With traumatic injuries, what you can't see may hurt most
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 15:35
in Health & Medicine
In disasters such as the Metrolink train crash, concealed internal wounds are often the most dangerous. Trauma centers at UCLA and elsewhere are designed specifically to treat such critical patients. In the 10 days since one of the worst commuter rail accidents in California history, the region's trauma surgeons have reknit shattered limbs, repaired battered organs and returned dozens of patients to homes and families, where many will now face weeks or months of painful recuperation.