August 2009 - Miami Dade Police need BASICS - Hospital doctor responds

When Americans attend our Conference they are always amazed at the service BASICS provides in the U.K., as operating outside hospital is beyond their comfort zone and indeed, when it happens it makes the national news.....

Nearing the end of an exhausting 24-hour shift at the Ryder Trauma Center on Tuesday, Dr. Louis R. Pizano was called with an unusual request for help.

A police officer, who had crashed his cruiser at about 3 a.m., lay trapped in the wreckage near Kendall Drive and the Don Shula Expressway, with a construction sign pole lodged in his leg.

Fearing the officer would bleed to death, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue paramedics wanted Pizano flown to the crash scene to remove the pole.

Pizano, who had never gone out on such a call in his nine years at the hospital, quickly assembled his kit: Gigli wire saw, scalpels, clamps, bandages, painkillers and sedatives.

Meanwhile, Air Rescue South's pilots had landed at Ryder's helicopter pad to transport Pizano. It was 3:10 a.m.

En route to the crash scene, Pizano said he ran four different scenarios in his head, planning his treatment for Miami police Officer Rolando Rodriguez.

The chopper got to the crash scene at 3:30 a.m. Pizano leapt out and dashed to the officer's aid.

It was a grim scene: One pole holding up the construction sign had pierced the driver's door of the patrol car, and went completely through the officer's leg and out the window, according to Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Pat Santangelo.

Fire rescue personnel first tore off the driver's-side door, giving Pizano enough room to stop the bleeding, and to apply what he called ``lots of morphine'' to surgically remove the sign from Rodriguez's leg.

The firefighters then carefully cut away at the car's metal roof to give Pizano more room to maneuver.

The most difficult part, Pizano said, was applying enough medication to relieve the police officer's pain without knocking him unconscious.

``His police car became an operating room,'' said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesman Lt. Eddy Ballester.

By 4:30 a.m., Rodriguez was freed from his cruiser and loaded onto the chopper for the trip to Ryder Trauma Center. Pizano was at his side.

Authorities said Rodriguez was recovering from the crash at the hospital.

FHP is investigating the cause of the crash. It said Rodriguez was driving south on the Don Shula Expressway north of Kendall Drive at about 3 a.m. when he lost control of his patrol car on the wet roadway.

To help their injured colleague, Miami police held a blood drive for Rodriguez, who was hired as a patrol officer in late 2007 and works the midnight shift.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning, a tired Pizano said he was happy that the highway surgery was a success.

``And I hope I never have to do it again,'' he said.