yours,not someone else..in the realistic scenarios thread
Roarmeister brought up a good point..that nasty appendix..
has anyone ever thought about having it removed to prevent
a life threating problem when no or little medical help is
is at hand??..all the gear in the BOB will be worthless if
that appendix blows out in the backwoods..i have read that
massive doses of antibiotics will help but sooner or later
it will have to come out..

Mine came out at four, so I can't help you...

Er, self surgery isnt recommended. A little story:
I had heard on a captain in the Army who thought he was tough as nails. Well, he cut his arm open one fine day, and, thinking himself Rambo, decided to stitch himself up. He got to stitch #2, and passed out.
I have read that, in a wilderness environment, because it is almost impossible to keep an area sterile, if the surgery diesnt kill the patient, sepsis, or other massive infections, most likely will.

You either evacuate them or start digging a grave.

Appendicotomy = major abdominal wound.

If you are talking about doing it yourself after it ruptures, then no. Perhaps you are talking about having it professionaly done beforehand as a precaution? I might consider that if I were planning a solo around the world sailing trip, or an extended stay at McMurdo, or something like that.

not self-surgery but having it removed tomorrow so if you
had to take the BOB and run next year it would be one less
problem that you might have to deal with--i would think that
if you had to make a BOB run that, with all else going on,
a guy in the woods..under a tarp..with a belly
ache,alone, would not rate a chopper.."sorry..food to the
earthquake zone only..we have 100,000 there"..

Interesting strategy. Will the doctors take out a healthy appendix?

Also why not get all your teeth pulled & get some false teeth so you won't have to worry about tooth aches. :-) just kidding

I think it would be difficult to convince a doctor to remove a healthy organ "just in case." They get sued enough for taking out the unhealthy ones that actually are necessary.

I actually discussed this with my GP. He pointed out the risks of complication vs the number of people who spend thier whole lives with thier appendixes. That got me to thinking about the fact that I can't think of anyone in my family that doesn't still have thiers except for my sister-in-law, and the fact that the post op infection from when I had my tonsils done nearly killed me, so I stopped worrying.

I remember reading about somebody (George Mallory maybe?) who had their appendix out before some planned adventure but I can't for the life of me remember who it was. Or maybe it was some astronaut or cosmonaut. You are probably right about the difficulty of finding a doctor who will do it now though.

I too remember reading that the people venturing on artic/antartic missions had their appendix removed before the travel.
Same for solo sailors, before an "around the world" trip on the oceans.

Well I did stitch my finger once (young/stupid)and got to the ER few days later becasue I couldn't bend my finger from swelling from infection setting in. Doc removed all my stitches, cut the wound open, cleaned it up, closed it again and put me on antibiotics. Later on I got a lecture on stupidity. Lecture stayed with me. Now I'm older and know how to stitch and do so in the clinic under supervision of a doc or pa. I would stitch a wound in the field (preferably a clean lanceration )and keeping a clean area is easier than you think with proper supplies of course but surgery would be out of my league. Self stitching is possible (with enough Lidocaine) but that also depends where the wound is. It's a brave action and would be my last resort and only if I had proper supplies. None of that Rambo/Road House stuff.

Just by the way, a nice article on wounds treatment:
http://www.fleshandbones.com/readingroom/pdf/1191.pdf

I'm wondering why the tissue glue is not comonly included in Med Kits:
"Although suturing remains the most common
method of closing wounds, topical skin adhesives
are increasingly being used in place of nonabsorbable
sutures, staples and adhesive strips. They
offer a fast and less traumatic closure for
appropriately selected wounds. Tissue adhesives are
indicated for the closure of topical skin incisions
and trauma-induced lacerations in areas of low skin
tension. Topical adhesives may be applied over
wounds initially under tension, as long as the
tension is first alleviated by applying either
subcutaneous or subcuticular sutures according to
standard practice. Topical adhesives are not to be
applied over joints, such as knees or elbows."

It's much better than a bandage, even on joints for small cuts.

unless you had a deep cut, i agree that "steri-strips" - paper tape with embedded stings of fiberglass - would be more than enough to hold a wound closed. or use a gauze 2x2 or 4x4 on the cut or wound and then wrapped with 2" gauze will do until you get definitive e.r. care. clean and dry.

on more than one occasion i have treated my own fingertip cut with steri-strips, and keeping the part immobilized, clean and dry for 10 days, and carefully changing the steri-strip on day five, found the scar to be unnoticeable. much better than any stitches would have done. cleaned well initially, keeping immobile, clean and dry are the secrets.

The "steri-strips" are not always convenient. They're only good for even surfaces. The glue will adopt to any curve, sealing the wound from elements much better, even on hairy surfaces. It's also removes itself in 5 days. AFAIK, it's also containing an active antibacterial agent.

I wondered why I never thought of it - tho' the bottle of "New Skin" liquid bandage is glass and fragile. No expiration date listed. I found very little info on the net regarding toxicity. I'll be on the lookout for plastic containers.

Great for scratches and cuts on the hands. My husband plays with our cats: you can guess why he uses it more often than me.

It's not toxic. I saw an article about Turkish research of its properties compared to stitching in children after circumcision - works and heals better than stitching.

Found some in a plastic bottle here: http://www.healthypets.com/nexliq15ml.html
Though, that one is expensive. It must be cheaper somewhere.
I'm from Russia, and I remember using such a glue all the time when I was young. It was something very affordable for 2oz bottle.

It seems to me, the topic must be renamed to "GLUING BACK BODY PARTS" now Maybe better to open a new thread?