Leomedicus News
Chicago Trauma
A glimpse into the work of Dr. Andrew Dennis, attending Trauma Surgeon at Cook County Hospital and trained SWAT police officer.
Attack Victim: Pit Bulls Were Trained to Kill
Joseph Finley, 62, lost foot after vicious attack along Lake Michigan in early January... "It was a rough go for several days. He was on a breathing machine. He was very sick. He got a lot of blood. I mean, his injury was nearly equivalent to stepping on a landmine," said Dr. Andrew Dennis.
Choosing the Right Operational Police Physician
Dr Dennis evaluates how physicians and law enforcement can work together.
Staged Trans-Abdominal Wall Traction (Tawt) As a Means to Recapture Abdominal Domain While Preventing Abdominal Compartment Syndrome in Both the Acute and the Chronic Giant Ventral Hernia.
Dennis AJ, Steinberg J, Anderson R, Bokhari F, Starr F, Poulakedidas S, Nagy K, Wiley D. Joseph K, Valentino D, Roberts R. JSH Cook County Hospital, Department of Trauma Rush University, Department of Surgery, Chicago, Illinois, United State
excerpt... Conclusion: TAWT is a superior technique to other options for managing and closing acute and chronic giant ventral hernias. TAWT preserves the leading fascial edge, recaptures domain by stretching the oblique muscles, protects from ACS, and eliminates the need for bridges, components separation and large skin flaps. In our practice, it has virtually eliminated the acceptance of skin grafted ventral hernias as the means of open abdomen management, and is changing the way we manage all ventral hernias.
read more...My Strange Addiction: Glass Eater!
Dr. Andrew Dennis is consulted by Josh, a young man with a strange glass eating addiction. Josh, who also has a tendency to eat 22 caliber bullets, begins to learn how his habits are putting him in serious physical danger.
Novel Approach Avoids Skin Grafts in Open Abdomens
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. (EGMN) — The use of transabdominal wall traction to close domain-loss abdomens has avoided the need for skin grafting or a planned ventral hernia, and is now part of the open abdomen protocol at Chicago's Cook County Hospital.
Transabdominal wall traction (TAWT) uses myofascial cutaneous release via isometric traction to close abdomens in the subset of patients who, after resuscitation and diuresis, cannot be closed, Dr. Andrew Dennis explained at the annual meeting of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma. This subset of patients is increasing, largely because of the resounding success of damage control laparotomy and decompressive laparotomy.
"TAWT has revolutionized the way we manage domain-loss, open-abdomen patients, and has virtually eliminated the acceptance of planned ventral hernia," Dr. Dennis said.
Read more...Surgical Brainstorm - Hernia Repair
Dr. Andrew Dennis on Closing the Complex Open Abdomen, Rethinking the Management of Acute and Chronic Giant Ventral Hernias, and The Cook County Experience. Click to view PDF.
You Drink & Drive, YOU LOSE
Andrew Dennis spoke at a Chicago press event related to Drunk Driving. Full press release coming soon.
NTOA Tested and Recommended the TRIK
We are proud to report that our Trauma Rapid Intervention Kit (T.R.I.K.) for Law Enforcement has been tested and recommended by the members of the National Tactical Officers Association. Click the image for more detailed information about this life-saving product.
TEMS - A Trial by Fire - Article by Keith Murray, MD
Dr. Dennis (left) with Dr. Keith Murray
I never imagined that in my third year of emergency medicine residency at the University of Chicago Medical Center that I would be running in 30 pounds of body armor, carrying a collapsible ladder, and heading toward a house with a known criminal inside... (excerpt)
...The future of tactical medicine in the Chicago area is only limited by our imagination. I believe that the enthusiasm, EMS support, law enforcement support and university residency support is there and only needs to be harnessed. Full article here...
11 people saved his life
Keith Myles was shot multiple times and lost a kidney, but after only two weeks at Cook County Hospital in Chicago he was getting ready to go home. (Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune / August 11, 2010)
The Physical Toll: Keith Myles
Keith Myles felt like a football player had plowed into his body when a gunman unloaded a barrage of shots at him. Standing outside his apartment building in the Back of the Yards neighborhood just after midnight on a Sunday in July, the 41-year-old father staggered in the aftermath of the gunfire before collapsing.
"He was actually bleeding to death," said Dennis.
TASER - A Stunning Debate
A public inquest into the safety and use of TASER or CEWs (Conducted Energy Weapons) conducted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Surgeon/cop straddles two worlds of violence
Andrew Dennis' two jobs -- in a busy Chicago hospital trauma unit and on SWAT teams -- aren't so different. 'Anything can go wrong,' he says. Read the full article, here.
Cops play prominent role in surgeon's world
The Chicago Tribune gives us a peek into a typical day for Dr. Andrew Dennis, Law Enforcement Officer and Trauma Surgeon. For about eight years, Dennis has straddled two worlds brimming with violence, working as a surgeon in one of the busiest trauma units in the U.S. and as a sworn police officer and unpaid member of two area SWAT teams: Cook County's and its north suburban counterpart. Read the full article, here.
Dr. Dennis Discussing QuikClot
Dr. Andrew Dennis discusses the QuikClot Advanced Clotting Sponge, used to control traumatic bleeding.
Taser's Delirium Defense
How lawyers used junk science to explain away stun-gun deaths.
"The bottom line is this," says Andrew Dennis, a Chicago surgeon, part-time police officer, and medical researcher who coauthored three studies of Taser's effects on swine. "You have a lot of people who are acting psychotic, and often law enforcement is asked to deal with them. Some subgroup of this population is going to die, and we don't know why. This potential at-risk group is the quote-unquote excited delirium group. But there are no common threads to identify this at-risk group. As far as I'm concerned, everything discussed about excited delirium is conjecture." Click to read full article.
