Ernie the dachshund pees on the hardwood floor, and his owne…
Ernie the dachshund pees on the hardwood floor, and his owner, Pamela, slips in the pee puddle and crashes to the floor. A large, bloody bone is exposed on the medial side of her left lower leg. In addition, the top portion of the large bone below her kneecap is pushing against the unbroken skin in a very unusual way. Pamela is taken to the Emergency Room by her awesome husband, David, where she has several X-rays taken. The X-rays revealed a comminuted fracture of Pamela’s left patella and a compound, complete, fracture of the left tibia just above the medial malleolus, resulting in displacement. In addition, there is a simple greenstick fracture of the left fibula adjacent to the tibial fracture. Pamela is also experiencing severe swelling and pain around her left ankle, even though X-rays indicated no fracture of the tarsals. An MRI performed later revealed a tear of the left anterior cruciate ligament. As Pamela’s nurse, your job is to describe her injuries in an understandable way to David and other family members. You should also describe the expected healing processes for the various injuries she has experienced. Include information about length of healing time based on what you know about the affected tissues. Be sure to let Pamela’s family know whether she is likely to develop an infection and why. View the Grading Rubric for this question so you know how your answer will be scored.
Read Details