Monday, May 21, 2012
Injuries in the Era of Digital Technology
When I saw "wrist laceration" on the list of chief complaints for patients waiting to be seen, I couldn't help wondering if it was due to a suicide attempt, and I half-expected to find a somewhat depressed individual in the procedure room. Instead, I discovered a rather cheerful, bon vivant 19-yr-old male flanked by his equally cheerful parents. He had been in the woods with his friends, participating in a Bored Teenager pastime: hurling hatchets at trees with the intention of embedding the blade in the trunks. The patient's grip on his hatchet slipped, and the blade made a 3 cm laceration that was just millimeters away from his radial artery. "Are you sure I didn't nick the artery?" he asked. I assured him that if he had severed his radial artery, he would have been gushing blood like a Monty Python skit. I was able to irrigate the wound and suture everything back into place with 3-0 ethilon. His parents, ever the enthusiasts, took video footage of the entire procedure with their iPhones so he could post it on his Facebook page.
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