Medical question

[carsonshepherd]

What kind of dressing would a gunshot wound to the shoulder require after surgery? A splint, a brace, bandages? Would the arm be strapped to the body? If so, how would the patient put on clothes? How often would something like this have to be changed?

Info or links appreciated.

 

[The_Fool]

What kind of dressing would a gunshot wound to the shoulder require after surgery? A splint, a brace, bandages? Would the arm be strapped to the body? If so, how would the patient put on clothes? How often would something like this have to be changed?

Info or links appreciated.

More details required, even though I know nothing. What is the damage? Flesh wound that creases the shoulder? broken bones?

 

[Colleen Thomas]

What kind of dressing would a gunshot wound to the shoulder require after surgery? A splint, a brace, bandages? Would the arm be strapped to the body? If so, how would the patient put on clothes? How often would something like this have to be changed?

Info or links appreciated.

Depends not only on the location of the hit, but on the caliber of the gun used and on the range.

 

[The_Fool]

Depends not only on the location of the hit, but on the caliber of the gun used and on the range.

True....22 ball versus 12 gauge buckshot......That produced a shudder.

 

[carsonshepherd]

About fifteen feet away, single shot from a .40 semi-auto. Probably broken bones and flesh wound, wouldn't you think? (obviously I'm not a ballistics expert...)

 

[rgraham666]

It depends on where it hits and how much damage is done.

And are you talking a battlefield fixup or proper medical care?

Also the type of gun and ammo plays a big role.

So more specifics needed.

 

[carsonshepherd]

It would be taken care of in a hospital trauma unit.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

In general, after surgery, a brace or split would be required only if there had been damage to the humerous bone in the arm. The rest of the shoulder is soft tissue for the most part. You could end up with a broken clavical or the scapula couldld be damaged, but neither case generally requires immobilixation of the arm.

Damage to the soft tissue (rotator cuff, Ac joint, tirceps muscles, etc.) might require temporary immobilization of the whole arm.

Most likely you will have stitches or staples to close the incisions, entry & exit wound, compression bandages to hold on sanitary dressings which would protect them from snagging and infection.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Depends not only on the location of the hit, but on the caliber of the gun used and on the range.

*snuggles my little weapons expert*

 

[Wildcard Ky]

Bone damage is the biggest variable. If it's a clean "meat shot", no type of splinting or immobilization would be needed. The arm would probably be kept in a sling to keep from aggravating the soft tissue wounds, but it would still be moveable.

This is assuming that it's a single projectile wound, i.e. pistol bullet. If it's a shotgun wound, that's a whole different ball of wax.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

About fifteen feet away, single shot from a .40 semi-auto. Probably broken bones and flesh wound, wouldn't you think? (obviously I'm not a ballistics expert...)

A .40 cal at 15 feet? Probably going to go clean through. there would be a lot of trauma, from the sheer bullet weight, but most standard munition at that range are going to pass right though a shoulder without even defoming terribly. So I would fo with the soft tissue damage, i.e. sanitary dressings and a compression bandage to hold them on. There would probably be a sling, to keep pressure off the join, but I don't think it would be a serious immpbilization in that case.

 

[carsonshepherd]

A .40 cal at 15 feet? Probably going to go clean through. there would be a lot of trauma, from the sheer bullet weight, but most standard munition at that range are going to pass right though a shoulder without even defoming terribly. So I would fo with the soft tissue damage, i.e. sanitary dressings and a compression bandage to hold them on.

once again thank you! I'm gonna owe you royalties by the time I finish this! (Two more chapters to go, I think...)

 

[Colleen Thomas]

once again thank you! I'm gonna owe you royalties by the time I finish this! (Two more chapters to go, I think...)

Nice to occasionally have my useless knowledge do some good. I edited the response to add probably a sling, in case you didn't catch it

 

[carsonshepherd]

Nice to occasionally have my useless knowledge do some good. I edited the response to add probably a sling, in case you didn't catch it

Not useless!

 

[The_Fool]

And lots of pain medication and inflamation medicine cause it is going to swell like a mother...

 

[carsonshepherd]

And lots of pain medication and inflamation medicine cause it is going to swell like a mother...

any suggestions on a specific medication for inflammation?

 

[The_Fool]

any suggestions on a specific medication for inflammation?

I've seen motrin used. I'm sure there is better than that though.

 

[Wildcard Ky]

About fifteen feet away, single shot from a .40 semi-auto. Probably broken bones and flesh wound, wouldn't you think? (obviously I'm not a ballistics expert...)

Not meaning to sound know it all ish, but I am a ballistics expert. I work in R&D for a major gun company.

How technical do you want to get? A .40SW at 15 feet is going to do tremendous damage at 15 feet if it hits a bone. Modern bullets are designed to expand (hollow points) when they hit something. Pistol bullets are designed for maximum expansion in the medium of the human body. When they hit something as hard as a bone, they expand 2-3X diameter, and do tremendous damage.

The only kind of bullet that doesn't do that is a full metal jacket. They are specifically designed to not expand at all. They maintain their original shape, and basically punch a nice clean hole. However, they punch through bone quite easily.

If you're wanting this person to be somewhat mobile when it comes to using that arm, you probably need to specify that the bullet didn't hit a bone.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Not meaning to sound know it all ish, but I am a ballistics expert. I work in R&D for a major gun company.

How technical do you want to get? A .40SW at 15 feet is going to do tremendous damage at 15 feet if it hits a bone. Modern bullets are designed to expand (hollow points) when they hit something. Pistol bullets are designed for maximum expansion in the medium of the human body. When they hit something as hard as a bone, they expand 2-3X diameter, and do tremendous damage.

The only kind of bullet that doesn't do that is a full metal jacket. They are specifically designed to not expand at all. They maintain their original shape, and basically punch a nice clean hole. However, they punch through bone quite easily.

If you're wanting this person to be somewhat mobile when it comes to using that arm, you probably need to specify that the bullet didn't hit a bone.

I don't necessarily need him to be mobile. I just wanted to know what kind of damage a hit would do and what sort of care it would require afterwards. You don't sound knowitallish (new word, woohoo!), this is exactly what I needed to know. The wound is going to be pretty large and painful, with some immobilization of the arm then, lots of tissue damage and shattered bone, then?

 

[3113]

any suggestions on a specific medication for inflammation?

Not for inflammation...but I can give you some idea of what the shoulder injury is like. My father had a whole different kind of shoulder injury but assuming there might be some similarities--lots of swelling, including the hand--and it's annoying to the person who only has one hand to use even if they can still wiggle the fingers of the injured side and hold things in the hand--not being able to move the arm is a bitch. Hard to get on shirts, jacket, manipulate a seatbelt.

Even worse if it's the dominate hand (i.e., a right-hander losing the use of their right arm). Going to the bathroom, signing checks, eating, opening jars....you don't realize how much you use both hands till one is taken away. In fact, you might just want to make a faux sling and try moving around with one hand immobilized. See what it's really like.

Worst thing is getting comfortable and sleeping at might. Pain meds are not major unless there's surgery (then they might give you morphine), otherwise, it's Tylenol or strong asprin. They may give the person something to help them sleep.

 

[Wildcard Ky]

I don't necessarily need him to be mobile. I just wanted to know what kind of damage a hit would do and what sort of care it would require afterwards. You don't sound knowitallish (new word, woohoo!), this is exactly what I needed to know. The wound is going to be pretty large and painful, with some immobilization of the arm then, lots of tissue damage and shattered bone, then?

Yep. Very good chance that he'll never have proper use of the arm again. The bone will probably be demolished. .40's with modern hollow points are very nasty.

The ultra brief history of the .40 is that it was designed by law enforcement. Criminals/suspects weren't being put down at a consistent enough rate by the 9mm. There were a whole lot of people that took a hit from a 9mm, and were able to continue to fight the police. So the police wanted a round that someone wouldn't be able to get up from after being hit. Thus the .40 was born. It serves it's original purpose of a 1 shot knock down/out quite well.

 

[Guest]

I don't necessarily need him to be mobile. I just wanted to know what kind of damage a hit would do and what sort of care it would require afterwards. You don't sound knowitallish (new word, woohoo!), this is exactly what I needed to know. The wound is going to be pretty large and painful, with some immobilization of the arm then, lots of tissue damage and shattered bone, then?

Why don't you just take his arm clean off then? You're a cruel daddy to characters, mister.

just kidding.

A humerus break usually doesn't require anything more than a stabilizing stint and good sling to support. You also need a good dressing for your wound—although not binding due to the fractured bone. Ibuprofen for swelling and a painkiller like Vicodin.

 

[rgraham666]

Yep. Very good chance that he'll never have proper use of the arm again. The bone will probably be demolished. .40's with modern hollow points are very nasty.

Could be worse. Could be using Glazers™.

Do Glazers™ come in .40 cal?

 

[carsonshepherd]

Why don't you just take his arm clean off then? You're a cruel daddy to characters, mister.

just kidding.

A humerus break usually doesn't require anything more than a stabilizing stint and good sling to support. You also need a good dressing for your wound—although not binding due to the fractured bone. Ibuprofen for swelling and a painkiller like Vicodin.

I was thinking of you to ask, but you were not around so I had to go knocking on doors.

 

[Wildcard Ky]

Could be worse. Could be using Glazers™.

Do Glazers™ come in .40 cal?

Yes, you can get glazers in .40

Glazers are odd, they can cause tremendous damage to very soft tissue, but can be stopped quite easily. A very heavy coat, or a wallet can stop them. They're meant to be "safe" rounds to shoot inside of a house. They won't pass through walls and possibly hit someone in the next room. Ricochet is practically non existant as well.

Glazers will stop at bone, whereas regular lead/copper bullets will go through the bone.