bright lights and cold steel

English

Alternative forms

• bright lights
• cold steel and bright lights

Noun

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.