Medical ‘bad boys’ get ready for New Year casualties

AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—When things get rough in the New Year revelry, medical practitioners call upon the “bad boys” to make the “cutting” solutions.

The orthopedics unit at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center is responsible for the manliest of duties: bone-cutting.

“With the rigors of our field, we are considered as the bad boys of medicine,” JRRMC resident orthopedic doctor Jonathan Sabadao said. “We are the Spartans here.”

Sabadao said that most of their bone-cutting job involve the extremities if the wound has infected the bones of the body.

“We mostly take care of blast injuries, together with the surgeons and ophthalmologists,” Sabadao said. “Since most injuries are hand injuries, we take care of those incidents.”

According to Sabadao, orthopedic doctors specialize in hand and foot injuries and they are often the last line of medical defense during the holidays.

He added that the usual wave of patients arrives after the countdown and most cases involve drunk men.

“Usually, patients arrive at around 1 a.m. and they are from the nearby area,” Sabadao said. “Common cases are drunk men who usually pick up fire crackers.”

However, Sabadao said that their work continues until the smoke has settled and the sun has risen.

“During the morning we are still on alert from patients from nearby provinces that have received first-aid in their area and have been transferred here.”

A changing game

Before, Sabadao said, the orthopedic division was mainly manned by male doctors but women are now getting into the fold.

“We have the strength of a bull, but we have the brains to match it,” said Sabadao who described the women in this job as just as fearless as the men.

He added that procedures in their field require the mastery of tools and strength, but with the use of new machines, women are joining the macho discipline.