Sunday, March 27, 2011

Not recommended

The pressure that can build up in an abscess is pretty amazing.  While doing an I&D on a small abscess on a pt's foot I was surprised at how far pus can travel.  The stream of fluid that came out of the skin after putting in the lidocaine should have been a warning to me, but I ignored it.  As I cut through the skin with the scalpel I released the pressure and out came a bunch of fluid and pus.  Unfortunately, I was standing right in the line of fire as it sprayed all over the front of me.  Thankfully the patient felt better so I went and changed.