Old Sew and Sew
I was watching a television program where two veterinarians were doing an operation and were sewing up the incision when they were finished. One vet asked the other whether she remembered the first time she did surgery. Her answer was, “Yes, and I felt so nervous and shaky.”
I tried to think of the first time I ever had to suture a laceration shut when I was a Corpsman in the United States Navy and I couldn’t. I had no recollection of the injury or the wound that needed closure. I do know that it was one aspect that I enjoyed doing and one thing that I was unable to do as a nurse. Each laceration was a challenge. Each wound required me to think of the best way to handle it and sew it closed.
Was it a deep wound that required several layers of suturing? Was there any skin or muscle missing? What was the age of the person? Did the wound need extensive cleaning? Were there any skin tabs that needed to be trimmed to make a smooth closure? What kind of suture material did I need? Would I need help?
In the emergency department at the Naval Training Center in Orlando, Florida there was always a physician on duty who often checked the wound before the repair and after to insure that proper procedure was followed and the wound was closed correctly. The only time the physician was required to do the repair was when it was on the face or hand of a woman for cosmetic reasons.
Often physicians would use a “papoose board” to restrain youngsters while they sutured them. It was a flat board with adjustable straps to keep the child from moving during the procedure. Many times I was able to talk and explain what was going to happen and didn’t have to fasten the kid down. I enjoyed that.
One case I remember that was too severe and I was not comfortable to handle was a long deep cut. A Man tried to jump over a hurricane fence and made a deep gash in his forearm. I didn’t want to tackle it. I asked the emergency room doctor to have a look at it. He smugly said, “Finally found one you couldn’t handle?”
When I lifted the bandage, he said, “Put a moist dressing on it and call the surgeon on call.”