Lewiston, Maine shooting survivors have "absolutely destructive" wounds, doctor says
LEWISTON, Maine - Eighteen people were killed in the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine Wednesday and 13 others were wounded. Many of the survivors were rushed to the Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.
The hospital's chief of trauma, Dr. Richard King, spoke to CBS Mornings Friday.
How many patients and what are their injuries?
"We had quite a few critical patients arrive initially, some not so critical. I would say we've took to the operating room maybe about six patients. And you know, we, most of those patients are still in our hospital and receiving ongoing treatment," Dr. King said.
"They're all gunshot wound victims, many with multiple gunshots. We have at least one person who is of pediatric age - a child."
Difference between handgun and assault weapon wounds?
"We do see many gunshot wounds as trauma surgeons. But for me, this was the first time that I'd actually taken care of someone with high-velocity gunshot wounds and I'd read about them and seen them, but to actually see them in person and see the destructive ability of those rounds was really quite, quite sobering," Dr. King said.
"And most of our, if not all, of our patients had, you know, at least one of those really severe wounds. Absolutely destructive, complete destruction of the surrounding tissue. It was really, really quite something."
Destruction beyond the bullet?
"Well, what you often will see is maybe a small, what we would call an entrance wound. Although usually we don't distinguish between the two. But with these high-velocity rounds you can actually see the exit wounds, and they cause a massive amount of destruction, gaping holes. But what's more problematic is that within the body itself, the force, what we call the cavitation force, the energy that that round has, just produces destruction beyond the actual bullet itself. So often we have to look around beyond where the bullet track would be to see whether or not there are any other injuries. Often these rounds will hit bone, shatter bone, and the bone itself becomes a missile or projectile. So lots of destruction. Absolutely devastating injuries," Dr. King said.
How is medical staff holding up?
"Staff is holding up very well. When this all happened, everybody responded, came in. It was just amazing to see. Everybody did as they were trained to do and got on with the task at hand. I really can't say enough for those who were working with me. My program manager, Tammy Lachance, and everyone who worked. I think, you know, we're coming down off that adrenaline rush, and it's starting to sink in," Dr. King said.
"You know, talking to the families, talking to the patients about what happened, it's really, really very moving. And I think everybody is going to take some time to process that."