CNN reporter/pilot Miles O'Brien

Matthew

Matthew

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Matthew
The article states that his left arm has been amputated above the elbow, I strongly doubt he will be capable of holding on to his medical. While reading the article I find it remarkable that a simple event such as a case falling on his arm related to his work caused all this. I wish he can recover from this and get back to the sky. We as human beings are extremely fragile.
 
inactive15 said:
The article states that his left arm has been amputated above the elbow, I strongly doubt he will be capable of holding on to his medical. While reading the article I find it remarkable that a simple event such as a case falling on his arm related to his work caused all this. I wish he can recover from this and get back to the sky. We as human beings are extremely fragile.
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I'm a triple amputee and hold a current 3rd class and SODA. Jessica Cox doesnt have any arms. It can be done guys.
 
Not much detail in the article, but I guess they "attempted" a fasciotomy and for whatever reason as it was being conducted they felt the need to amputate ... maybe waited too long. Seems they'd have an arterial doppler, plethsymography et al work up just prior to surgery.
 
bnt83 said:
I'm a triple amputee and hold a current 3rd class and SODA. Jessica Cox doesnt have any arms. It can be done guys.
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I presume you've read the story of Bader in WW2 as well...double leg amputee, still kicked ass against the Luftwaffe.
 
danhagan said:
Not much detail in the article, but I guess they "attempted" a fasciotomy and for whatever reason as it was being conducted they felt the need to amputate ... maybe waited too long. Seems they'd have an arterial doppler, plethsymography et al work up just prior to surgery.
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Thst's all over my head. To me it's one of those weird, "How in the world do you lose a limb that way?" things.
 
danhagan said:
Not much detail in the article, but I guess they "attempted" a fasciotomy and for whatever reason as it was being conducted they felt the need to amputate ... maybe waited too long. Seems they'd have an arterial doppler, plethsymography et al work up just prior to surgery.
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Don't know the medical yackety yack, but Miles says that while in surgery he had a blood pressure drop and the docs were faced with lose the arm or lose the patient.
 
Ken Ibold said:
Don't know the medical yackety yack, but Miles says that while in surgery he had a blood pressure drop and the docs were faced with lose the arm or lose the patient.
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Not saying it couldn't happen in the U.S ... but I *think* I'd like my surgeon to put 2 units of O+ on board before deciding to cut my arm off (I also hope there's a vascular surgeon in the room). If said surgeon had a bleeding mishap that exceeded that option as well ... well then I guess my new nickname would be "Lefty".

Edit: The fasciotomy is a simple procedure to release swelling from a excessive swelling/compartment syndrome situation (usually a few long incisions and they're left open).
 
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A fasciotomy is generally done to relieve pressures within the compartments in a limb. If the muscles and other structures are deprived of their blood supply, they die. If there's enough dead tissue then the limb might be judged to be non-functional.

Bigger question is why he might have needed a fasciotomy in the first place. Still, a traumatic event, and best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.
 
AcroBoy said:
A fasciotomy is generally done to relieve pressures within the compartments in a limb. If the muscles and other structures are deprived of their blood supply, they die. If there's enough dead tissue then the limb might be judged to be non-functional.

Bigger question is why he might have needed a fasciotomy in the first place. Still, a traumatic event, and best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.
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To live. In both cases.
I had finished my last shoot after a long reporting trip to Japan and the Philippines and was stacking the Pelican cases brimming with TV gear onto my cart. As I tried to bungee cord them into some semblance of security for movement, one of the cases toppled onto my left forearm. Ouch! It hurt, but I wasn’t all “911” about it. It was painful and swollen but I figured it would be okay without any medical intervention. Maybe a little bit of denial?

The next day, February 13, things seemed status quo. It was sore and swollen but seemingly no worse. Then, that night, things got worse. Both the pain and swelling increased.

So on the morning of February 14, I asked the hotel for a referral to a doctor and went to see him right away. While my concern was already growing, the look on his face when he saw my forearm got me a little more nervous.

The doctor told me he suspected that I might be having an Acute Compartment Syndrome. I had to Wiki it, but in essence it is an increase in pressure inside an enclosed space in the body. This can block blood flow causing a whole host of serious, life-threatening consequences.

http://milesobrien.com/
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Generally it takes a significant crush injury to cause a compartment syndrome unless perhaps he had some underlying issues. The other item in the differential might have been a necrotizing fasciitis.

Still my sympathies.
 
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