At what level of trauma should surgery be chosen?

Risks are everywhere in life. Therefore, bumps and bruises are inevitable. Accidental injuries are even more common. Sometimes, surgery is even needed. So, the question is: Under what circumstances, do you need to choose surgery as soon as possible?

Talking about this topic, let me start with a trauma case a few days ago:

This patient fell down while riding an electric scooter. At the time, she was speeding at a speed of several dozen kilometers per hour. She couldn't remember the exact speed. Anyway, she thought she was the fastest in the world. When she wasn't paying attention, her front wheel was bounced up by a stone on the road. In just a moment, she lost control of the vehicle.

When she woke up, she had already been carried to the roadside by kind people.

Seeing so many people surrounding her, she ignored the pain, staggered to pick up the electric bike and walked away. At that time, she thought: This time I am embarrassed.

She was a very face-conscious person, so this minor injury could not stop her from doing so.

As she continued riding her bike, she felt a burning pain on her palms. She flipped open her gloves and was shocked: two large holes were clearly visible on the bloody gloves. The blood that was still flowing out reminded her that the blood was still flowing. At this point, she also felt that it was necessary to deal with it first. So, she went to a nearby clinic for a simple bandage. After that, she went home.

However, half a month later, her palm was still painful. Although the skin had healed slightly, it was still red. She had no choice but to go to the hospital for a check-up.

After the doctor saw the patient, he initially determined that there must be foreign matter such as stones or broken glass inside. Otherwise, it would not have taken more than ten days to heal. However, some small stones or glass are difficult to detect on the film. In this case, the only option is surgical exploration and debridement.

During the operation, the doctor found the culprit - broken glass - deep in the tissue.

After removing the glass fragments, the doctor complained that she was self-righteous and should have gone to a regular medical institution for treatment in time. In this case, it was just a foreign body left behind. If an infection or tetanus occurred, it would be too late to regret.

Afterwards, we also briefly taught her some common sense about dealing with trauma.

Regarding whether to have surgery, we also recommend that you all understand the following:

First of all, we need to clarify a concept: trauma is not just a flesh wound. Many traumas can cause high-risk conditions such as fractures and organ ruptures.

Secondly, do not diagnose yourself. If it is just a minor collision such as a scratch, you can go home and observe. If there is bleeding or even loss of consciousness during the process, you must go to the hospital for a check-up. For example, some hidden organ ruptures have no symptoms at the time. After a certain period of time, when too much blood has been lost or symptoms such as peritonitis occur, people will feel uncomfortable.

As anesthesiologists who are the main force in operating room rescue all year round, we have seen too many regrettable delayed treatments. Therefore, we strongly recommend that professionals do professional things and never compromise on your own health. You must see a professional doctor!