February 15th, 2010 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, True Stories
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Prior to departing for my assignment in Haiti for International Medical Corps, I didn’t have much time to pack, so wasn’t able to bring everything I might need. However, I was able to carry a few items that proved quite useful. First and foremost was a new EMS-type trauma shears. Scott Forman, MD of Adroit Innovation, LLC has created a very functional titanium shears in which one finger loop has been replaced by a carabiner, so the shears can easily hang from a belt or other loop. I used them all the time to cut tape, change dressings, slice through wire, and other assorted tasks. I just purchased one for each member of the Stanford team. Read more »
This post, A First Responder’s Top 4 Items Of Medical Equipment: Lessons From Haiti, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
February 14th, 2010 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Better Health Network, News, Opinion
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While the news reports that Representative John Murtha of Pennsylvania died after complications from gallbladder surgery, the question no one is asking is whether his death was a preventable one or simply an unfortunate outcome. According to the Washington Post, Murtha had elective laproscopic gallbladder surgery performed at the Bethesda Naval Hospital and fell ill shortly afterwards from an infection related to his surgery.
He was hospitalized to Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Virginia, to treat the post-operative infection. His care was being monitored in the intensive care unit (ICU), a sign which suggests that not only was the infection becoming widespread but also that vital organ systems were shutting down. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
February 12th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Humor
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So I’m working on my history and physical examination and I ask my 87 year old retired vet what types of surgeries he’s had done.
“I’ve had every surgery in the book”, he says
So I asked him, “Have you had a sex change operation?”
“Well, no. I guess I haven’t had everything done.”
After a good group laugh, I went off to eat lunch.
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist Blog*
January 30th, 2010 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Better Health Network, True Stories
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We found out today that we are going to ship out tomorrow. My feelings are certainly mixed. There is an incredible amount of work to be done here – we have only contributed to the first wave of what is necessary. This may sound strange, but I cannot remember the details of much of what we did the first three days, when we were functioning on hyperdrive in a battlefield setting. My recollections become detailed after the third day, when we were able to see only four or five patients at a time, and we stopped triaging amputees to the operating room.
Now the hospital has been substantially augmented. Teams of foreign (to Haiti) surgeons have left to go home, because the operations to be performed now are largely orthopedic and plastic surgery, as well as specialty cases. Sadly, there are scores of patients with spinal fractures who are paralyzed, and little can be done for them this far out from the initial injury. Children continue to break our hearts. I had a small child who is a triple amputee offer me his cracker with his remaining hand. One can only pray that the memories he carries of this tragedy are erased swiftly, that he is assisted in his rehabilitation, and that his life improves. All of these will, of course, be hard to achieve. Read more »
This post, Leaving Haiti: Small Child – A Triple Amputee – Offers MD A Cracker With His Remaining Hand, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
January 28th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements
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My friends at the American College of Surgeons’ Operation Giving Back have come up with a really smart strategy to collect as much information as possible about surgical cases in Haiti. Thanks to a new data collecting tool, every surgeon who volunteers in Haiti can contribute to this case log. The potential result will be one of the most comprehensive registers of surgical care in a disaster situation. Depending on what we find, I think that this data could make a big difference in preparing surgical responses for future missions.
This is an example of crowd-sourcing at its best.
Here is a summary statement from ACS: Read more »
Prior to departing for my assignment in Haiti for International Medical Corps, I didn’t have much time to pack, so wasn’t able to bring everything I might need. However, I was able to carry a few items that proved quite useful. First and foremost was a new EMS-type trauma shears. Scott Forman, MD of Adroit Innovation, LLC has created a very functional titanium shears in which one finger loop has been replaced by a carabiner, so the shears can easily hang from a belt or other loop. I used them all the time to cut tape, change dressings, slice through wire, and other assorted tasks. I just purchased one for each member of the Stanford team. Read more »
