she was sedated for removal of CYSTS??? with what, gas??? most cysts are excised not burned off...
this smells
Posted on 12/02/2011 5:51:26 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
Thank you. We are blessed.
That is just amazing and I hope the burn unit has access to this technology for this patient.
she was sedated for removal of CYSTS??? with what, gas??? most cysts are excised not burned off...
this smells
Another website had people arguing about what proof of alcohol would burn. Some claimed that 40 proof would sustain a fire, while others said that their 80 proof vodka wouldn't but 100 proof would. Considering that a blood alcohol level of 0.1% is legally drunk, and that converts to 0.2 proof, I doubt she caught on fire from drinking alcohol unless she had just drowned at the local distiller.
Someone had the oxygen mask turned up a bit much, me thinks.
Hubby & I are having a WTF moment here. I have a tendency to develop cysts in my scalp. Good grief!
I had on cyst removed several years ago in the doctors office. Novocaine, laser and a couple of stitches and I was out the door.
Whenever I make beef with red wine, I flambe the meat with cognac at one point.
The cognac is 80 proof. It is gently warmed first to release fumes that are lit with a match. The cognac itself doesn’t burn, and carefully I pour the flaming cognac over the beef in a wide pan. I cover it with a flame-proof lid to smother the flames.
So yes, 80 proof can catch fire, but it is the fumes that burn, not the liquid.
Burning them off may cause less scarring and pitting than cutting them out. These were on her face, not her back, so this probably was a factor.
A brief story an OBGyn friend of mine told me. When he was in residency at John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, Texas he was working the clinic. An 18 year old young woman, Mexican, (did not speak English) came in with condyloma accuminata (Venereal Warts). As this was his first year of training, the old nurse, who had done this for many, many years, told him....what the doctor ususally does is burn off the small ones. As he had been graduated for about a month, he said, "Yes, yes, of course,...that is what we need to do", not having a clue what he was doing. So, they put her in stirrups, had a translator roughtly explain what was being done. Charlie (the first year OBGyn friend) injected the area locally with lidocain, then wiped the perineum with alcohol, and fired up the electrocautery....and achieved ignition....he set her pubic hair on fire....with a poof. The poor patient came out of the stirrups and ran down the hall and thru the double swinging doors, and to hear Charles tell it, she was never seen again, except for that little contrail following her through the doors. Now, I am sure he, being the great story teller that he is, told the story 'close' to what actually happened, with a little artistic license. But he did have us all howling.
This patient, referenced in this article, has a problem, which she will probably get over. It has been, in the field of surgery, that 'fire hazards' of many sorts have existed, many from the advent of the early anesthetics used in the OR. There have been fires reported from gas escaping from the colon during a colon resection. Lighting farts, have been a long cherished tradition amongst teenagers, but to ignite colonic gas during surgery has been serious in the past.
“IBJ (In Before Jokes)”
Actually, the fire/face situation wasn’t so bad until somebody tried to beat it out with a bag of nails.
OK. Now cue the “Ladies On High Horses Condemning Jokers to Hell”
oh, wait. that's me.
There is sterile saline solution on the operating field and we’re taught to use it to put the fire out. It’s the most readily available thing. We don’t keep extinguishers in the OR room itself.
Typically, you aren’t talking about a large fire, so getting the fire out isn’t as important as getting it out quickly. By the time you grabbed the extinguisher and pulled the pin the patient would be burned. Whereas, the saline could be used a faction of a second after the fire is noticed, plus the water would cool the skin and hopefully minimize any burns.
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