Pathology nightmare

[LADoc00]

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Dead" man wakes up under autopsy knife Mon Sep 17, 8:53 AM ET



A Venezuelan man who had been declared dead woke up in the morgue in excruciating pain after medical examiners began their autopsy.

Carlos Camejo, 33, was declared dead after a highway accident and taken to the morgue, where examiners began an autopsy only to realize something was amiss when he started bleeding. They quickly sought to stitch up the incision on his face.

"I woke up because the pain was unbearable," Camejo said, according to a report on Friday in leading local newspaper El Universal.

His grieving wife turned up at the morgue to identify her husband's body only to find him moved into a corridor -- and alive.

Reuters could not immediately reach hospital officials to confirm the events. But Camejo showed the newspaper his facial scar and a document ordering the autopsy

Mindy- carefully check for respirations!!

 

[docbiohazard]

When would the autopsy on a highway accident trauma victim start on the face, though? I figured the story was bogus...

BH

 

[vr4nut]

When would the autopsy on a highway accident trauma victim start on the face, though? I figured the story was bogus...

BH

I have had that nightmare twice since starting autopsies.

Probably bogus, but that answers the question as to why a doctor is required to pronounce somebody dead 🙄 (at least here).

I assumed the facial laceration was from the accident. We do not touch the face, neck, or hands in the autopsy unless absolutely necessary, in order to allow for an open-casket funeral.

 

[pathdawg]

I have always said, the absolute worst thing that can happen during a post is that you feel a pulse. Makes every otehr possible issue that can come up seem pretty minor.

 

[Mindy]

Mindy- carefully check for respirations!!

Ugghh. We actually talked about this at morning meeting... Some takers for real, some for fake. We thought that the incision was when they were opening the scalp, but weren't sure.

A story...

The first post I ever did was in medical school on a cancer victim apparently loaded with morphine. He had flaming red hair, a graphic and very inappropriate naked woman tattoo, a huge toothy smile, and his pupils were pinpoint. He looked a bit demonic, particularly since it was a scary VA morgue (complete with the morgue drawers in the wall, low lighting with swinging light fixture, heavy squeeky door with small window slit, etc.)

In any case, the resident who was "showing" me how to do a post gave me the scalpel, literally hid behind me, and said "look at his eyes, he's still alive...go ahead."

To this day, I start my Y-incision very slowly and see if I get arterial bleeding. Since I usually get vitreous first, I always apologize in my head to the decedent in case they happen to have a blood pressure I find a few moments later.

I would have thought myself a bit kooky, but one of the other pathologists said he sometimes checks for blood pressure as well.

MINDY

 

[rirriri]

sounds like a big fat internet lie.