When is it ok to pull it out (medical)

[Minelson]

I had an incident yesterday where my dog was stabbed in throat with a stick. Took Rocky to the ER
I have to say that the first thought that went through my head was that you are never supposed to pull out an object that impales someone. Something that I heard growing up...it may cause the victim to bleed out. Well I pulled it out quickly and so far it's ok. But it got me wondering....is that a myth or is it true that you shouldn't pull the object out? I would like to learn from this experience. I really don't think it would have been possible to leave it though. It was a long stick and we were far from home and 40 miles away from emergency clinic. Any thoughts on this?

[motdaugrnds]

The only thing I know about such a situation is that, if the object is in the body part where you know for sure a large blood vessel is located, it is advisable to leave it in until a professional can remove it. I also know that if the area is a place on the body where force can be applied to stop the blood flow, it is ok to pull it out. I am anxious to read what someone more knowledgeable has to say about this.

[Cabin Fever]

It's not an old wive's tail if the stick - or arrow - is plugging a main artery. If the object is simply in the muscle, one could pull it out in order to sterilize and close the wound.

[mothernature]

Oh how scary that must have been, I'm sorry and hope he's OK!! I've always heard that too, if the object is near an artery, or the chest area. I think I would have done what you did!

[HoosierHog]

when it comes to humans leave it in call 911 and let the paramedics deal with it. I have seen a person bleed out after they remove something impaling them. Its no myth. fortunatly your dog from the sound of it didn't really impale himself, came close to but not quite. thank goodness. with the way he had the stick in his throat i think i would have removed it to so he could breath then done what i could to deal with any bleeding. Thank goodness your dog is okay.

[Kmac15]

In our first aid class we were taught that the only places it was ok to take an impaled object out of was a cheek and the webbing between the thumb and finger. Obviously you would need to use your judgment for anything else. Steve Erwin paid a high price for this.

[Fair Light]

The rule is NEVER remove an impaled object....(I am a surgical nurse)...the reason is that a person never really knows what internal damage is done..the surgeon will first occude any affected blood vessels then remove the impaled object...sometimes if the injury is in a large muscle it would "possibly" be ok to remove it...but that can only be determined in surgery....diagnositc tests can reveal positioning of said objects but the removal should be done by someone that knows what they are doing....Also a deep wound will be contaminated with what ever was on the impaled object and would need to be deeply irrigated with sterile solution to prevent infection...I know you asked about a dog...but I believe the same applies to animals as well as humans...the rule is to secure the object to keep it from moving and causing more damage or death. I have seen people in the OR that have had some serious things impaled....they come in usually awake and conscience.....

[rean]

I read a story years ago in Reader's Digest, where a little girl in a classroom, was walking with a pencil. She fell, and the pencil impaled itself through her chest wall in to her heart. The teacher was smart enough not to pull it out. The little girl came out of the situation just fine.

[Missy M]

If the object is long you can place a rolled towel on each side of it at the base to stablize it. Tape the towel tight. Then if it's possible you can trim the item down shorter. If it's not too long best just to stablize it and leave it until you can get help.

[ArmyDoc]

The rule is simple: don't pull it out unless you are prepared to stop the bleeding. This applies to surgeons as well as non-surgeons. Even a good surgeon won't pull it out in every situation. Why? Because direct pressure will stop most, but not all bleeding. Deep puncture wounds is one of the types of wounds where direct pressure doesn't always work.

A good surgeon will have thought about what blood vessels are in the area and if he needs to expose them and obtain proximal and distal control before removing the object. Once the blood vessels are exposed, its relatively easy to control the bleeding, but if they are at the bottom of a deep hole, it can be very tough.

If there are no major vessels in the area, then the object can generally be safely removed...and if it bleeds a lot, you will still have enough time to open the wound and find what small blood vessel you didn't think about is torn...

[SueMc]

Same advice from me...leave it until someone with the ability to stop the bleeding is there to stop the bleeding. The same is true with something penetrating the eye. Leave it.