Surgeons of Reddit, how do humans smell on the inside?

Mostly you smell the metallic scent of blood and burning flesh from the electric cautery. The smell from cutting bone is the same smell as the dentist's office when they're drilling teeth only 1000x more potent. The smell of a perforated bowel is worse than Satan's anus.
— ocddoc

Surgeon here: people do not have any distinct smell at first cut. If you violate their bowel, it will smell like fecal material as you would expect. Moreover, when you use the Bovie cautery system, that burns the flesh/soft tissue which is a pretty awful smell. This is ameliorated by using the suction to get rid of the Bovie smoke. The different tissue layers "burn" differently as well and depends if you are using coag vs. cut on the Bovie. You may also use Bipolar, frequently seen in smaller procedures/incisions like hand cases.
— the_lock

Not a surgeon, but a paramedic who's been an observer of many surgeries, people are meat and fresh meat doesn't smell. However, if you puncture a bowel that smells horrendous.
— jenny_alla_vodka

If it's anything like a dog or cat (Veterinary) the bowels have a bad odor, necrotic bowels are terrible smelling. Mainly metallic in a way that informs your brain "this is a bad place - leave" Also cauterizing in animals smells like burnt hair and burnt garlic
— Bodymindisoneword

Like everyone else: IANAS However... I just had an enormous infected cyst on my chest that had to be cut open and drained. It was incredibly foul-smelling and made me and the nurse that assisted gag. The doctor's write-up mentioned that it was "putrid" and "offensive" in smell and then also said that it was sticky and had a cheese-like texture. Which *almost* ruined cheese for me. Sorry ladies, I'm happily married.
— antelion

I've been present for many surgeries. The oddest smell in the world is when they cauterize flesh to stop bleeding. It kind of smells like a campfire/burnt marshmallow. Same thing happens when they saw bone. It kinda smells like the drill at the dentist.
— Roo_Badley

I've heard that in autopsies on menthol smokers, the lungs smell like menthol.
— odsquad64

Totally depends on the surgery/situation. If I'm debriding Fourniers gangrene, I've got loads of peppermint oil on my mask to keep from smelling the horrible stench of rotten flesh and abscess. Abdominal surgery doesn't have much of a smell, I agree that blood does have a scent, but I guess I have stopped noticing it. When I am resecting an enlarged prostate, I use continuous irrigation to be able to see what I'm doing, so the gas made from the cauterization collects in the dome of the bladder. When I drain the bladder and release that air bubble it's a really concentrated smell of burnt flesh like a steak left on the grill too long.
— boondock_saint

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