Hydrostatic Shock

[Unobtanium]

I just saw this today on a re-run of Emergency,

It's not in our policy to do this, nor would I do it because I believe in being covered by my institution's policy for obvious reasons, but I know a lot of older healthcare professionals who have seen/done it and said it works like a charm. Consider that many times it's a coughing spell, straining on the toilet, shifting around in bed, etc. that irritates the heart and results in various dysrhythmias, I really don't think it far-fetched that a violent TSC could cause problems.

[Chance]

I do know that slamming your hand against a patient's chest in VTAC can sometimes solve the problem, not that they teach that anymore, but it used to be common practice enough.

That's called a "precordial thump," and I am not the person to be explaining it.

[LHS]

LHS--you may be confusing terms, as it appears you are discussing the effects of the temporary stretch cavity, not "hydrostatic shock".

That may well be. I have always understood the two to be pretty much synonymous, which sounds like it isn't the case based on your response.

I suppose my point is that Ye Olde Service Pistol is never going to destroy tissue by some kind of shockwave or energy transfer other than that done by the bullet physically crushing things as it penetrates, whereas something in the 3000+ FPS range is going to cause permanent damage to areas that the bullet never physically touches.