bright lights and cold steel

English edit

Alternative forms edit

Noun edit

bright lights and cold steel pl (plural only)

  1. (informal, medicine) Surgery (procedure involving major incisions to remove, repair, or replace a part of a body).
    • 2006, October, Sandi Skrobiszewski, Mercy Health Partners Mercy Hospital, CathLabDigest (retrieved 7 Sept 2021):
      [W]ith stent technology always improving, we have seen a decline in patients that must be sent to the OR. Now, with the JoStent, even a perforation can be saved from the bright lights and cold steel!
    • 2012, August 11, Dr. Charles Sternbergh, Life of a neurosurgeon after neurosurgery, Tennessee Neurosurgical Society Annual Meeting (retrieved 7 Sept 2021):
      On this visit, doctor supports the surgical treatment plan and will read the patient his rights before moving on to bright lights and cold steel.
    • 2013, November 9, Jon Myers, Life of a neurosurgeon after neurosurgery Bright Lights & Cold Steel, Fry-Pan Jones (retrieved 7 Sept 2021):
      There is a saying amongst physicians that when all else fails, it may be time for "bright lights and cold steel." This is doctor speak for surgery.