Um, “only” a veterinarian here, and if I had a dog or cat with a penetrating wound to the chest, you’d be sure as hell that the bare minimum that I’d do, diagnostic test wise, would be to get some radiographs. Even if you’re not thinking that a blade may have snapped off, you’d probably be a wee bit concerned about the state of the lungs, vessels around the heart, etc… Is there fluid (blood) starting to build up? Is there lung collapse or significant pneumothorax?
But again, just an animal Dr. and not one of these esteemed human Drs.
(who definitely did not do any sort of imaging, and treated this guy solely on presentation/obvious symptoms).
Also, if this guy can’t afford surgery, I can see how he may be wanting to wait until after he gets this situation corrected. If his only choice is to go back to this quacky hospital, I’d want to be on their best terms if I had to undergo general anesthesia and a chest surgery. Otherwise it’d be way too easy for him to have an anesthetic accident or unfortunately risky surgery.
Stabbed in the chest with no xray to make sure there was not a tear into the pleural cavity would be malpractice in any country with modern health care.
Which rules out the Philippines apparently, and parts of the USA for the uninsured.
Yeah, I should say, it’s not so obviously dangerous. Audiences recognize a gut shot as being complicated and dangerous, but a hit that avoids vital organs seems safe. And of course they always ignore the long-term disabilities that come with serious injuries because the writers just wanted a bit of temporary jeopardy that they could ignore a week or two later.
What really makes me crazy is how, in tv shows/movies, people get shot in the legs like it’s no big deal. Not so much main characters getting shot, but the protagonists shooting people in the legs as a “safe” way to take them down - and show their shooting prowess. They never show anyone bleeding out from being hit in an artery or being disabled for life because they got shot in the knee. It’s to the point now where Americans have begun to expect the police to stop suspects by “just” shooting them in the legs. (As if this was safe for suspects or bystanders.)
Yeah, and I suspect the victim had been stabbed quite a bit before being seen, too - so he was probably ambulatory and not displaying various symptoms that would indicate it hit something significant. An x-ray was likely a bit of a luxury they decided wasn’t worth it, based on his condition.
But I do occasionally read about people in the US who discover foreign objects inside their bodies due to x-rays taken after the injury healed, as no x-rays were taken at the time. (E.g. one guy thought he’d been hit by a brick, only to discover, years later, that he’d been shot because he had a bullet in him.)
I fully support your opinion, but do realize there can sometimes be outliers. When my back was broken (compression fracture of the L1 vertebrae to about 60% of its original height), the hospital failed to give me medical advice for follow-up care. I was back to working light construction and lifting heavy objects within a week, and only realized I needed physical therapy a few days after that when someone asked me how my PT was going.
And don’t get me started on the same hospital misdiagnosing my appendix 3 times over 2 years, until the 4th time I went somewhere else (across town on my own scooter) after 4 days of pain. Emergency surgery on the spot.
I assume it is too much to hope for them to be aware of punishment shootings (CW for the NSFL picture on the article) by the paramilitaries in Northern Ireland?
During the Troubles in Northern Ireland, paramilitaries considered themselves to be law enforcers in their own areas. They used limb punishment shootings to punish drug pushers and child molesters. If the crime was considered to be grave, the victim was also shot in the ankles and elbows, leaving them with six gunshot wounds (colloquially known as a six pack). Approximately 2,500 people were victims of these punishment shootings through the duration of the conflict.
It wasn’t just drug pushers and child molesters, LGBTQ people and peace activists were also targeted. It was mostly intimidation but there were enough examples that it worked at scaring people.
It’s not the knife that’s shitty, it’s just a thin kitchen knife, weapon of choice for street thugs the world over because they’re easy to shoplift or just swipe from their parents kitchen.
Of course, their structure makes it very likely that the blade can snap off easily, as in this case, plus it’s very easy for the knife to slip through the hand on impact, slicing the assailants hand open, and leaving their blood all over the crime scene.
Plus there’s the personal injury that can occur just through carrying a sharp, unprotected blade around in a pocket or tucked into a trouser waistband…
No, but I’ve spent many hours watching an awful lot of TV series involving forensic science! Plus, there’s a lot of common sense about (mis)-using a cheap kitchen knife and the possible consequences for the user. I’ve got a lot of knives of one sort or another, and some axes, from both a collection point of view, and using for carving, and I have learned the hard way how not to misuse a knife, it hurts, and the bleeding takes some stopping.
I could understand if the presentation was “I have no idea what happened. I was walking down the street, and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground with what appears to be a solely superficial wound…”. But a thoracic wound? Maybe this is why human malpractice insurance is so high…
Oh I do. It’s kind of a joke in the vet community (albeit one based in reality).
I’ve even seen shirts sold at professional conferences that say “Real doctors treat more than one species!”
(it’s a bit of good natured butthurtedness)
I’m guessing it isn’t, in the Philippines, anyways. The threat of lawsuits causes American doctors to do a lot more tests and prescribe more drugs than other countries, even in developed nations that don’t have, ah, relaxed attitudes about healthcare.
No, but I’ve spent many hours watching an awful lot of TV series involving forensic science! Plus, there’s a lot of common sense about (mis)-using a cheap kitchen knife and the possible consequences for the user. I’ve got a lot of knives of one sort or another, and some axes, from both a collection point of view, and using for carving, and I have learned the hard way how not to misuse a knife, it hurts, and the bleeding takes some stopping.