Doctor Uses Household Drill On Boy’s Skull; Tim Allen Grunts Approval

By Akela Talamasca on May 20th, 2009

thedrill An Australian boy was rushed to the hospital following a fall from his bike, and the attending physician recognized the signs of subdural bleeding. Unfortunately, as the hospital in question wasn’t furnished with a proper neurological drill, Dr. Rob Carson called for a simple household drill from the site’s maintenance room.

Carson quickly called a neurosurgeon in Melbourne to assist him over the phone with the procedure, which he had never before attempted. About a minute later, it was done, the mounting pressure on the boy’s brain relieved. On hand anaesthetist Dr. David Tynan remarked ” … when some blood came out after we’d gone through the skull, we realised we’d made the right decision.” As opposed to all those other times when going through the skull released only sawdust.

My favorite part of this article is Dr. Carson’s dramatic statement to the boy’s father ” … we’ve got one shot at this and one shot only.” In my mind, he had a nurse standing behind him going “dun dun DUNNNNN” after he said it. I am impressed with the speed of Carson’s assessment, however. I once spent over two hours in an emergency room waiting to be treated for a broken leg, watching a trio of physicians consult on the bizarre behavior of a recently-admitted patient who turned out just to be drunk. Medicine: it ain’t rocket science, but man, it’s really hard.