Teenaged stabbing victim saved by LAA
London’s Air Ambulance (LAA) has reported on a mission that took place earlier this year that saw them attend the scene of a stabbing of a teenaged boy. An LAA doctor and paramedic were by the boy’s side in moments, performed open heart surgery and administered blood at the roadside, bringing him back from being clinically dead. The 16-year-old has since been to visit the team that saved his life.
London’s Air Ambulance (LAA) has reported on a mission that took place earlier this year that saw them attend the scene of a stabbing of a teenaged boy. An LAA doctor and paramedic were by the boy’s side in moments, performed open heart surgery and administered blood at the roadside, bringing him back from being clinically dead. The 16-year-old has since been to visit the team that saved his life.
Dr Anne Weaver, lead clinician at LAA and emergency medicine consultant at Barts Heath National Health Service Trust, said: “We were confident that carrying blood would make a big difference to our patients, but it has exceeded our expectations. Our team continually push the boundaries in medicine to save lives. London’s Air Ambulance also pioneered pre-hospital roadside open-heart surgery and we have the world’s highest survival rates from this procedure. To have Rayan (the victim) here today and see him making a full recovery and get back to school is what our work is really all about. We are a charity, and with the support of the communities we serve, this is an example of the lifesaving advances that London’s Air Ambulance continues to deliver.”
In March 2012, London’s Air Ambulance, the charity that delivers an advanced trauma team to critically injured people, became the first helicopter air ambulance service in the UK to carry blood and administer blood transfusions to people suffering from catastrophic bleeding on scene. Just over one year on, Rayan is one of 100 patients to have received this procedure. Since LAA started carrying blood, the Kent, Surrey and Sussex and Thames Valley Air Ambulances have used London’s operating procedures to deliver this procedure to critically injured people in their areas, said LAA.