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One evening in our busy Emergency Department, we received a phone call from a neighboring community hospital. They reported that they had an 11-year old boy that had smashed into a wall while riding his bike down a steep hill.
The nurse who called informed me that he had a face laceration and his parents wanted a plastic surgeon. She went on, "You know how these parents are," and I could almost hear her eyes rolling over the phone. I asked about the size of the cut and she said it was "small."
I was told that the child was expected to arrive in our ED in 15 minutes via ambulance. I did wonder at that moment why an ambulance was necessary for a small laceration. But you never know.
When they arrived, I saw the boy on a gurney. He was holding a large gauze over the left side of his face. I removed it and was surprised to find a large laceration that stretched from his ear all the way to his mouth. It went through all of the facial tissue clear through to the bone. I remember thinking, "Oh my goodness! His face is falling off!"
I explained to the child that we were going to have to get a surgeon in and that he had to be very brave. I told him he needed to try not to cry or move around.
We were able to get an excellent children's plastic surgeon in from a pediatric center in our area. He stood in our ED and took two hours repairing the damage. All the while, he told this brave little boy stories to distract him.
I saw this child about six months later when his brother was brought into the emergency room. My former patient was happy and smiling and his scar was almost unnoticeable. His older brother, on the other hand, wasn't in as jovial a mood. He had just swallowed a quarter on a dare. But that is another story.
