Bombing Suspect’s Wounds

Bomb suspect’s wounds as possible clinical scenarios are discussed below: Although we are not directly involved in the care of the alleged bombing suspect of the Boston Marathon Dzhokar Tsarnaev who was recently apprehended, we are closely following media reports of his arrest and subsequent transfer to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. News reports have shown photos of him lying on the grass with his hands apparently cuffed and his shirt pulled up with law enforcement officers working over him. Also photos have been published of him climbing out of the boat under his own power and also of him on a stretcher inside the ambulance on the way to the hospital. He reportedly suffered a gun shot wound to the neck and the leg. As a trauma surgeon and critical care physician, some possible scenarios of his medical condition and ongoing care can be gleaned from those fragments of news. First, Beth Israel Deaconess is a first class hospital capable of giving the highest level of care and is well-versed in the types of injuries that the suspect is reported to have suffered. While no trauma surgeon will ever guarantee an outcome, it is highly likely that he will survive his wounds as he arrived with presence of vital signs. Second, it appears that he was not intubated at the scene, meaning that he did not have emergent airway issues that could have arisen from a gun shot to the more midline structures of the face or neck. The lack of on-scene intubation does not absolutely...
Source: Inside Surgery - Category: Surgeons Authors: Tags: Musings bombing Boston marathon Dzhokar Tsarnaev suspect wounds Source Type: blogs