My hospital is in the middle of downtown Los Angeles, not far from the infamous Skid Row.  Naturally, as a trauma surgeon, I get a lot of homeless patients that don’t seem to realize that contact with moving cars can have a very negative health impact.  Invariably, the ones that don&r… Read full post »

Maria's eyes were moist with tears ; her lower lip quivered slightly.  I only know a few words in Spanish and trying to pepper my English with them so she would understand what I was saying did not seem to be working.  But she knew that what I was saying wasn't… Read full post »

Another call night in downtown L.A. It had not been a particularly eventful day: the usual offering of people hit by cars, falling off of things, and victims of man-made violence. Some injuries happen as a result of an accident, some as a result of carelessness, and of course many happen… Read full post »

Trauma has a funny way of putting degrees of urgency into perspective.  I was on backup call for my trauma center in downtown Los Angeles on a balmy summer night.  Backup call for a trauma surgeon entails sitting at home and being available if the trauma surgeon at the hospital/… Read full post »

Death is an integral part of trauma surgery. It is inevitable that a surgeon who deals with traumatic injury will be witness to countless episodes of mortality. For those that are able to cope and continue in the field, seeing patients die becomes second nature and after a short time… Read full post »