I am not going to say anything on that very nice person's post! But I will note that many things in it I do not agree with, as a trauma surgeon. There is an article cited but it is in a history journal and reports as fact what a civil war era surgeon observed--sorry, but we've advanced a bit. That article should only be used as a guide for what a surgeon of that era would believe and do.
In general, the problems fall under the same mistake that almost all media makes: the idea that the surgeon is at all interested in removing the bullet or arrowhead. WE ARE NOT. Arrowheads are not as self-sterilizing as bullets--no heat in firing--but infection can drain through the wound; if I couldn't get out an arrowhead easily, or wasn't in a body cavity I was already working in on injured organs, I WOULD NOT GO AFTER IT. There is no difference between the body's treatment of a round bullet and a sharp arrowhead: both are foreign bodies, both can cause infection if they take contamination into a wound, but bodies are great at dealing with foreign bodies. The wound must be monitored, and if infected, the pus drained; but an open wound is a safe wound, and if you can wash it out with betadine or even better have antibiotics, you might be just fine with that new part of you forever.
The primary problem with penetrating injuries is THE INJURED TISSUE THE MISSILE TRAVERSED--the actual injury inflicted. If there's a hole in your heart, you bleed out; a hole in your guts, and peritonitis and infection will kill you; a hole in your lung big enough to leak air, and you asphyxiate from a pneumothorax or cardiovascular collapse from a tension pneumothorax (what I think they are referred to by the totally wrong term of "emphysema," which is a lung tissue abnormality often from smoking; perhaps he refers to subcutaneous emphysema? But that heralds a pneumothorax, a potentially deadly injury).
As far as muscle damage goes, from pulling out a barbed arrow: honest to god, I couldn't care less. Muscle heals well in a healthy person. It's fine. Pulled out a barbed arrow through guts: sure, it makes the problem worse. But the initial problem was the arrow through the guts in the first place! Pushing it through doesn't FIX THE HOLE IN THE GUTS, which is the thing that will kill you.
There are tons of people walking around with bullets in them. Shrapnel. Random bits of whatever. Not so much arrows, but that's a stats problem: not too many people shooting each other with arrows these days.
no subject
In general, the problems fall under the same mistake that almost all media makes: the idea that the surgeon is at all interested in removing the bullet or arrowhead. WE ARE NOT. Arrowheads are not as self-sterilizing as bullets--no heat in firing--but infection can drain through the wound; if I couldn't get out an arrowhead easily, or wasn't in a body cavity I was already working in on injured organs, I WOULD NOT GO AFTER IT. There is no difference between the body's treatment of a round bullet and a sharp arrowhead: both are foreign bodies, both can cause infection if they take contamination into a wound, but bodies are great at dealing with foreign bodies. The wound must be monitored, and if infected, the pus drained; but an open wound is a safe wound, and if you can wash it out with betadine or even better have antibiotics, you might be just fine with that new part of you forever.
The primary problem with penetrating injuries is THE INJURED TISSUE THE MISSILE TRAVERSED--the actual injury inflicted. If there's a hole in your heart, you bleed out; a hole in your guts, and peritonitis and infection will kill you; a hole in your lung big enough to leak air, and you asphyxiate from a pneumothorax or cardiovascular collapse from a tension pneumothorax (what I think they are referred to by the totally wrong term of "emphysema," which is a lung tissue abnormality often from smoking; perhaps he refers to subcutaneous emphysema? But that heralds a pneumothorax, a potentially deadly injury).
As far as muscle damage goes, from pulling out a barbed arrow: honest to god, I couldn't care less. Muscle heals well in a healthy person. It's fine. Pulled out a barbed arrow through guts: sure, it makes the problem worse. But the initial problem was the arrow through the guts in the first place! Pushing it through doesn't FIX THE HOLE IN THE GUTS, which is the thing that will kill you.
There are tons of people walking around with bullets in them. Shrapnel. Random bits of whatever. Not so much arrows, but that's a stats problem: not too many people shooting each other with arrows these days.
Sorry to be annoying! But I was annoyed. :/