The threat of unwanted involvement implies the development of skills that allow for “good participation”. In my ethnographic research, in contrast to the surgeries performed on humans in the operating rooms, the procedures performed on animals show that the process of “depersonalization” (that is, the subject's erasure through the construction of the surgical field) in experimental surgery has the effect of naturalizing non-human animals, instituting them as substitutes for humans. This requires a delicate game of approximation and distancing on the part of the surgeon and the medical team. In general, my aim here is to describe and analyze the technical-ritualistic aspects that are part of cardiac interventions and which underlie the establishment of the surgical field, seeking to dilute the dichotomy established in the social sciences between a technical-functional pole and a ritual-symbolic one.

A atuação da imaginação no desenvolvimento de Corações Artificiais: por uma compreensão da corporificação e partilha da imaginação

“…Para uma compreensão aprofundada e uma caracterização dos atores no campo de produção de dispositivos de assistência circulatória, ver Marini (2019b).…”

“…11 Para uma compreensão aprofundada da atuação das mãos/corpo do cirurgião e sua eficácia tecno-ritualística, ver Marini (2019b).…”

“…13 A sugestão de que cirurgias possam ser compreendidas como performances no sentido de atuações teatralizadas foi desenvolvida e descrita em Marini (2019b). Nas cenas cirúrgicas, as ações são uma performance no sentido de serem roteirizadas.…”

“…15 A relação entre formas geométricas, concepções de beleza, simetria e perfeição foi elaborada em Marini (2019a). O argumento explora a aproximação metafísica de beleza e perfeição com as regras matemáticas decorrentes da sequência de Fibonacci e da proporção áurea -relações numéricas frequentemente encontradas no mundo natural, como na forma de pétalas de flores, sementes, frutas, conchas etc.…”