Above I have attached a link
leading to a procedure in which a forearm laceration is being sutured. I’ll
warn you: it’s pretty graphic. It was a high tech camera and you can clearly
see what’s going on; every intricate detail. I’m going to give a walk through
about what’s happening in the video, as well as explain each step.
This
person has a laceration wound. It could be from multiple things: An electrical
wire, a knife, ect. In this particular case, a woman walked into a non-active
table saw. You can see it’s been open for more than it should have because of
the fat and tissue gathering around the edges. This doesn’t necessarily mean
it’s infected, but it’s not a good thing either.
The doctor starts by numbing the
wound in multiple areas. They use a certain kind of anesthetic (there are many)
and inject it through a syringe. The wound can’t just be numbed on the outside,
but on the inside as well. He numbs the skin around the laceration, as well as
actually sticking the needle inside the cut and numbing there.
Next, he cleans the wound by
washing it out with a bacteria-killing fluid. It also makes it easier to see
inside the wound because a lot of the blood is cleared away. After the wound is
somewhat clean, the doctor dresses the wound. He does this by putting a
sterilized sheet over the patient’s arm with a hole cut out around the area of
the wound. This is done so the procedure can be as healthy and bacteria free as
possible.
When the wound is ready to be
operated on, the doctor gets a needle and medical thread. Medical thread is
thicker and sturdier, and won’t infect the body. Some medical thread is
self-dissolving, but that’s usually used for internal wounds. In this case, the
thread will be cut out in a week or two. The doctor doesn’t have direct
hand-to-needle contact while suturing; he uses scissors to hold it. This is so
he can see and operate more easily without his hand getting in the way.
Suturing is not the same as sewing. The
doctors don’t just go back and forth with the needle; multiple knots need to be
tied with each thread so it stays shut. Multiple layers of the skin and tissue
need to be sutured shut. He starts with the inside of the wound: the tissue and
fat. Then he moves to the outside and closes the skin up.
This is the end of the procedure.
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