INTENSIVE CARE UNIT
AFTER THE BOMBING
The Burn Unit March 3, 1996
This morning was as bad as last Sunday. We received 7 casualties in the hospital, all in severe condition, all needed intubation and ventilation in the Intensive Care Unit or recovery room that was used for that purpose when the ICU was full. All these patients were admitted to the hospital through the Emergency Room or the Trauma Unit. They all suffered blast injuries to their lungs and abdomen. Three had ruptured spleens. Five needed multiple chest drains, with one the abdominal operation was performed by Prof. Rivkind in the patient bed at the ICU as we could not transport the patient to the OR. Three of the patients today sustained severe burns to their face and extremities among other injuries, but even though our policy is to operate early on burn casualties we could not operate today as the patients were in critical condition and this kind of surgery could be delayed.
When these patients arrived at the hospital, we tried to evacuate as many patients from the ICU as we could to make room. This is when the burn casualties from last week arrived at my department. As we do not have a burn unit yet, and it will take another month or so until we will be able to open it when it is finished, we treated the burn casualties from last week in the ICU and recovery room. We had 6 burns last week, 3 today, and these are multiple injuries when burn is not the only, and sometimes not the most severe injury. It is late at night and tomorrow we have to operate so I will finish here.
Yours,
Arieh Eldad, MD
Head: Burn Unit
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