Posted on 09/23/2006 10:51:28 PM PDT by naturalman1975
A NURSE who tried to resuscitate Steve Irwin says the Crocodile Hunter had virtually no hope of surviving the stingray attack that killed him.
Nurse Enid Traill said she and paramedics were shocked to learn the man they had been trying to save on the Great Barrier Reef was "the" Steve Irwin.
And in an uncanny coincidence, Mrs Traill said she knew the celebrity conservationist when he was a teenager – more than 1000km north of the Sunshine Coast where Mr Irwin grew up – but hadn't recognised him.
A stingray's barb pierced Mr Irwin's chest at 11.18am (AEST) at Batt Reef on September 4, News Limited reports.
He arrived at the remote Low Isles for treatment 34 minutes later, at 11.52 (AEST).
Mrs Traill, 55, offered to help those working on Mr Irwin as he was taken into a boat shed.
"I knew it was a terrible situation because we could not get any air into his lungs," she said.
"We worked on him for 10 minutes and then the paramedics arrived and examined the hole in his heart.
"They said he wouldn't have survived even if it happened in an operating theatre."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
This was really such a sad thing -- a one in a billion accident.
Poor guy.
or maybe the whole chest was full?
My brother in law is an emergency room doc at one of Melbourne's major hospitals - and they've been discussing this around Australia.
The basic consensus is that Irwin would have had a better chance if he had left the barb in his chest and heart - but only if he was able to get to a major hospital within less than half an hour. In that situation, there would have been some chance of saving him though not a good one.
With the distances involved and no possibility of reaching trauma surgeons in a reasonable amount of time, the odds were effectively nil.
And my brother in law says that even if a trauma surgeon had been on the scene with a full emergency room and operating room at his disposal, the odds would probably still have been less than one in four.
According to what I have read, any time venom from a stingray is injected into the body cavity rather than say, into a foot or hand, it is very serious.
I thought for a moment the woman's name was "End Trail". My vision gets blurry when it's time for sleep. 'Nite.
It is sad, but not unexpected. The way guy dealt so dangerously close with poisonous animals he was bound to get biten, stung, or pierced at some point!
Really, I'm surprised a Gator didn't eat him before now.
Same here.
Everytime we'd see him we'd all look at each other and say "mad bastard!"
It was always said as an endearing comment,it was part of why he was so loved.
A good bloke who certainly will be missed.
"new should be "knew"
Yes--tamponade was it. Stingray toxin is relatively weak. If he had not pulled the barb out, he would have had a better chance, but still slim. His best chance would have occurred if a thoracic surgeon were on the boat.
I always thought it would be a snake that got him, but he was always entertaining and loved what he did. I'm gonna miss him...
http://www.potamotrygon.de/fremdes/stingray%20article.htm
STINGRAY INJURIES, ENVENOMATION, AND MEDICAL MANAGEMENT
Some people keep and breed venomous snakes because they are graceful. Some keep tarantulas because they are unique. And some keep stingrays for these same reasons. But all can be dangerous! In Colombia, health authorities register more than 2,000 cases of freshwater stingray incidents annually. Over a five year period in one small local hospital there were eight deaths, 23 amputations of lower limbs, and 114 other cases where victims were unable to work. Veterinarians should be aware of these facts.
The stingrays are unique aquarium fish. They are found both in the saltwater and freshwater sections of aquarium shops and make unusual, appealing and fascinating additions to any large aquarium. Rays are members of the Class Chondrichthyes, or cartilaginous fish. There isn't a bone in their bodies; their skeletons are all cartilage! The stingrays are also placed in the Subclass Elasmobranchii, a distinction they share with sharks and chimeras (batfish).
There are more than 150 species scattered among some 20 or so genera, most of which are found in pelagic waters and saltwater estuaries where they bottom feed on oysters, clams, and crustaceans. They own a good set of dental grinding plates and, coupled with their strong jaws, they easily crack open shellfish, bivalves, and other mollusks. But the impressive mouth parts of rays, although well suited for feeding, are not responsible for injuries to people. Human injuries, including a number of fatalities, are the result of being stung by their ``tail stingers."
Rays vary in size from a mere 10 to 12 inches to some 6 feet in width, and most measure at least 3 feet long.
Their tails are often almost twice as long as their bodies. The most popular of the aquarium rays kept by hobbyists are the freshwater rays of South America. These are members of the Family Potamotrygonidae. Native people in South America where these fish are found are absolutely terrified by them, considering the often casual attitudes towards the vast number of other dangerous creatures in their realm. Reports of injuries inflicted on hobbyists by captive rays are rare and many such incidents, if they occur, may be so inconsequential that they are not reported in the literature. Nevertheless, the potential for both serious injury and sequelae of such injuries (as well as effects of stingray venom, should it be introduced into the wound ) exists for hobbyists and professional aquarists. Veterinarians called upon to treat or manage aquarium fish may also be consulted in such injuries, so an account of this subject is warranted.
The stingray's venom apparatus is composed of the tail, or caudal appendage, along with a barbed spine and its enveloping integumentary sheath, and associated venom glands. There is a wedge-shaped area of tissue that is in close contact with the spine; thus, when the spine is lying flat against the dorsal surface of the ray, it is bathed in a melange of venom and mucus. There is a great deal of confusion concerning the terms sting, spine, and barb. The sting properly refers to the entire structure: the spine, its sheath, and the venom glands. The term spine properly refers to the rigid surface of the sting, which is made of dentin. The barbs are the backwards facing serrations associated with the lateral aspect of the spine. Depending on species, one or more spines may be present on the dorsal surface of the tail. The barbs facilitate the tearing of the ray's integumentary sheath and the broadening of the victim's wound. Barbs also work like a backwards pointing fish hook and make disengagement more time consuming and traumatic.
In short, the ``sting" of the stingray is a well-crafted, trauma- and venom-inducing apparatus that has survived the test of time over millions of years. Since it is not used for food gathering, its purpose may be purely defensive. The actual venom glands were passed upwards to some forms of more advanced bony fishes and air-breathing aquatic and terrestrial snakes, culminating, perhaps, in the world's only extant venomous mammals: the echnida and the duckbilled platypus, both of Australia. Curiously, in this same part of the world there resides the only known venomous bird: the oil bird of Papua, New Guinea.
Evolutionary biologists have not, however, studied the evolution of venom glands and envenomating as a distinct subject, so therefore it is only possible to speculate how stingray venom glands and delivery systems are related to venom-producing functions in more advanced life forms.
Stingrays are generally non-aggressive and intelligent creatures. They have been called the ``pussycat of the sea" and devotees of diving programs on educational TV are often treated to images of scuba divers hitching a ride with some of the larger forms. This is a precarious activity at best, however, since the stingray's spine is in a perfect position to inflict injury to a human pressed against their dorsum. And if frightened, roughly handled, or captured, they react quickly by using their tail to place the sting in close contact with the object of their discomfort. Stingrays cannot raise or lower their stings voluntarily. The wound they inflict comes from the arching forward flick of their muscular tail. Envenomation occurs when the tip of the spine penetrates the ray's integumentary sheath and lacerates the skin of the victim simultaneously.
Human injuries also occur during stingray capture, when people attempt to haul them into a boat. Another common scenario is for the victim, wading in shallow water, to accidentally step on a stingray buried just beneath the sand. In these instances, the ray flicks up its tail, usually lacerating the leg. Contrary to popular ``nature documentaries," it is extremely hazardous to swim directly over, or in close proximity to, a stingray. A flick of the tail is apt to pierce a person's body, and a serious, even potentially fatal, situation is in the offing.
THE NATURE OF STINGRAY INJURIES
Stingray injury has two aspects: 1) immediate physical trauma from the powerful penetrating action of the spine, and 2) envenomation at the site of the wound with the contents of the ray's integumentary sheath. Although venom is not always deposited during a ``sting incident," these two insults often work in dangerous synchrony.
Most traumatic injuries inflicted by rays occur to the lower limbs of bathers and boaters, and to the hands and arms of fisherman, hobbyists and other handlers. If a major blood vessel is lacerated, hemorrhage can occur and could even be fatal. There is at least one case in the literature of a victim whose femoral artery was pierced by the spine of a stingray; the victim bled to death. In about 5% of such injuries, the spine is broken off and remains in the wound, especially when the fish is pulled off the victim. Penetration of any part of the trunk (chest, abdomen, groin) is a serious medical emergency.
Introduction of the ray's necrotizing venom directly into the body cavity of a person has been known to cause insidious necrotizing effects on the heart and other internal organs, and death is often inevitable.
All stingray venoms are very similar. They contain serotonin, 5-nucleotidase, and phosphodiesterase. The latter two enzymes are responsible for the necrosis and tissue breakdown seen in stingray envenomations; serotonin is the cause of inexorable pain in the region of the injury. These actions will continue unabated if left untreated. Minor, untreated stings, particularly among hobbyists, often result in lesions resembling bacterial cellulitis. Since the serotonin in stingray venoms produces severe and immediate onset of local pain, any sting that is relatively free of pain indicates that no actual envenomation occurred and the ``lucky" victim endured a ``dry" sting. This may be due to one or more of several reasons: the sheath was previously ruptured, releasing its venom store; the sheath failed to penetrate the wound; the sheath failed to rupture, so the venom remained contained; or, the spine had been broken off previously. But for those people who receive a dose of venom along with the physical trauma of being hit, the tissue necrosis and subsequent secondary bacterial infection that occurs as a result is extremely difficult to treat; and many months and several courses of intravenous antibiotics may be necessary. Stings to the legs should be treated, as well, by several weeks (or perhaps months) of bed rest to help prevent exacerbation of the necrosis and bacterial infection occasioned by the dependent position in which legs are kept when the victim stands upright or walks.
Injuries from freshwater stingrays are extremely common in some South American countries where these fish are plentiful and come in frequent contact with local people. In Colombia, health authorities register more than 2,000 cases of freshwater stingray attacks annually. Over a five-year period in one small local hospital in that country there were eight deaths, 23 amputations of lower limbs, and 114 other cases where victims were unable to work for up to 8 months.
It should be noted, however, that clear cause and effect reactions are not readily understood where reported systemic effects occur in stingray envenomations. Among the catalog of such effects are: diaphoresis, nausea, cardiac arrhythmia (flattened and biphasic T-waves), anxiety, headache, tremors, skin rash, diarrhea, generalized pallor, delirium, neuritis, limb paralysis, paresthesias, lymphangitis, abdominal pain, arthritis, fever, hypertension and hypotension, dyspnea, congestive heart failure, and syncope. Some of these effects can be explained by allergy and psychological reactions, and stingray experts are unsure as to the true extent to which systemic effects, or their absence, are consistent and dependable signs of a realistic prognosis. As an example, in one autopsy report a stingray envenomation to the chest in a 12-year-old boy was found to result in death due to necrosis of heart muscle tissue. This was the result of a freak accident wherein an ``airborne" stingray (caught on a hook and line and hauled into the boat) slammed against the child, using its spine to penetrate the left lung and pericardium, perhaps penetrating the heart itself.
Asymptomatic for some time after the incident, the sequestered venom caused an insidious and unrelenting necrosis of the myocardium, culminating in right ventricular rupture and fatal cardiac tamponade.
Stingray injuries almost always occur in inexperienced and/or uniformed people grappling with live, terrified rays, or those people unlucky enough to step on one while wading. Unprovoked attacks, probably based on some territorial imperative, have also been recorded. Aquarium stingrays make fascinating, unusual, bizarre and, yes, usually friendly inhabitants. Friendly when treated kindly, and conditioned accordingly (stingrays are classified as ``intelligent" compared to many other kinds of fish). But, it is also necessary to treat them with respect . Handling of aquarium captives must be kept to a minimum. Trying to net them is a foolhardy exercise. Moving them from one aquarium or transporting them should be done by devising some way of trapping them, underwater, removing the trap with them inside, and then releasing them at their destination. All but the smallest stingrays should NOT be netted. Extreme caution must be exercised at all times. This might include the handler wearing gloves and a heavy long-sleeved shirt.
Good research, nice find. Thanks for posting it.
"Contrary to popular ``nature documentaries," it is extremely hazardous to swim directly over, or in close proximity to, a stingray. A flick of the tail is apt to pierce a person's body, and a serious, even potentially fatal, situation is in the offing."
bttt
Yes, it's sad that he died. I feel badly for his family
One shot in 1,000,000,000 ?
With 6,000,000,000 people on the planet, I think your odds are a bit off.
I'm surprised he wasn't already eaten, bitten, poisoned, mauled, torn apart by some animal
I was wondering about this and about to ask. Thanks. Or course, the natural reaction in that situation would be to pull out the offending object. I don't know if he would have survived though since it did pierce his heart, the odds were certainly against it but stranger things have happened.
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