Is it advisable to leave an object the way it is in a stab wound or to remove it immediately?
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Is it advisable to leave an object the way it is in a stab wound or to remove it immediately?
Basic principles of first aid.- “Never remove anything from a wound”. That object, in place, may be preventing major leakage from a cut vessel. Leave such removal to medical professionals. In cases of accidents where the victim is impaled by a fence or perhaps car parts.. Paramedics normally just cut away the structure and transport the victim to the hospital with the thing still in place.
As an EMT we are trained to stabilize the impaled object and transport. The object could very easily be applying pressure on arteries or veins, preventing them from bleeding out from the cuts. Body tissues are rigid, they will reform around the wound, so even if you are 100% perfect in keeping the knife along the initial entry path you’ll still end up cutting even more tissue causing even greater damage. In that way it’s possible to turn a survivable wound into a fatal one. So apply pressure to stop any external bleeding and try to keep the object in place and call 911.