Dr. Donald Blake & Thor Odinson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ifwebeworthy) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2024-07-22 09:21 am
ifwebeworthy) wrote in fandomhigh2024-07-22 09:21 am
Entry tags:
First Aid: Extreme Edition, Monday Fifth Period
"The subject for today came up a couple of times in my previous workshop," Don told his students, "so I thought we should talk about it, even though I really hope none of you ever have to do it on the training of one summer workshop session. Let's talk about a tracheotomy.
"A tracheotomy, for those of you who are not familiar, is an incision made directly into the airway in the neck, into which a tracheostomy tube is going to be placed. In a hospital setting there are a lot of reasons this might be necessary. In an emergency it's usually going to be because of some kind of trauma that makes it impossible to maintain an open airway otherwise, because breathing is important for, you know, living. It might, in very rare instances, be necessary for someone who's choking, if all other efforts to dislodge the object have failed.
"All of this has been a little bit misleading, because you're more likely going to want to not do a tracheotomy at all, but a cricothyrotomy. You're going to need something sharp and some sort of thin hollow tube to keep the incision open once you've made it. The classic pop culture reference is a ballpoint pen, because, well, first off, it works, and second, in an absolute pinch it can also be your something sharp."
Just stab someone in the throat with a pen. It's all good.
"I should mention that absolutely none of this is best practice. That should be obvious, but...y'know. You're just trying to keep your patient alive until they can get to a hospital, and then they can fix both the initial problem and what you've done.
"Here's what you're going to do," Don said, moving to the first aid dummy and asking everyone to gather around. "You're going to feel for the larynx, or voice box, also known as the Adam's apple to those of us from worlds with a strong Judeochristian presence. You'll make a small incision just below the Adam's apple," he pointed it out on the dummy, "into the cricoid cartilage, and then insert your hollow needle or tube or ballpoint pen. If you're using a pen, obviously you'll want to remove the ink to make it, you know, hollow. Then once you've confirmed that you have reestablished an airway, you'll want to secure that hollow thing with tape if you can and get your patient to an ER or equivalent medical professional as quickly as possible.
"Now. Are there any questions?" Was anyone traumatized by the mental images? He was keeping an eye out for that.
"A tracheotomy, for those of you who are not familiar, is an incision made directly into the airway in the neck, into which a tracheostomy tube is going to be placed. In a hospital setting there are a lot of reasons this might be necessary. In an emergency it's usually going to be because of some kind of trauma that makes it impossible to maintain an open airway otherwise, because breathing is important for, you know, living. It might, in very rare instances, be necessary for someone who's choking, if all other efforts to dislodge the object have failed.
"All of this has been a little bit misleading, because you're more likely going to want to not do a tracheotomy at all, but a cricothyrotomy. You're going to need something sharp and some sort of thin hollow tube to keep the incision open once you've made it. The classic pop culture reference is a ballpoint pen, because, well, first off, it works, and second, in an absolute pinch it can also be your something sharp."
Just stab someone in the throat with a pen. It's all good.
"I should mention that absolutely none of this is best practice. That should be obvious, but...y'know. You're just trying to keep your patient alive until they can get to a hospital, and then they can fix both the initial problem and what you've done.
"Here's what you're going to do," Don said, moving to the first aid dummy and asking everyone to gather around. "You're going to feel for the larynx, or voice box, also known as the Adam's apple to those of us from worlds with a strong Judeochristian presence. You'll make a small incision just below the Adam's apple," he pointed it out on the dummy, "into the cricoid cartilage, and then insert your hollow needle or tube or ballpoint pen. If you're using a pen, obviously you'll want to remove the ink to make it, you know, hollow. Then once you've confirmed that you have reestablished an airway, you'll want to secure that hollow thing with tape if you can and get your patient to an ER or equivalent medical professional as quickly as possible.
"Now. Are there any questions?" Was anyone traumatized by the mental images? He was keeping an eye out for that.