Undersea Appendectomy
July 15, 2007 5:53 PM Subscribe
"'Doc' Lipes Commandeers a Submarine Officers' Wardroom." On the USS Seadragon 120 feet beneath the South China Sea, with Japanese ships patrolling above, submariner Dean Rector was stricken by acute appendicitis. In this Chicago Daily News article that later won the 1943 Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Reporting, George Weller (whose reportage was also discussed here) recounts the story of Wheeler "Johnny" Lipes who, pressed into service, used bent spoons and torpedo alcohol to save a man's life.
That was a gripping read.
posted by shelleycat at 6:06 PM on July 15, 2007
posted by shelleycat at 6:06 PM on July 15, 2007
Wow. I'd read about this when I was a kid, but I never really thought much about how the pressure in the boat would affect ether absorption -- they were really rolling the dice on the anaesthesia.
posted by pax digita at 6:20 PM on July 15, 2007
posted by pax digita at 6:20 PM on July 15, 2007
At one point the commander of subs in the Pacific seriously considered have all sub crewmen undergo appendectomies before they would be permitted to go on patrol.
I wonder if that would be a medically sound idea. I mean, it's possible to have complications from an appy (as it's called on ER) According to this as many as 2.44 people died within 30 days after one in sweeden (this was from 1987 to 1996). On the other hand, outfitting each sub with a simple medical kit and training one of the crew members seems like a safer bet. There's a reason people don't pull out healthy appendixes just in case.
posted by delmoi at 6:23 PM on July 15, 2007
I wonder if that would be a medically sound idea. I mean, it's possible to have complications from an appy (as it's called on ER) According to this as many as 2.44 people died within 30 days after one in sweeden (this was from 1987 to 1996). On the other hand, outfitting each sub with a simple medical kit and training one of the crew members seems like a safer bet. There's a reason people don't pull out healthy appendixes just in case.
posted by delmoi at 6:23 PM on July 15, 2007
An article about this was in my seventh grade English textbook. It included FUBAR, defined (in a footnote) as 'Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition.' It was a long time before I learned any different. ;)
posted by louie at 6:28 PM on July 15, 2007
posted by louie at 6:28 PM on July 15, 2007
Fascinating read. Glad they caught that last spoon/retractor. Made me want to learn more,
Quickie Wiki/Google results:
Wheeler Lipes Dies; Did Emergency Surgery While on Sub
McBurney's point
WikiAppy
Burial on 28 June 2005 at Arlington
posted by HyperBlue at 6:43 PM on July 15, 2007
Quickie Wiki/Google results:
Wheeler Lipes Dies; Did Emergency Surgery While on Sub
McBurney's point
WikiAppy
Burial on 28 June 2005 at Arlington
posted by HyperBlue at 6:43 PM on July 15, 2007
From the Navy obit:
" After the successful appendectomy, Lipes was ostracized by Navy Medical Corps physicians for performing the operation under battle conditions; there was even talk at the time of a court-martial by an outraged U.S. Surgeon General who was forced to set protocols for appendectomies on Navy submarines.
On February 20, 2005, after sixty-three years, Vice Admiral Michael Cowan, Medical Corps, U.S. Navy (Ret.), awarded LCDR Wheeler B. Lipes, USN (Ret.) the U.S. Navy COMMENDATION MEDAL, for his 1942 actions, during a ceremony at the U.S. Naval Hospital, Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base.
Seaman 1/c Rector recovered from the emergency appendectomy which saved his life. GM3 Darrell Rector, would later be lost while serving aboard USS TANG, SS-306, on October 24, 1944. "
posted by HyperBlue at 6:48 PM on July 15, 2007
" After the successful appendectomy, Lipes was ostracized by Navy Medical Corps physicians for performing the operation under battle conditions; there was even talk at the time of a court-martial by an outraged U.S. Surgeon General who was forced to set protocols for appendectomies on Navy submarines.
On February 20, 2005, after sixty-three years, Vice Admiral Michael Cowan, Medical Corps, U.S. Navy (Ret.), awarded LCDR Wheeler B. Lipes, USN (Ret.) the U.S. Navy COMMENDATION MEDAL, for his 1942 actions, during a ceremony at the U.S. Naval Hospital, Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base.
Seaman 1/c Rector recovered from the emergency appendectomy which saved his life. GM3 Darrell Rector, would later be lost while serving aboard USS TANG, SS-306, on October 24, 1944. "
posted by HyperBlue at 6:48 PM on July 15, 2007
An article about this was in my seventh grade English textbook
We must have had the same textbook; that is one of the first stories I remember reading where anesthesia was prominently mentioned. Despite what the article says, though, I don't think submarines are at significantly more than atmospheric pressure when submerged, otherwise everyone would get the bends when they surfaced.
There's a reason people don't pull out healthy appendixes just in case.
Actually, they do. When they are in the abdomen for other reasons the surgeon will very often take the appendix just to prevent it ever being a problem; until fairly recently, when diagnostic imaging improved, it was expected in many hospitals that roughly 1 in 5 appendices removed for presumed appendicitis would be normal; the complication rate for untreated appendicitis being much higher than that of surgery. Among other people who died from complications of appendicitis: Harry Houdini and Margaret Wise Brown who parents of toddlers may recognize as the author of Goodnight Moon.
posted by TedW at 7:10 PM on July 15, 2007
We must have had the same textbook; that is one of the first stories I remember reading where anesthesia was prominently mentioned. Despite what the article says, though, I don't think submarines are at significantly more than atmospheric pressure when submerged, otherwise everyone would get the bends when they surfaced.
There's a reason people don't pull out healthy appendixes just in case.
Actually, they do. When they are in the abdomen for other reasons the surgeon will very often take the appendix just to prevent it ever being a problem; until fairly recently, when diagnostic imaging improved, it was expected in many hospitals that roughly 1 in 5 appendices removed for presumed appendicitis would be normal; the complication rate for untreated appendicitis being much higher than that of surgery. Among other people who died from complications of appendicitis: Harry Houdini and Margaret Wise Brown who parents of toddlers may recognize as the author of Goodnight Moon.
posted by TedW at 7:10 PM on July 15, 2007
In Complications Atul Gawande, a surgical resident, mentions that it is not uncommon to remove the appendix when doing any other work that would leave a similar scar, in order to prevent the scar from delaying a diagnosis if the patient should get appendicitis later.
posted by mendel at 9:03 PM on July 15, 2007
posted by mendel at 9:03 PM on July 15, 2007
as many as 2.44 people died within 30 days after one in sweeden
My goodness! That seems a lot!
posted by Wolof at 10:34 PM on July 15, 2007
My goodness! That seems a lot!
posted by Wolof at 10:34 PM on July 15, 2007
I feel sorry for the .66 that was left.
posted by BrotherCaine at 11:07 PM on July 15, 2007
posted by BrotherCaine at 11:07 PM on July 15, 2007
.56 rather, oh man can I not deliver a punchline.
posted by BrotherCaine at 11:08 PM on July 15, 2007
posted by BrotherCaine at 11:08 PM on July 15, 2007
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posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 6:03 PM on July 15, 2007