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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBlast injuries like those in Boston difficult to treat
Blast injuries, caused by the sort of explosions that occurred in Boston Monday, can be some of the most difficult and complex injuries to treat.
last injuries, caused by the sort of explosions that occurred in Boston Monday, can be some of the most difficult and complex injuries to treat.
The "blast wave" from the explosion acts like "an invisible wall of energy." Its tremendous energy can inflict massive internal injuries, says Mark Morocco, associate professor of emergency medicine, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
"Blast injury is one of the most challenging constellation of injuries," says John Chovanes, trauma surgeon at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J., and an Army reservist who has done three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has treated dozens of blast victims.
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/15/blast-injuries-like-those-in-boston-difficult-to-treat/2086249/?morestories=obinsite
ProgressiveProfessor
(22,144 posts)Google the white butterfly injuries for some interesting info
cali
(114,904 posts)a few of those in Boston area hospitals.
Honestly, if this had to happen anywhere, the docs and hospitals in Boston are the best in this country according to U.S. News and some of the best in the world. It's not just Mass General, but Beth Israel Deaconess, Brigham and Women's, etc.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/best-hospitals/articles/2012/07/16/which-cities-have-the-best-hospitals
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)Apparently this was a black powder or possibly a smokeless gunpowder type device. These propellants do not generate a shock wave like C4 or other high explosives.
According to the Mass Gen surgeons morning press conference the injuries appear to have been lower limbs shredded by shrapnel and bomb parts, with possibly some other material from the environment. For example, it may have been in a trash container, parts of which would have been propelled into the victims.
datasuspect
(26,591 posts)has been the contribution to trauma medicine as it concerns IEDs.