RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Video illustration of staple gun use to rapidly repair on-field head laceration
JF British Journal of Sports Medicine
JO Br J Sports Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine
SP e7
OP e7
DO 10.1136/bjsm.2003.005470
VO 38
IS 4
A1 J W Orchard
YR 2004
UL http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/38/4/e7.abstract
AB A professional rugby league player sustained a left eyebrow laceration during a match which immediately started to bleed. Within seconds he was taken to the sideline and had the laceration closed with six staples by the team doctor. Bleeding was arrested and he returned to play, taking the ball within 80 s of suffering the initial laceration, and within 40 s of the stapling procedure. This sequence was captured on video and appeared on television. The staples were removed after the match and the wound sutured. Repair of the wound was uneventful. The staple gun allows bleeding lacerations to be closed within seconds and for players to safely and quickly return to play, whilst minimising the risk of blood-borne infection transmission.