Tag Archives: video

By Request: Submental Intubation – The Video!

In my last post, I dusted off an old post that described a novel technique for providing a secure yet short-term airway tailored to patients who can’t have a tube in their mouth or nose. Patients undergoing multiple facial fracture repair are probably the best candidates for this procedure.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a video is even better. Please note that it is explicit and shows the blow by blow surgical procedure. Of note, it is a quick and relatively simple advanced airway technique. Note the cool music!

YouTube player

Related post:

Video: Minimally Invasive Repair Of Rectal Injuries

Extraperitoneal rectal injury repair has evolved considerably over the past 40 years. Way back when, this injury automatically triggered exploration, diverting colostomy with washout of the distal colon, and presacral drain insertion (remember those?).

We eventually backed off on the presacral drains (pun intended), which didn’t make a lot of sense anyway. And we gave up on dissecting down deep into the pelvis to approach the injury. This only served to contaminate an otherwise pristine peritoneal cavity. Ditto for the distal rectal washout. So we have been performing a diverting colostomy as the primary method of treatment for years.

A Brief Report in the British Medical Journal Open shows us what may very well be the next stage in treating these injuries. Whereas they were previously left to heal on their own followed by colostomy closure after a few months, these authors from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto are promoting a minimally invasive approach to definitive management.

They detail two cases, one an impalement by a steel rod through the rectum and bladder, and one stab to the buttock. The authors dealt with the non-rectal injuries using conventional techniques. The rectal injuries were repaired using trans-anal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS). Both were discharged without complications.

Here is a link to the video of the technique used in the stab victim:

Click here for video

Bottom line: It’s about time! As long as there is not a destructive injury to the extraperitoneal rectum, this seems like a great technique to try. It may very well eliminate the need for a diverting colostomy.

But remember, this is only a case report. We don’t know about antibiotic duration, followup imaging, longer term complications, or anything really. A larger series of cases is warranted to provide these answers. This will take some time due to the low frequency of this injury. So if you try it, build your own series and publish it so we all can learn!

Reference: Minimally invasive approach to low-velocity penetrating  extraperitoneal rectal trauma. BMJ Open 5(1) epub 5/12/2020.

Video: Keeping Up With Your Literature

Every trauma professional at any level of training and expertise knows that it’s so important to keep up with new developments in your field. To that end, I created a video five years ago that described a super-efficient 5-step system for staying abreast.

Well, time passes and technology changes. So I’ve updated this classic with new recommendations and some refinements to the technique. I hope you enjoy! And please leave comments and recommendations on YouTube!

YouTube player

Video: The Most Educational Trauma Surgeon In The World

Several readers asked me to dust off this video yet again. Enjoy this parody of the Dos Equis “Most Important Man In The World” commercials. I love poking fun at myself, and the slow motion shot on the helipad is hysterical.

This video was part of the Trauma Education: The Next Generation conference produced several years ago. Enjoy, and please comment or give it a thumbs up on YouTube!

Michael

YouTube player

2 Ways To Perform A Pericardial Window For Trauma: Part 1 with Video!

In this two-part post, I’ll describe two ways to perform a pericardial window for trauma. The pericardial window should be considered in any trauma patient who has one of the following:

  • A suspected diagnosis of pericardial tamponade. These patients do not yet have classic signs and symptoms. If they did, a thoracotomy or sternotomy is in order, not a window.  But they do have a mechanism that could produce bleeding into the pericardial sac, and a positive imaging study. Typically, this study is a FAST exam of the heart. Occasionally, pericardial fluid may be seen on chest CT. This is uncommon but significant when detected.
  • An injury in proximity to the heart that is of concern for cardiac injury with a negative or indeterminant FAST. These are typically penetrating injuries so close to the heart that it’s hard to believe it wasn’t injured. If the FAST is not helpful, a window will make the definitive diagnosis.

Pericardial window is a very invasive procedure. For trauma, it is usually performed in the operating room and requires general anesthesia. It could be performed in the ED if the patient is already intubated and sedated.

There are two ways to perform this procedure. Today, I’ll discuss the old-timey subxiphoid approach.  The equipment required is minimal:

  • Scalpel
  • Tissue (Metzenbaum) scissors
  • Once or two toothed forceps
  • Your finger
  • Good lighting

A 4-8 cm incision is made extending from the top of the xiphoid, extending about 4 cm down onto the abdominal midline. Enter the retrosternal space with your finger, and head to the heart. Usually, some fatty tissue must be bluntly dissected out of the way. Note: the heart is frequently further away than you think!

Sweep the fat out of the way, exposing the pericardium. Grasp the pericardium with the toothed forceps and tent it away from the heart. Use the Metzenbaum scissors to incise the pericardium immediately adjacent to the forceps. If this is difficult, then have an assistant grasp the pericardium with another pair so a short line of pericardium is elevated. (Note: sometimes having a second set of forceps in the incision makes it too difficult to see, which is why I prefer the single forceps technique).

Make sure that the wound is bloodless when you incise the pericardium! There is always at least a small amount of pericardial fluid that will squirt out, and you are looking at its color. If it is anything but amber, you have a positive result. If you have a bloody field that contaminates the fluid, a false positive diagnosis could occur leading to an unnecessary thoracotomy.

If the window is positive, cover the wound and head immediately to the OR if your’re not already there. Your patient has a cardiac injury until proven otherwise. If negative, then close the skin wound with your sutures / staples of choice. Do not attempt to close the tiny pericardial hole!

Here’s a video that shows the basic technique. The procedure depicted is being performed for non-trauma, so the operator takes his time. He has the luxury of dissecting and exposing the field well. But in trauma, we don’t usually have time to resect the xiphoid or take 10 minutes to dissect out the field.

YouTube player

In my next post, I’ll discuss the technique that is used if you already find yourself in the abdomen when a cardiac injury is suspected.