Dr. Mallika Marshall On David Ortiz's Injuries, Road Ahead
BOSTON (CBS) – The Red Sox say David Ortiz's condition is stable enough that the club is flying him back to Boston for treatment of his gunshot wound.
According to UpToDate, the mortality rate for a single gunshot wound to the abdomen in about 7-percent, though getting shot in the back and having the bullet pass through the abdomen can be more complicated.
The organs most likely injured with a gunshot wound to the abdomen are the small intestine followed by the colon and then the liver.
Doctors removed Ortiz's gallbladder and part of his intestine after he was ambushed by a gunman in the Dominican Republic. His liver was also damaged.
The extent of organ damage depends on the speed of the bullet and the distance of the bullet from the patient.
Patients often go straight to the operating room so that surgeons can open the abdomen and look directly inside to stop the bleeding and remove or repair injured organs, like the bowel and liver.
Even if surgery is a success, a patient isn't out of the woods yet. Sometimes patients need subsequent operations.
And while doctors will often give patients prophylactic antibiotics, they will continue to monitor them for post-op infections, either of the surgical wound or internally.
Doctors and nurses will also manage a patient's pain, check for signs of recurrent bleeding, and monitor organ function over time.
Getting shot is also frightening and can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, or even PTSD, so taking care of a patient's mental and emotional health will be important as well.
