Photo by Graham Cullen Nathan Sandler, 7, tries on a surgical mask Saturday during an operating room open house at Frederick Memorial Hospital.

Frederick Memorial Healthcare System's third annual Operating Room Open House attracted several hundred people.

The hands-on tour of the hospital's operating suites, including two operating rooms set up for laparoscopic surgery and a hip or knee joint replacement procedure, was exciting, several youngsters said.

Jordan Boswell, 10, of Ijamsville, donned surgical garb and got to play doctor. He wants to be a surgeon.

"It was really fun. I liked the kidney stone display because you got to interact with it," Jordan said. "I got to pretend to be a doctor, and the Tic-Tac was the kidney stone you had to take out."

Theresa Cecil, 16, of Frederick , is also contemplating surgical training.

"I want to be a surgeon, and I thought the hands-on nature of the tour was really beneficial," she said. "I had never seen an actual surgical room. I was able to see everything. The laparoscopic surgical procedure was interesting."

Alexia Boswell, 12, of Ijamsville, said she got to see everything that takes place in an operating room. She wants to be a veterinarian.

"I got to remove lizards pretending to be the gallbladder in the intestinal area" of the body, Alexia said.

Registered nurse Bonnie Baust said the visitors were excited getting up close and personal with what takes place during surgery.

"We had an anesthesiologist today who explained the process of putting people to sleep," Baust said.

People know an anesthesiologist has so much to do with surgery, but it's someone you meet initially and don't see anymore, Baust said.

The number of instruments used in an operating room overwhelmed many visitors, and they learned the procedure for surgery preparation, starting with a pre-operative assessment and taking them into the operating room, Baust said.

"Most of the surgery we do now is done microscopically. We don't need the big belly incisions anymore," Baust said.

The visitors raised interesting questions, said Tracy Carney, a nine-year surgical technician.

"They asked me what my role was and were intrigued by the whole process.

"The tour helped a lot of them get past the unknown of the procedures," Carney said.

The tour increased the visitors' understanding of surgical procedures and made them less fearful of them, and for the youngsters, it reinforced their passion to be a surgeon, Carney said.

"What we do for a living is amazing, but to get to share it with the public is just phenomenal," Baust said.

Pastor Evelyn Williams of Lilies of the Valley Church in Frederick attended the open house with members of her congregation.

"We work on the spiritual side of getting people well whereas the doctors work on the physical side, and I can't thank God enough for the doctors," Williams said.

Frederick resident Jim Heslin described the tour as informative and well-organized.

"It reassures me," he said.

The tour provided the visitors an opportunity to try their hand at a laparoscopic procedure in a simulated abdominal cavity, hold replacement hip and knee joints and the tools used to complete the surgery, and try on some of the special clothing and equipment doctors, nurses and technicians use in a sterile environment.

Each guided tour lasted about 30 minutes.