Brave Doc
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@Axtremus you have to understand that the skull is basically a closed box and there is no place for tissue to expand if there is a mass such as a tumor, swelling due to an undetermined cause, or bleeding.
Something has to move, and the only place it can go is through the hole at the base of the skull called the for Raymond Magnum. When the base of the brain "herniate" through the base of the skull through the Foremen Magnum (which literally means "big hole."), the centers which control breathing heart rate, and even consciousness have their blood supply compromised.
Therefore, in acute situations with brain bleeding, it is important to remove any cause of brain swelling that can compromise neural tissue.
In this particular case, the optimal treatment would be to take the patient to the operating room make a hole in her skull, and drain the bleeding through that skull. However, in this case, there was no neurosurgeon available and so the emergency room doctor took advantage of the only tools he had to gain access to the hematoma.
The IO 10 needle is used to administer fluid fluids through an intraosseous route. That means, if you can't get an IV started somewhere, you insert a large needle into the bone marrow, usually in the front of the shin bone, the tibia. You can then administer fluids through that in a hurry to resuscitate someone.
In this case, the ER doc use the IO needle to the blood drain out from the hematoma, decompressing the brain. He had the assistance of a neurosurgeon via telephone to guide him where to place the needle.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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“Little by little I am learning the art of being quite content by doing very little slowly” ~ Lionel Hardcastle
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Link to videoIsn’t that the procedure what Stephen Maturin, the Ship’s Surgeon in Master and Commander: The Far Side of World performed on one sailor on deck of the ship?
Not quite, but it's the same idea -decompress the brain.
This technique goes back a long way.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trepanning
What's fascinating, to me, at least, is that this ER doc who does not have the training and skills to do a "proper" burr hole was able to get a good result with just the stuff he had at hand.
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The balls is also knowing where to puncture. I guess they sent a pic of the scan but still, u r basically blind, and what if u go in and brains start spilling out instead of blood. That would be messy.
