[bookofjoe]

True story from my rotation on General Surgery during my third year of medical school (UCLA; 1973):

I'm in the O.R. doing what 3rd year med students do, namely holding a retractor to help keep the operative site open and perfectly exposed.

The attending, a very senior surgeon, vice-chair of the department, tells the senior resident, "When you accidentally nick a big blood vessel, instead of saying 'Oops," say "There!'"

[aaronharnly]

My father is a retired surgeon, and has told me he was trained the same way — to say “there” rather than “oops”. The rest of the OR staff know what you mean, and it doesn’t spook a patient or other people who might overhear.