Monday, June 15, 2009

Trauma Lessons

Solid performance in the blood and guts department from over the weekend.

One honest-to-goodness actually helmeted motorcyclist took a nasty spill out on the highway.  Head remained nicely unscathed, but the rest of his arms, legs, and a good chunk of the torso sported some pretty serious road rash.  
Lesson: Helmet good, pants and leather even better.

A bicyclist who took a wrong turn on the bike path found himself at the bottom of the ditch with a managed leg.  Got to watch the orthopods power drill a steel rod through the patient's leg from which they would later hang weights to maintain traction.
Lesson: Propofol can be a wonderful thing.

And finally...

While doing some painting up on a ladder, a woman reached too far and ended up on the floor with an unbelievable lac running along her lower leg.  Basically, it looked like the skin was just split open, revealing all the tissue, muscle, bone, and tendons for all to see.
Lesson: Anatomy is awesome, especially when you can see the tendons moving as the foot wiggles.

No comments: