Author Question: Details for Chest Tube Placement

March 25, 2019March 17, 2019 / Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

Rachael Asks:

I’m sure you get questions on this all the time, but I was wondering what insight you can provide on traumatic wounds. My project is science fiction and the characters in question have enhanced healing and a sped up metabolism which I’ve just been using as my cure-all, smooth-over for any inaccuracies thus far. But then I found your blog- which has been incredibly fascinating and entertaining.

The first question I had which led me here was in general for a gunshot wound to the chest though not involving the heart. Namely, the various potential complications, the meds, supplies, or procedures that may be employed, and the sorts of phrases and terminology and reactions that may be overheard from the staff working on the patient. I’ve read on the risks of things like a sucking chest wound and consequential lung collapse, punctured lung, of course blood loss, but I still am at a loss for particularly the things the medical staff on hand would be saying or doing. (Bonus points if you have any tips for the internal monologue for the victim besides “ow.”)

Jordyn Says:

Hi Racheal! Thanks for sending me our question.

Your question is hard to answer. You don’t give specifics of the injury though it looks like you’re leaning toward a collapsed lung. There are a couple of ways you can research the feel of an emergency and that is by watching reality based (non scripted) shows that center on emergency medicine or look for teaching videos (or live videos where they capture the procedure on a real patient on You Tube).

For instance, a patient with a collapsed lung will likely need a chest tube placement. You can search You Tube for “placement of a chest tube” and see what comes up. The below video is pretty good as it gives lots of technical detail on what the physician is doing, seeing, feeling, and even what medicines might be prescribed for the patient. However, it does lack a lot of language of what would be said to the patient during the procedure.

The next video shows more patient interaction and what might be said. Between these two videos you could probably extrapolate together a scene. I will say that typically patients are connected to a larger suction device, but what the below physician is connecting to looks to be a more portable device so the patient can be up and walking. Also, a patient with a tension pneumothorax who is crashing may not receive local anesthesia and may even be unconscious.

Your best option, once the scene is written, is have a medical person who actively is practicing in the field review it. If your scene is written from the POV of the doctor placing the tube, it would need to be more technical versus if you’re writing it from the POV of the patient. You can also search Google for patient experiences of having a chest tube placed to get a feel for the inner dialogue you’re looking for.

Hope this helps and good luck with your story!

Author Question: Scythe Wound to the Chest (1/2)

March 19, 2018March 14, 2018 / Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

Sue Asks:

The year is 2006 and a seventeen-year-old male gets stabbed through the right side of his chest all the way through to the back, but the blade (a hand scythe) that could potentially stop him from bleeding out gets removed. Naturally, he starts bleeding out.

I already know a lot about what goes into stabilizing him: Checking the ABCs, IVs for blood and fluid replacement, intubation (an endotracheal tube), but my question is, what is the exact treatment for this type of injury in a surgical theatre? What are the indications that he may need a thoracotomy or a lobectomy? Or is it as simple as a chest tube to treat the hemopneumothorax, connecting him to a ventilator, and then suturing the lacerations in his lung?

Jordyn Says:

Thanks so much for sending me your question, Sue. Very intriguing scenario you have here!

Let’s first clarify some of these medical terms for readers. A thoracotomy is a surgery that involves removing the lung. Lobectomy can be removal of any lobe of organs such as your thyroid, liver, or lung. In this case, you’re referring to the lung. A hemopneumothorax is a collection of blood and air inside the chest wall that is usually relieved by placement of a chest tube. Pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air in the chest between the lung and the chest wall– also typically relieved by placement of a chest tube (though some very small ones may just be watched).

I asked a physician friend (thanks, Liz!) her thoughts on your questions.

She says the following:

Since the patient is unstable, he needs a thoracotomy by default. Other indications for surgery would be blood draining from the chest tube at greater than 100 milliliters per hour. The lungs cannot be sutured. Generally, bleeding vessels are either tied off or cauterized and the bronchi (the larger breathing tubes) are repaired. If the lobe is severely damaged then it does get removed.

Author Question: Bullet Wound to the Chest

February 22, 2017February 20, 2017 / Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

Gwyn Asks:

I’m writing a scene in which a cop is injured during a confrontation with a suspect. I’d like to tell you about the scenario I have in mind and hopefully you can tell me how realistic it is.

ammunition-2004236_1920 Cop, mid-thirties, in excellent health and physical condition is shot with a low caliber bullet from about 10 feet away. The bullet hits his chest, goes through the lung and exits out the back. He’s got colleagues nearby who administer basic first aid and the EMTs get there within 5 minutes. Say about 15 minute drive to the hospital. They radioed ahead so the hospital is expecting them and has an OR ready.

First of all, what are the chances of survival?. Second of all, assuming survival, what are the chances (best case scenario) of full recovery – to the point he can return to active duty. How long would the recovery time be, how soon would he get out of the hospital, and what complications — pneumonia, blood clots, etc should the doctors be worried about?

Finally, if a full recovery is highly unlikely, are there little changes I can make to the scenario to make it more likely?

Jordyn Says:

Hi, Gwyn! Thanks so much for sending me your question.

In short, this is a survivable injury.

You don’t specify in your question whether this police officer is shot in the right or left chest. Right chest would probably be preferred as there are less vital structures on the right side of the chest then the left.

You give your victim immediate first aid and EMS responds quickly. Keep in mind that you’re going to need a paramedic to respond to give more advanced field procedures. A basic EMT is limited in what they can do— CPR, wound dressings, assisting the patient with some of their own medication administration. Depending on the state, some EMTs can start IVs, so if your novel is set in a specific location then I would research this for that area. Assuming he has a paramedic respond then he’ll get an IV, IV fluids, oxygen, and possibly pain medications. Of course, a set of vital signs and cardiac monitoring.

In an urban setting, a drive time of fifteen minutes to the hospital seems a little long. If a rural setting then you’re probably fine but you might need to adjust there as needed.

A bullet passing through the chest is likely going to puncture and deflate the lung. This character will need a chest tube to get the air out of his chest and reinflate the lung. A chest tube can be placed in the ER. This patient would get a CT scan of his chest. If the medical team isn’t worried about any other injuries than this patient may not even need to go to the OR.

A patient with a chest tube will need to be admitted into the hospital. How long it takes the lung to reinflate depends on the size of the pneumothorax or the degree to which the lung has collapsed. Generally, a patient’s chest tube is connected to a drainage box that uses suction to help the lung reinflate. Patients with this type of injury will get daily (or every other day) chest x-rays to see how the lung is expanding. After the lung is fully expanded, the suction is stopped, but the box remains in place. This is generally referred to as placing the chest tube to water seal.

If the lung stays expanded to water seal for one to two days then the medical team would feel good about removing the chest tube. Then the patient would be observed for another one to two days to make sure the lung stayed reexpanded.

Pending any complications, you’re looking at a hospitalization of 4-7 days. Pneumonia is probably your more likely complication. Having a tube in your chest hurts. Because of this, patients don’t want to take deep breaths. This can lead to the smaller air sacs in the lung staying collapsed and trapping bacteria which could lead to pneumonia.

If you add a complication like pneumonia, then you’re easily adding another one to two weeks that he’s out of commission.

If you just stick with a “simple” collapsed lung I would say he’d be out of work for about two weeks. He won’t be physically 100% of what he was before the injury but he should feel back to his physical baseline in about a month.

I would say he can work, but he’s going to have some physical limitations. It would be up to his department what his physical capacity needs to be before he can return to work. Half days at a desk job is not unreasonable for a few weeks.

He’d likely become short of breath during any exertional activity (like running after a bad guy). However, considering his physical shape, he should bounce back fairly quickly.

A nice overview can be found here.

Hope this helps and good luck with your novel!