The dress code for Resus is:Â naked…frilly pink panties optional.
Part of our process for managing multi-trauma patients is to fully expose them so we can assess the full extent of their injuries and obtain unimpeded respiratory and circulatory access.
But before we get to the fascia….we gotta cut through the fashion.
If we can’t take it off the usual way in seconds, out come the scissors.
Denim, silk, leather, even rubber. Kmart, to Christian Dior, it’s all gotta go.
Up one side, around the crotch ( careful now, we don’t want to find a penis in the patient clothing bag ), up the arms, across the traps to the neck and peel back like a banana.
But even using our trauma scissors it can be hard going.
During winter, the elderly often present encapsulated in a veritable archeological strata of thermal layers.
Undergarments, slips, corsets, thermal underwear, cleats and clips, tracksuit, trousers, jumpers…it can feel like trying to get access to Tutankhamun.
Motorcycle leathers can be particularly difficult.
Did i tell you about the time we cut the leathers off a particularly mean looking bikie, to find him wearing a pair of pink frilly women’s panties?
Now, what I would really like is one of these S-Cut tools. You might say say are the cutting edge in, um …cutting edge.
These things are not cheap, but they seem to slice through clothing like a light saber through meringue ( check out the video below to see one in action).
According to their website:
S-CUT replaces scissors, knifes and similar tools. Ordinary fabrics as well as leather belts, zippers and heavy outerwear can be easily cut. All you need is a free edge of the clothes where you can start the cut. S-CUT is designed for optimal ergonomics and provides an excellent grip. Using scissors in heavy materials will most often require a lot of effort. The S-CUT is used with a pulling action requiring minimal effort.
It’s like, bzzzzzip, bzzzzzzip, bozzwit………naked.
Forget the trauma patients, I think I could not resist using it on everyone.
And besides, they look so hard-core. And they come in a pouch you can wear on your belt.
Yes please.
“OK sir, what you seem to have there, is a lacerated finger.â€Â Bzzzzip, bzzzzzip, bozzwit. “The doctor will see you shortly.â€
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I’m in a medieval re-enactment society, and I’ve had occasion to evac injured people encased head to foot in full plate armour. My trauma kit includes bolt cutters! I always go with an injured fighter, if only to demonstrate how to remove his armour in a safe fashion. All that plate is held together with leather strapping, and showing where it connects saves loads of time. I’d be interested to see how well this thing does to get through 5mm leather.
I have used S-CUT in ambulance service since 2006. All kind of clothes and straps I have cut successful. It has also been used in military situations and managed to cut through safety vests, such as Black hawk vest. Only thing you have do is to rotate the cutting blade to make sure the blade is sharp, because the blade does not rotate when cutting. An motorcycle suit is cut open in 16 sec, by paramedic in Sweden. See You tube “S-CUT Emergency” Karin Nilsson 16 sec.
Björn
I actually was most impressed that the nurses wear white. I can’t recall the last time I saw that – a goo 20 years or more ago.
Looks like a rotary cutter, used by quilters to cut fabric squares, with a bottom edge for it to press on. Brilliant! That WOULD be handy in the ER! Maybe you’ll get one in your Easter basket!
-RNmon
OMG! I soooo want one of these! I just wish I had thought of it!
I want one….or more! Not for work but for the home! Imagine how fast that’d cut open bags, frozens and other things
and if you call within the next 10 minutes you’ll receive the mini S cut free!
You’re forgetting the worst type of winter clothing, a problem you likely don’t have down under: down filled jackets. Just imagine trying to intubate or get an IV on a patient when all you can see is feathers flying everywhere. Generally the rule is no matter how sick the patient, no matter how unstable the spine, you try anything to get the coat off without cutting it!