Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm
Do remember that task difficulty modifiers are not absolute across all tasks. They are relative to other tasks for that specific skill. To come up with an illogical test case: If there were a "Disarm Universe-Destroying Device" skill, then it would still have routine tasks that get from +1 to +10. So back to Surgery, if a laparoscopic cholecystectomy is easy relative to an open, and both are easier than a heart transplant, then it may well be that it's at +1 or better.
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Hmm. Ok, let me think out loud, here...
How about
:
Automatic
Removing a splinter, shrapnel, or other superficial foreign body
Trivial
Removing a small lipoma, or a cyst; placing a central line
Very Easy
Removing a pilonidal cyst; hemorrhoidectomy; phlebectomy
Easy
hemorrhoidectomy; external fixation of midshaft long bone fracture
Very Favorable
laparoscopic hernia repairs; segmental small bowel resections
Favorable
laparoscopic cholecystectomy; gastric banding
Average
Nissen fundoplication; partial colectomy; sleeve gastrectomy; most anatomic arterial bypasses; IM nail
Unfavorable
gastric bypass; meningioma excision; repairing a stab wound to the ventricle; carotid endarterectomy; total joint replacement
Very Unfavorable
Total mesorectal excision; coronary bypass; AAA repair; extranatomic arterial bypass; laminectomy
Hard
Whipple, astrocytoma excision; ruptured AAA repair; acetabular repair
Actually I guess this doesn't help much- I could produce any arbitrary list, couldn't I? But on the other hand if you throw things from other specialties in there, like coronary bypass, then it skews most other things down into easier categories... Hmm.
Thinking...
EDIT- Wow, this is hard, since I'm trying to include procedures that are not in my specialty. I have
no idea how to rate laminectomies and such, for instance. (A
lot of orthopedic procedures have unimpressive outcomes- a hand that barely works, etc., even on a
sucess.) And I think I'm inflating the vascular procedures, and I might be conflating difficulty of diagnosis with difficulty of the procedure, or something. I'm giving up... :) If the need ever arises I'm sure I can wing it.
I mean, really, for most adventuring needs we're talking about
trauma, right? The GURPS rules for that are pretty good, though they randomize a lot, and the healing rates seem optimistic.