Could you save a person if

[ed]

The carotid artery (in the neck) was damaged and blood was squirting all over the place. My instinct would be to grab it and hold on till help got there.

Would I simply be getting messy for no good reason?

Don't know why I thought of this. Don't know why I think someone here has experience with this sort of thing.

Altogether a troubling thread.

[sparks]

Never had to do it myself thankfully, but I think applying pressure to stop the bleeding is the correct thing to do.

[Anaxagoras]

Sounds unlikely to me, but I can't think of anything better to try. If you can somehow keep enough of the blood flowing through the artery instead of out of the artery, that would help, presumably.

[Witness]

Is it urgent?

Spoiler:

[shemp]

ed cut himself shaving again.

[Rob Lister]

You have three minutes optimally.

Using a No. 10 scalpel (or lacking that your very sharp pocket knife) make a two-inch parallel incision closely adjacent to and equidistant from the sever. This exposes the artery and gives you room to work.

Using a hemostatic clamp (or lacking that a small needle nose vice-grips [or lacking that an assistant using needle nose pliers] to restrict the blood flow into the artery from below. This will damage the artery greatly but not fatally. Can't be helped. It's hard to work with blood squirting in your face.

Using any curved surgical needle, preferably smaller than a No.10 (or lacking that any small or medium sewing needle but you'll have to heat it with your lighter [you do smoke, right] and then bend it to a proper curve using yet another two pair of needle nose pliers]) and a silk suture (or lacking that simple thread) repair the sever starting at a stitch in the middle, then left, then right, twice left, twice right.

Remove the clamps (or pliers) to restore blood flow. If it leaks you should be able to apply more sutures without clamping.

Run from the room. You really don't want credit for this.

[sparks]

Christ! Sewing someone up sounds right. If one has the guts for it. Don't think I could manage that. Happy to hold pressure on it until the paramedics arrive.

[ed]

This relates to the question of how long a head might be conscious ... a topic for another day.

Rob .. good answer. As I recall the Circle of Willis at the base of the brain has an anterior and posterior communicating artery that is our "redundancy" in the case of something like what I outlined. No idea how much slack it would take up though I saw a surgery where ... damn gotta run ... more later. Also look up the research done on frenchies trying to communicate with heads after guillotining.

[Pyrrho]

How about the guy two doors down who, in sneakers and shorts, was one-handedly, without gloves, using a chainsaw that had a dull chain and was running dry on bar oil? He keeps that up and hilarity is going to spray around his general vicinity in about a 6-foot wide arc.

[ed]

Sometimes you apply direct pressure ... sometimes you don't

[Pyrrho]

Arggh now he's out there burning whatever wood it was and his trash.

[Brick Top]

Arggh now he's out there burning whatever wood it was and his trash.

You're always going to have a problem disposing a body in one piece.

[Bruce]

You have three minutes optimally.

Using a No. 10 scalpel (or lacking that your very sharp pocket knife) make a two-inch parallel incision closely adjacent to and equidistant from the sever. This exposes the artery and gives you room to work.

Using a hemostatic clamp (or lacking that a small needle nose vice-grips [or lacking that an assistant using needle nose pliers] to restrict the blood flow into the artery from below. This will damage the artery greatly but not fatally. Can't be helped. It's hard to work with blood squirting in your face.

Using any curved surgical needle, preferably smaller than a No.10 (or lacking that any small or medium sewing needle but you'll have to heat it with your lighter [you do smoke, right] and then bend it to a proper curve using yet another two pair of needle nose pliers]) and a silk suture (or lacking that simple thread) repair the sever starting at a stitch in the middle, then left, then right, twice left, twice right.

Remove the clamps (or pliers) to restore blood flow. If it leaks you should be able to apply more sutures without clamping.

Run from the room. You really don't want credit for this.

Why do all that when you could just....