This article I dredged up from the archives is mostly of sentimental value – although, I could claim it’s related to Olympic sport-related trauma with the upcoming Games.
This is from the series “Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital”, which run the gamut all the way out to some of the most esoteric diagnoses possible. This particular article describes the management and outcomes of a man impaled by a rowing shell while on the Charles River. Eight-person rowing shells are ~17 meters in length, have a crewed weight of nearly 1,000 kg, and travel fast enough that a water skier may be towed behind. There is a small rubber bumper affixed to the, otherwise sharp, wooden or carbon-fiber bow that is meant to reduce the potential for injury in event of a collision. In this incident, the momentum of a head-on impact dislodged the bow ball and resulted in the unfortunate impalement incident described. A fascinating little read.
Rowing collisions are uncommon, injuries are rare, and this is probably nearly unique.
“Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Case 10-2007. A 55-year-old manimpaled in a rowing accident.”
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17392306
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As is usual with the NEJM, the illustrators have provided a succinct and memorable depiction of the injury, in a way that photography simply cannot.
NEJM – I read it for the pictures!