Wednesday 5 November 2008

Another plastics referral...

"Hello...is that the Plastics Registrar on call ?"

Yes

"Hi...its Lucien at the Minor Injuries Unit...I have a chap with burns to his face and I would like to refer him to you please"

What sort of burns?

"Well...he has partial thickness burns to both lips and nostrils...and some blistering to his cheeks and forehead...umhh...his airway isn't compromised...and his eyes are okay...the burns happened sometime in the night..."

What caused the burns?

"Well...the patient reports that he was with some people...who may,or may not,have been friends...he was smoking a home-made roll-up cigarette...that he had got from someone at the party he was at...he doesn't know who it was...and that it apparently exploded in his face...umhh...but then he fell asleep and when he woke up this morning his face was burnt."

Was he drunk?

"Well...he doesn't know if he was drunk...but he thinks that he may have been drugged...I asked him at what point he thinks he may have been drugged and he says he thinks it was after he had finished the two bottles of vodka and 13 cans of XXXX lager...but he's not sure..."

Okay...are you really really sure that his airway isn't compromised? And that he can see okay ?

"Ja...he's breathing just fine...and his VA is perfect...and this happened about 15 hours ago...he has just got out of bed..."

Okay...pop on the usual dressings and send him over.
Thanks for the referral.
I think.

"Ja...thanks for taking him..."

Nurses-1, G.o.m.e.r.'s-ZERO

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