Thread: Deep laceration and staff?

Down in San Jose del Cabo and the surf was thumping. Anyway, i got hammered, teh board landed on me and one of the thruster fins hit my calf.
i flipped the board over and the fin was snapped in half, then i checked out my leg and i was fucked.
Got back to shore, was taken to the clinic. Missed my artery by a couple MM but cut my soleus in half. It is not long but is super deep.
Anyway, how long do i need to wait to get back in the water.

And, anyone have any ideas how i can protect it if i go in the h20 before the required 7 days? Super Glue? anything?
Thanks

well,if you really cut your soleus in half, and if they actually repaired it, you might want to let the muscle heal,which is way over a week. and your ankle should be immobilized so the muscle stays together.and then you better hope they actually cleaned out the wound with lots of irrigation, and used clean tools as well.tetanus shot?
when you get back in the water is minor.give it a rest now,or pay later

pics? 6789

here you go

Oh shit man, that sucks!!! Sorry to hear that, was that your 2nd day on the trip? I recall briefly reading you were heading down on one of the surf threads.

I had an almost similar incident about 10 years ago at one of the heavier south swell reefs in San Diego. I got sucked over the falls and in the process my foot wraps around the bottom of my board and the fin went straight into the arch of my foot, similar type gash. I got carried from the reef to my truck, then emergency room and 20+ stitches some inside and some on the outside.

Mine took a few weeks before I could realistically do any activity because it was on the arch of my foot and a very awkward spot that would almost pull open when walking on uneven ground. 3+ weeks for me to get back in the water because of this. Yours should be sooner.

I would be worried about staff in Mexico, sad to report but you risk infection with an open wound down there. It will be luck whether you get an infection or something because it only takes 1 sewer pipe flowing freely into the ocean, which most do down in Mex. I've had pink eye from Mex water and i know a few that have caught staff from Rosarito/Ensenada etc...Stay safe and take care of that thing!

By the way, after my stitches I switched to proteck fins for a little while (www.surfcohawaii.com). I think the Carbon X fins they make now a days are pretty rigid but still provide more safety from fin cuts, which is slightly behind reef slams and the men in grey suits on my list. There might be a slight difference in drag/drive performance but nothing that I would ever notice. Only the guys that kill it and are spancered might notice a big difference but not me. Now I ride whatever is in my board but for a while it gave me piece of mind to throw myself over the ledge again without thinking twice about a gnar gash from my fins.

The docs probably told you to keep the dressing clean and dry for 48 hours. They probably said to then remove the dressing and clean the wound site with mild soap and, in mexico, probably bottled water, keep it clean, clean, clean, clean and either open to air or dressed. They probably said to return in 8 - 10 days or so to have the stitches removed. They may have said to follow up in 48 - 72 hours depending on if the wound was dirty/contaminated.

I'm no expert, but I personally would do whatever the docs told me and wouldn't be going near the water and sand until the stitches were out and I was sure there was no infection.

I would rather miss some epic sessions then end up in some mexican hospital with an infection. Soleus injury aside...

good luck

Oh, and if I had loss of sensation or motor function in my leg/ankle/foot from the injury I would get the F!@# home to the states right away for an evaluation.

^^^ Thanks all, yeah no sign of infection and it has been a couple days. Super clean and no puss.
NOt entereing the water.

Cool man, tough to not surf while on a surf trip but it happens.

Drink lotso Tekillya and when we travel the injured guy of our crew goes on photo/video duty! Have fun

Looks like they irrigated muy mucho. Not sure I agree with the finger F of your calf-gina though, but the visual is awesome. hanks for posting the pics. Glad to hear you are on the mend with no signs of rot. Stick to the glass bottom boat and some internal antiseptics. BTW I learned at Mt. Hood Meadows (because St. Helens was active back then).

Yo skinipenem, love the quote. I always go out of my way to acknowledge other BB fans. Last one I saw was a Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems shirt at a drop zone in CA. Wish they had made the sequel.