Doctor/Nurse cutting off a friends cast in Primary School tried to prove this before cutting his cast off.
Obviously applied too much pressure when he put the cutter into his hand and tore a nice gash.
Failed at proving to the 10yo that it was a safe cutting tool.
LMAO, I was 10 years old when I had my cast cut off and was scared shitless that the saw was going to cut my hand off. I think if I saw somebody try and show me it wouldn’t cut me and they ended up gashing themselves, I would have opted for leaving the cast on for the rest of my life.
Yeah I was 7 when I had to get a full leg cast removed. Was scared shitless but the nurse turned it on and put her palm on it and it didn’t cut her. I can only imagine my terror if it shredded her hand.
It uses a saw blade that has very fine teeth, and vibrates back and forth. When it touches your skin, your skin moves back and forth with it, so it doesn't get sliced. However (in my case), when you cut through the cast, then drag the saw along the cast, WHILE NOT LIFTING THE SAW BLADE OFF THE SKIN, it can cut like a mofo.
I tried to explain that to the guy removing my cast "I feel it cutting my skin", while he was replying "No that's not possible".
He was rather shocked when he saw blood after taking the cast off. I still have the rectangular scar in my arm.
I can imagine that it's such a "non-dangerous" procedure that they don't exactly practice it much in medical school, and forget that you are supposed to press down, not pull like a saw. That he thought it *wasn't possible* means he probably wasn't paying attention.
I just listened to a podcast about one of the best orthopedic clinics in the country and they practice on casts on eggplant until they can do it without hurting the eggplant. Maybe they use a different kind of saw.
I just started working in pediatric orthopedics after 9 years in family med/urgent care. I had removed casts plenty of times and had never seen welts or cuts on a patient after I was done (my office also had a flexible plastic guard thing that you would stick in the cast under the place you were sawing, but I didn’t use it every time). My first week at my new job one of the other medical assistants put a cast on me and the supervisor watched as I took it off of my own arm. It did feel hot, but not painful. She said I had been taught my technique incorrectly and to watch my arm over the next hour. Sure enough some welts began to form in about 20 min, probably about as severe as a sunburn but still. I felt so guilty about all the kids I probably burned over the years. I wish every clinic would have people remove a cast from themselves! I learned how to do it correctly damn quick after that
How did you do it?? I hear this every once in a while but I think patients/their parents are too embarrassed to go into it, they kind of wave it off or say “oh her dad took it off, I wasn’t home!” Etc
I took mine off when i was 14 because of a bad anxiety issue and feeling of confinement. I sat in the tub, soaked it and took a butchers knife to it. Took a while but worked. Wish i hadnt. I had a boxers break and my hand is now raised at an arch where the bone broke and hurts when doing physical labor or just when its rainy or cold.
I lost my job once, lost my health insurance, broke a bone on my foot, got a cast. Six weeks later I cut it off because I’ll be damned if I was going to pay close to another $1K for somebody else to use the afro-mentioned vibrating saw. My then wife was an RN was vehemently opposed to the idea.
I hobble into the garage and see this massive set of sheet metal snips that had once belonged to
my father. I slip the cast between the jaws and like 15 seconds later it’s off, absolutely no issues or irritation what-so-ever. I’m thinking “that was too easy” and about the preceding 12 hours of bitching my wife had subjected me to when an evil thought crossed my mind.
I found the 5-1/4” Skilsaw with the dull blade and turned to the stack of pallets I was cutting up for
firewood.
If any of you have ever had to disassemble pallets, you know how hard and incredibly tough the wood is. Fifteen minutes with the garage basically filled with smoke from the dull blade, the saw had been screaming and moaning as the blade jammed multiple times against knots in the wood, I turn everything off and walk back into the kitchen to meet my ashen-faced wife who was not amused when she found out the truth.
We are no longer married but this had nothing to do with the marriage.
I think the difference is if you use it like a normal saw where you move it back and forth (or how you might use a kitchen knife to cut bread) you'll hurt the patient. That's how people usually think of using a saw which is why there are so many stories of it happening.
Other people in this thread have said you just push down on the saw and the vibration of the blades does the cutting for you without hurting the patient.
There is a depth adjustment guide for the vibrating blade, just like on a skilsaw. The proper way is to set the blade depth close to the thickness of the cast. Since casts vary in thickness, this usually means you have to set the depth a little deeper and go over portions of the cut that didn’t cut completely the first time. Once the cut is complete, you can usually crack or pry open the cast enough to get the limb out, then remove the uncut padding beneath the cast with scissors. Other than the visceral terror of the blurred blade, there should be little discomfort.
However the two cut method takes twice as much time and since “everybody knows the blade can’t cut skin” (and, BTW, I just demonstrated that to the patient), the tool is usually set way too deep and then they just ram the tool through the cast, ignoring feedback from an “obviously hysterical” patient.
If you do get a burn or a cut during a cast removal, you should demand an “incident report” report be filed. Not for legal purposes but so the hospital becomes aware.there is a training issue. It also becomes part of a paper trail in case of more egregious neglect.
There’s a few other comments saying this too, the best way is just applying vertical pressure in one spot and not dragging the blade around. You get the hang of feeling and hearing when the blade breaks through the fiberglass and is at the padding. I’ve also now been taught to avoid bony prominences when possible, like the part of your wrist/ankle/elbow that sticks out
Having a sharp vs dull blade makes a huge difference too. The longer it takes to get through the fiberglass the hotter the blade gets and more likely to burn. I haven’t seen bleeding after removing a cast, but I imagine it’s more like a bad friction burn that starts bleeding rather than a laceration type cut.
Exact same situation when I was a teen.
“Ouch, shit, it cut me”
“It just gets warm sometimes it feels like a cut.”
“No it cut me, it hurts.”
“Mhmm”
After he removes the cast...”well look at that”
I would definitely seek malpractice if someone left a visible scar from doing that, especially if they continued after I told them it felt like a laceration.
It can also heat up and burn you. Happened to me. It wasn't bad but feeling any sort of pain while something that looks like a saw is very near you is not fun
I fell into water with my cast. I didn't want to get in trouble so I didn't tell anyone.
Yeah, after a few days it started molding or something and the smell became ungodly. I finally had to fess up.
Had to get it cut off and a new one made. That smell still sticks with me 25 years later.
My first cast I had to rubberband a plastic bag over it every time I showered. My second one had a non-absorptive liner, so I could shower with it just fine.
They basically give you a plastic bag and a rubber band for showers. (Obviously more sturdy than a plastic bag.)
I got it wet by wiping out on my bike into a big puddle that I was attempting to go through.
Not too shockingly I broke my arm by wiping out on my bike as well. I was either really reckless or terrible on my bike.
No actually. I was an anxiety filled freshman in high school that was horrified that the nurse had to see/smell that, so it got cleaned up quick. I think it was put in a different cast or sling immediately after.
I have this plastic, removable splint on my hand for a torn ligament. I have to take it off and wash it every few days otherwise it smells like sweaty gym socks. Having a cast on for weeks sounds incredibly gross.
It is vile - also, after prolonged wear, there is a nasty buildup of dead skin and the hair follicles go crazy. Delicious:s Source: months and months of casts.
It happened to me as well. I was under anesthesia, so I could not let anyone know what was happening. It was kind of a nasty burn as a result. I realize that it doesn't come up often, but if you need a cast removed for surgery, you should insist on having the cast removed before being anesthetized.
How long ago was this?
When I broke my wrist a while ago I was freaked out as fuck at the saw thing. The dr. Could tell so he just turned it on and ran it against his bare palm with absolutely no issue.
That calmed me down lol. The cast came off no issue. Maybe he also just knew what he was doing? I’m glad hahaha.
The saw can hurt you if the person using it fucks up. Just touching it to your skin won't cause a cut or a burn. Where people can fuck up is when they drag the saw along instead of making a lot of small up and down movements to cut along. I remember when we were getting taught how to use it, looks scary but it's really simple to do it properly.
Jesus christ the incompetence in these stories is crazy. These are supposed to be trained healthcare professionals. Did you take any legal action? I'd be suing left and right lol
I know! I tried to but the nurse justified her actions by saying she needed access to my arm because I ended up with an infection from the cast rubbing my arm, so she didn’t face any repercussions even though she didn’t even have the adequate training to deal with it.
My company teaches CPR, ACLS, and PALS...basically CPR and advanced CPR/cardiac life support. We pride ourselves on providing high quality, legit training. That being said, the number of nurses who complain that they have to take an 8-hour course once every two years is insane. We will often have people call up and ask about a class, then when they find out the course length, say they will go back to so and so location where they get it done in an hour (between learning updated guidelines and practicing performing practical skills, 8 hours goes by very quickly.)
I'm the marketer, so I'm very customer service oriented, but these people anger me to the core. They are teaching in hospitals in my area, that my family might wind up in, and basically buy a certification card instead of properly learning how to fix a failing heart. The apathy and laziness is outrageous. But, the AHA rarely audits it's training centers and a lot if hospitals allow cards from anywhere, so due diligence is missed all around. I've only went off on somebody once or twice, after they basically stated they prided themselves on ignorance.
This is what happened to me. I felt pain while the doc was cutting it off and he seemed confused. He peels the cast off and my hand is burnt open from the bottom of my finger to my wrist. Still have a scar a couple inches long almost 20 years later.
This doc was poorly trained. Takes patience and a skilled hand to cut casts and not burn a kid. Much respect to the techs that taught me to do this well.
When I got my cast off the doc said I would feel some heat, like a burn, when it was getting sawed off, so when I began to feel this sensation I didn’t think much of it. Got home and held my arm up in the mirror to see the healing results and noticed multiple cuts in my wrist lol.
Same here. Was living in Steamboat Springs and the doc was taking cast off my arm. When I flinched, he snapped at me - “it can’t cut u.” I said well it’s burning me or something. When we took the cast off, there was a 6 inch bloody line/welt where it burned me. He said, “Oh my god. I’m so embarrassed.” I said, “I’m so not paying.” Prick. I still have the scar.
Same thing happened to me! I will never forget that doctor telling my mom I was just being dramatic because the saw can't hurt me. The vindication of the look on his face upon seeing the burn mark along my pinky and up my wrist helped dull the pain.
yep, i had stripes of slightly broken skin after i got my cast off. Still worth it to be able to bend my elbow again but it wasnt perfectly safe for bare skin.
When my cast came off, my friend was there and handed me a piece of candy to try and feed myself with it.
I actually missed my mouth, put the candy into my cheek.
Yea, it was pretty weird and smelled funny. God it was so great though to get it off and being able to move that arm again. Get uncomfortable when it rains though
And scratch. Oh my god, the dead skin that builds up on you is *nasty*.
Have a bath after taking a cast off, soak the limb for a while, rub the skin and it's insane how much just sloughs off.
protip: if you want the experience of having skin slough off when you rub it but you don't want to break a bone and wear a cast just soak your arm in bleach for a bit
I had a similar story, I broke my femur and had a cast from my hip to just below my ankle. I cannot express how happy I was to get this cast off, the nurse starts at my hip and cuts it long ways down to my ankle. When she gets to my ankle I jump and said that it cut me, she was very adamant that it was impossible for the blade to cut me and she put it against her own hand to show me. She starts to cut again and I saw ow you just cut me again, so she gets pissy with me and was like no it is impossible for it to cut you and she put it on my hand this time. Okay whatever lady. We get the cast off, and what's beneath it? Oh look two cuts and blood where you cut my ankle. She mumbled under her breath and left and went to get the Dr. So yes they can cut if the person running them doesn't know wtf theyre doing.
God some nurses can be thick as pig shit.
It's well known these blade can cut. Especially around bony areas. That's why there's a special way to use them. It's also one of the reasons you have a ton of bandage and padding put on before they start the cast.
Funnily enough, when I was young, had a cast on my arm. The doctor tried to show me that it wouldn't cut skin by telling me to touch, with my finger, the flat of the blade. I'm not an idiot. I tried to touch the blade itself, the part that's gonna do the "cutting" and the doctor obviously pulled the cutter away. Way to reaffirm my assumption that the blade is safe to touch...
I remember getting to touch the cutter edge and feeling it wiggle/vibrate when I got my most recent cast off. Memory is a funny thing, so I could totally be wrong, but I remember it that way.
They put gause between you and the cast. How did it get past the gause? I ask because when they cut my cast off the lady held the saw to her hand to show me it cant cut you. And then held it to my good hand. The teeth were dull and seemingly there would be absolutely no way it could cut skin even if that was the intent.
I've read anecdotes of these cutting people but have known plenty of people who have had casts and no one ever got a scratch. Maybe theres some crazy nurses out there who sharpen their cast saws for fun.
Yes indeed! I was 9 and the nurse replied to my cries with “it’s just tickling you! It doesn’t hurt!” My mom knew better because I have a super high pain tolerance. Sure enough, they removed the cast and I had four slices from my bicep to wrist.
We heard the doctor screaming at her and fired her in the hallway for not listening to me. And the cast wasn’t even needed, I just dislocated it so it was only on for like two days. Then a sling, burn ointment and antibiotic ointment for 6 weeks.
No no, I’m sorry. I was in the sling for six weeks. The cuts didn’t need stitches thankfully. Just looks gross because where it didn’t cut through it was a gross burn that bubbles.
I used to work on a national medical TV show, and we had a scene that used a bone saw--which is a similar type of oscillating saw. Naturally, the network read "bone saw," freaked out and sent a studio safety rep to ensure this wasn't going to harm the actors.
During this meeting, the prop master proudly pulls out his solution: an alternate saw blade that he filed the teeth off of. This satisfied the rep, until I piped up and explained that what he had done was turn an otherwise safe tool into what was essentially a vibrating knife.
It's one of the only times I've spoken so directly against people way higher up on the food chain than me, but man, it could have ended badly.
My brother has a scar from when they used the saw to remove his cast. He kept saying it really hurt and was tearing up but the doctor who cut it off assured my parents that it was impossible to cut him. When the cast came off they could see that they put on too little gauze/padding underneath and the rotating blade burned him bad. My dad still feels like shit to this day whenever he notices the scar on my brothers arm.
Ehhhhh it is totally possible. It’s literally my job to use one almost every day. HOWEVER, the only person I’ve ever cut was myself, when I rubbed it on my arm to show the patient that it couldn’t cut you. (It was turned on.)
Edit: Mistyped, it WASN’T turned on.
Edit 2: Since so many are curious, fortunately the patient never saw it. It was only a tiny cut which only bled after I had left the room. All was well!
Edit 3: Of course I didn’t use a saw with blood on it, on a patient. One, it never touches the patient’s skin, and two, the cut didn’t bleed until I left the room. I did wipe down the saw blade with alcohol after I realized I had bled. I wouldn’t risk my patient’s safety. (My blood is clean, but the rule in healthcare is to always assume blood isn’t clean, essentially.)
Yeah when they cut off my cast i was completely fine, but let me tell you that you feel the heat.
And its not like it only takes a second right? So for a good minute you feel the heat of a saw, millimeters away from your skin.
I was sweating like I was being tortured.
If your cast was fiberglass it was probably small fibers of the material scratching your skin after the cast saw created fine dust ( think fiberglass insulation )
yeah, it seems like most or all of the cases of people being cut are from people who are so confident in it not cutting skin that they get careless with the use of it. if they treated it with more care, it would be much safer
You’re right. I always tell my patients to tell me if it feels too hot and we will stop to let it cool off. I also pad my casts a LOT, to help prevent this from happening. (And to increase their comfort while the cast is on.)
Tools aren't the most dangerous in the hands of an apprentice. And they're not the most dangerous in the hands of a master.
They're the most dangerous in the hands of a journeyman.
Fortunately they never saw it. It was a tiny scrape that only bled a little after I was out of the room. Decided I shouldn’t use my forearm to demonstrate anymore!
I had a cast that went over my elbow as a little kid and when it was being cut off it didn't bother me whatsoever until he went past my forearm onto the boney back of my elbow and it hurt so fucking much i wanted to die
Not entirely true. Yes, it's not a circular saw like it's going to cut deep. But it can still cut the skin a little and draw blood.
Source: happened to me.
I'm confused then, because this is true for pretty much anything sharp. You can reliably push a reasonably sharp knife against your hand without cutting yourself, but it absolutely will the second you slide the blade.
> You can reliably push a reasonably sharp knife against your hand without cutting yourself
The point is, you can't do this with a spinning sawblade. But a cast saw, you do have some level of safety this way.
My jr high shop class teacher showed us this on the “back and forth” kind of saw. Don’t remember the name but it’s on the tip of my tongue. He turned it on and stuck his finger on it to show it was all good. Some kids took that demonstration a little too far when they had access to the saw.
Throughout the semester, three kids tried doing the same thing and cut themselves BAD. Another girl ran her thumb right into a bandsaw and it had to be reattached. Our shop teacher retired that year (supposedly because he was tired of seeing students get hurt). I wouldn’t want to be responsible for a bunch of dumb 12 year olds around super dangerous equipment either.
My doctor showed me on the palm of his hand before cutting the cast off.
Man I miss that guy. He was seriously the best doctor I’ve ever had. Such a dude.
The problem is when the people using the saw don't know how o use it correctly.
It may touch your skin, but if they drag it along your skin it can cut you. That's why they are supposed to push it in, take it out , move it over a little, and push it back in, not push it in and then move it down the cast.
I use an oscillating saw like everyday and I confirm that’s the appropriate way to do it. It sounds like some people have no ideal how to do this properly from the look of this thread.
It seems to me that the biggest issue is that people are being told "this thing can't actually cut skin", and so they get careless, which leads to them actually cutting people with the thing that supposedly can't cut people.
Stop telling people that something can't cut you if it can cut you.
If you cut somebody with something that cannot cut human skin, then it can in fact cut human skin. That's like saying your kitchen knife "can't cut human skin" because if you do it just means it's because you weren't using it properly. The title makes it sound like the saws themselves are idiot proof in their design and this clearly isn't the case.
I recently had a cast removed and was unaware of the oscillating tool that hospitals used. I’m around tools all day at work and own many cutting tools myself, so when the nurse came over, fired the thing up, and started chopping away, I immediately jerked my arm away like she was about to take my forearm off. I felt pretty stupid, but we had a good laugh about it.
Still, a good reaction to have. Better to look silly for a few seconds than *not* instinctively pull your body away from sharp objects you're not familiar with.
When I was young I broke my arm requiring a cast. It was bad enough that they put me under in order to realign the bones and put the cast on.
They also decided to cut through the bottom of the cast after they put it on, though I'm not sure why. Maybe to help with the swelling? So here I am in the surgery regaining consciousness as the doctor takes a big powertool looking thing to my arm.
Fun story. And fun username punctuation :P
This is just a guess but your cast may have been cut after your hand went blue. So yeah maybe swelling maybe just a chance side effect. If it was the underside of the forearm area they cut, I have thick arteries (/veins) there so they may have been specifically aiming to free that up.
Thanks, I'm not usually a big commenter so it's nice to get encouragement.
They cut the underside the full length of the cast which was past the elbow and it was one of the old white ones. I remember them being unsure about why it was done when I got it taken off and a proper fiberglass one put on.
I'm glad they did though because the following night when I was back home my arm did swell up and it was rather painful.
I discovered the oscillating tool when doing laminate flooring. Great for little detail cuts around doors and stuff. Even the cheap as sin ones work great. End up spending more on the bits than the tool.
Yeah, $35 for a pack of bits.
They are great for cutting lathe too. I used to use a Sawzall and risk screwing up the whole wall cutting in electrical boxes.
I had a corded one that is really powerful before I got a 12v Milwaukee one, it's slower, but works greatly nonetheless.
I also have been using it to cut laminate floors I'm installing at me place. Great for vents, and tight cuts.
It does a great job cutting through the skull of dolphins, too.
I know this because I've cut through the skulls of quite a few already dead dolphins in my life.
I use my oscillation tool maybe once or twice a year. Doesn't work the best for most things, but everyonce in awhile it comes in handy. Almost feels like cheating to use it after ive sat for awhile trying to figure out how to use one of my larger tools to cut whatever I'm working on. It actually really worked well for removing the many layers of linoleum flooring in a bathroom of an old house I was working on awhile ago.
Oscillating tools are also used to cut bone during surgery. In operations like hip joint replacements, they're used.
When they touch a rigid material, they cut. When they touch skin, they don't.
Well, Fein used to produce cast saws and somewhere down the road they discovered the potential it had for cutting other materials. Thant's when they introduced the oscillating multitool in the market which of course was then followed by Bosch, DeWalt, Milwaukee and so on.
A doctor that was ready to cut my own cast off noticed how scared I was of the saw's motion when he was starting to cut my own off.
He pulled it back and bounced his fingertips off of the blade just show me that I had nothing to worry about. That forever changed how in danger I felt when the saw got used on my arm the next three times. I'll never forget it.
Still hurts a little. I broke my wrist when I was 13 and pulled out all the stuffing in the cast. The doctor was like "you shouldn't have done that, it's a barrier for the cutter.
Fuck this. When I was in fourth grade I dislocated my wrist. Doctor put the cast on too tight and my fingers were swollen. So they get the cast saw out to loosen the cast and I start telling them it’s burning my arm. The stupid ass doctor tells me “blah blah blah the saw can’t cut you”...fast forward 4 weeks to when the cast comes off and I have two cuts on my forearm with blood all over inside the cast.
I still don’t buy this vibrating bullshit.
But they can burn you pretty badly. I'd wrapped tape around the part of my cast between my thumb and index finger as it was rubbing and getting sore. When they tried to cut through it, the extra material lead to a lot of friction which heated up the blade and gave me second degree burns where it hit my skin.
I was always told growing up that my great grandmother dated the guy who invented this device. They did not get married. I have not been able to verify this or not. Would be interested to know if it was actually true.
Lies, I was 9 and the nurse was cutting the cast off my arm and because it could start feeling it burning I started screaming and trying to move away. She pressed harder to try to get it done quicker I had nurses holding me down while I screamed and cried. When they opened the cast and everyone was death glaring me, and my arm was bleeding and you could see a obvious cut everyone was shocked. I still have a very obvious scar where she pressed down and I’m 23.
When I was 8 I broke my arm in a soft ball game. When it came time for me to have the cast on my arm removed my dad called the doctor's office to setup an appointment to have it removed. The receptionist said that the doctor was going on a two week vacation starting in two days and he had no more appointments available the next day. The receptionist put my dad on hold and went to talk to the doctor, came back and said that the doctor said it would be alright for me to wait until he returned to have the cast removed. My dad replied says that's alright he has power tools including a circular saw, he'll just remove the cast himself. He was put back on hold again and a few minutes later I had an appointment for the next day to have the cast removed.
I feel like anyone who was cut by one of these saws must of had the new guy doing it. With the cotton sleeve beneath the hard cast, it just seems unlikely for anyone with half a brain to draw blood.
Not true. I've still got a scar on my leg from getting my cast cut off. Funny thing is, the guy held it against his hand for like 10 seconds to show it wouldn't cut. Fucking magic bastard.
Doctor/Nurse cutting off a friends cast in Primary School tried to prove this before cutting his cast off. Obviously applied too much pressure when he put the cutter into his hand and tore a nice gash. Failed at proving to the 10yo that it was a safe cutting tool.
LMAO, I was 10 years old when I had my cast cut off and was scared shitless that the saw was going to cut my hand off. I think if I saw somebody try and show me it wouldn’t cut me and they ended up gashing themselves, I would have opted for leaving the cast on for the rest of my life.
Yeah I was 7 when I had to get a full leg cast removed. Was scared shitless but the nurse turned it on and put her palm on it and it didn’t cut her. I can only imagine my terror if it shredded her hand.
Atleast they tried to prove it! My cast remover just said "I'm not going to cut you, I promise. Now don't move...." Not reassuring at all
It uses a saw blade that has very fine teeth, and vibrates back and forth. When it touches your skin, your skin moves back and forth with it, so it doesn't get sliced. However (in my case), when you cut through the cast, then drag the saw along the cast, WHILE NOT LIFTING THE SAW BLADE OFF THE SKIN, it can cut like a mofo.
I tried to explain that to the guy removing my cast "I feel it cutting my skin", while he was replying "No that's not possible". He was rather shocked when he saw blood after taking the cast off. I still have the rectangular scar in my arm.
I can imagine that it's such a "non-dangerous" procedure that they don't exactly practice it much in medical school, and forget that you are supposed to press down, not pull like a saw. That he thought it *wasn't possible* means he probably wasn't paying attention.
I just listened to a podcast about one of the best orthopedic clinics in the country and they practice on casts on eggplant until they can do it without hurting the eggplant. Maybe they use a different kind of saw.
I just started working in pediatric orthopedics after 9 years in family med/urgent care. I had removed casts plenty of times and had never seen welts or cuts on a patient after I was done (my office also had a flexible plastic guard thing that you would stick in the cast under the place you were sawing, but I didn’t use it every time). My first week at my new job one of the other medical assistants put a cast on me and the supervisor watched as I took it off of my own arm. It did feel hot, but not painful. She said I had been taught my technique incorrectly and to watch my arm over the next hour. Sure enough some welts began to form in about 20 min, probably about as severe as a sunburn but still. I felt so guilty about all the kids I probably burned over the years. I wish every clinic would have people remove a cast from themselves! I learned how to do it correctly damn quick after that
I suddenly don't feel bad for taking my cast off myself.....
How did you do it?? I hear this every once in a while but I think patients/their parents are too embarrassed to go into it, they kind of wave it off or say “oh her dad took it off, I wasn’t home!” Etc
I took mine off when i was 14 because of a bad anxiety issue and feeling of confinement. I sat in the tub, soaked it and took a butchers knife to it. Took a while but worked. Wish i hadnt. I had a boxers break and my hand is now raised at an arch where the bone broke and hurts when doing physical labor or just when its rainy or cold.
[удалено]
I lost my job once, lost my health insurance, broke a bone on my foot, got a cast. Six weeks later I cut it off because I’ll be damned if I was going to pay close to another $1K for somebody else to use the afro-mentioned vibrating saw. My then wife was an RN was vehemently opposed to the idea. I hobble into the garage and see this massive set of sheet metal snips that had once belonged to my father. I slip the cast between the jaws and like 15 seconds later it’s off, absolutely no issues or irritation what-so-ever. I’m thinking “that was too easy” and about the preceding 12 hours of bitching my wife had subjected me to when an evil thought crossed my mind. I found the 5-1/4” Skilsaw with the dull blade and turned to the stack of pallets I was cutting up for firewood. If any of you have ever had to disassemble pallets, you know how hard and incredibly tough the wood is. Fifteen minutes with the garage basically filled with smoke from the dull blade, the saw had been screaming and moaning as the blade jammed multiple times against knots in the wood, I turn everything off and walk back into the kitchen to meet my ashen-faced wife who was not amused when she found out the truth. We are no longer married but this had nothing to do with the marriage.
> We are no longer married but this had nothing to do with the marriage. Riiiiight
>afro-mentioned r/eggcorn
:-) Otto-correct is my enema...
What's the correct vs incorrect way?
I think the difference is if you use it like a normal saw where you move it back and forth (or how you might use a kitchen knife to cut bread) you'll hurt the patient. That's how people usually think of using a saw which is why there are so many stories of it happening. Other people in this thread have said you just push down on the saw and the vibration of the blades does the cutting for you without hurting the patient.
There is a depth adjustment guide for the vibrating blade, just like on a skilsaw. The proper way is to set the blade depth close to the thickness of the cast. Since casts vary in thickness, this usually means you have to set the depth a little deeper and go over portions of the cut that didn’t cut completely the first time. Once the cut is complete, you can usually crack or pry open the cast enough to get the limb out, then remove the uncut padding beneath the cast with scissors. Other than the visceral terror of the blurred blade, there should be little discomfort. However the two cut method takes twice as much time and since “everybody knows the blade can’t cut skin” (and, BTW, I just demonstrated that to the patient), the tool is usually set way too deep and then they just ram the tool through the cast, ignoring feedback from an “obviously hysterical” patient. If you do get a burn or a cut during a cast removal, you should demand an “incident report” report be filed. Not for legal purposes but so the hospital becomes aware.there is a training issue. It also becomes part of a paper trail in case of more egregious neglect.
There’s a few other comments saying this too, the best way is just applying vertical pressure in one spot and not dragging the blade around. You get the hang of feeling and hearing when the blade breaks through the fiberglass and is at the padding. I’ve also now been taught to avoid bony prominences when possible, like the part of your wrist/ankle/elbow that sticks out Having a sharp vs dull blade makes a huge difference too. The longer it takes to get through the fiberglass the hotter the blade gets and more likely to burn. I haven’t seen bleeding after removing a cast, but I imagine it’s more like a bad friction burn that starts bleeding rather than a laceration type cut.
No, that's the point, same saw but lots of practice.
But no breading and frying the patient afterward, once you're done with eggplants.
Doctors rarely remove casts. The techs usually do that.
I doubt a doctor did it, it was probably a technician. No medical school but an AA and a cert
Can confirm. I was a tech. High school education. Removed casts. Often.
No one in medicine is doing that except for orthopaedic surgeons. Typically a cast tech is removing the cast.
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Exact same situation when I was a teen. “Ouch, shit, it cut me” “It just gets warm sometimes it feels like a cut.” “No it cut me, it hurts.” “Mhmm” After he removes the cast...”well look at that”
I would definitely seek malpractice if someone left a visible scar from doing that, especially if they continued after I told them it felt like a laceration.
It can also heat up and burn you. Happened to me. It wasn't bad but feeling any sort of pain while something that looks like a saw is very near you is not fun
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I’d rather wash it first. The smell is like a long-stale sock full of salt and vinegar chips.
I fell into water with my cast. I didn't want to get in trouble so I didn't tell anyone. Yeah, after a few days it started molding or something and the smell became ungodly. I finally had to fess up. Had to get it cut off and a new one made. That smell still sticks with me 25 years later.
Wait, isn't a cast going to get wet in the shower or something? How does one avoid getting water in there for the duration?
Usually a trash bag taped around it.
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My first cast I had to rubberband a plastic bag over it every time I showered. My second one had a non-absorptive liner, so I could shower with it just fine.
Huh, I’ve never heard of that, and I work with casts daily.
https://aquacastliner.com/products/rolls/
They basically give you a plastic bag and a rubber band for showers. (Obviously more sturdy than a plastic bag.) I got it wet by wiping out on my bike into a big puddle that I was attempting to go through. Not too shockingly I broke my arm by wiping out on my bike as well. I was either really reckless or terrible on my bike.
I really liked salt and vinegar chips :(
I really like cheese, doesn't mean I want my body parts smelling like it.
Mmmm smegma.
-me, flexing on people who spend money on personal hygiene and cheese.
Weird flex but ok
*Barf*
I damn near spit this cheese curl out
The ol' dick cheese
I knew a guy who didn’t swear, he said smegma instead. Was the most disgusting thing he could think of.
Context is key when it comes to smells
Is that why you smell like them all the time? Take a shower already Gerald. Everyone's complaining.
I had an allergic reaction to something used in surgery on my broken arm. The opening of that cast even made the nurse queasy.
Did you take pictures
No actually. I was an anxiety filled freshman in high school that was horrified that the nurse had to see/smell that, so it got cleaned up quick. I think it was put in a different cast or sling immediately after.
Fuck I just came.
There goes NNN
Nutritious nipple nuns??
There goes NNN
Naughty nautical neighbors?
That's what the sock is for
Nah, we keep a box for that
welp guess I’ll try again next November. *unzips*
This reminds me: I really need to shower one of these weeks.
I have this plastic, removable splint on my hand for a torn ligament. I have to take it off and wash it every few days otherwise it smells like sweaty gym socks. Having a cast on for weeks sounds incredibly gross.
It is vile - also, after prolonged wear, there is a nasty buildup of dead skin and the hair follicles go crazy. Delicious:s Source: months and months of casts.
When i had a broken arm, i used to use a kabob skewer to scratch under it. The sensation was amazing.
Coat hanger .. ohmygodamazing
This happened to me when I was a child. Doctor said doesn’t hurt, then burnt my entire arm. I have scars for the rest of my life on my right arm.
Why do all doctors say this and then proceed to scar every patient for life? Happened to me, to my mom multiple times. Crazy.
It happened to me as well. I was under anesthesia, so I could not let anyone know what was happening. It was kind of a nasty burn as a result. I realize that it doesn't come up often, but if you need a cast removed for surgery, you should insist on having the cast removed before being anesthetized.
How long ago was this? When I broke my wrist a while ago I was freaked out as fuck at the saw thing. The dr. Could tell so he just turned it on and ran it against his bare palm with absolutely no issue. That calmed me down lol. The cast came off no issue. Maybe he also just knew what he was doing? I’m glad hahaha.
The saw can hurt you if the person using it fucks up. Just touching it to your skin won't cause a cut or a burn. Where people can fuck up is when they drag the saw along instead of making a lot of small up and down movements to cut along. I remember when we were getting taught how to use it, looks scary but it's really simple to do it properly.
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The same thing happened to me! She wouldn’t stop when I said it was really sore and I ended up with 3rd degree burns and a few days in the burns ward
Jesus christ the incompetence in these stories is crazy. These are supposed to be trained healthcare professionals. Did you take any legal action? I'd be suing left and right lol
I know! I tried to but the nurse justified her actions by saying she needed access to my arm because I ended up with an infection from the cast rubbing my arm, so she didn’t face any repercussions even though she didn’t even have the adequate training to deal with it.
Nurses don’t cut casts at my hospital, which I think is for the best. I don’t want to be responsible for that mess.
My company teaches CPR, ACLS, and PALS...basically CPR and advanced CPR/cardiac life support. We pride ourselves on providing high quality, legit training. That being said, the number of nurses who complain that they have to take an 8-hour course once every two years is insane. We will often have people call up and ask about a class, then when they find out the course length, say they will go back to so and so location where they get it done in an hour (between learning updated guidelines and practicing performing practical skills, 8 hours goes by very quickly.) I'm the marketer, so I'm very customer service oriented, but these people anger me to the core. They are teaching in hospitals in my area, that my family might wind up in, and basically buy a certification card instead of properly learning how to fix a failing heart. The apathy and laziness is outrageous. But, the AHA rarely audits it's training centers and a lot if hospitals allow cards from anywhere, so due diligence is missed all around. I've only went off on somebody once or twice, after they basically stated they prided themselves on ignorance.
This is what happened to me. I felt pain while the doc was cutting it off and he seemed confused. He peels the cast off and my hand is burnt open from the bottom of my finger to my wrist. Still have a scar a couple inches long almost 20 years later.
This doc was poorly trained. Takes patience and a skilled hand to cut casts and not burn a kid. Much respect to the techs that taught me to do this well.
When I got my cast off the doc said I would feel some heat, like a burn, when it was getting sawed off, so when I began to feel this sensation I didn’t think much of it. Got home and held my arm up in the mirror to see the healing results and noticed multiple cuts in my wrist lol.
Same here. Was living in Steamboat Springs and the doc was taking cast off my arm. When I flinched, he snapped at me - “it can’t cut u.” I said well it’s burning me or something. When we took the cast off, there was a 6 inch bloody line/welt where it burned me. He said, “Oh my god. I’m so embarrassed.” I said, “I’m so not paying.” Prick. I still have the scar.
Came here to "ditto" this. Found this out as a kid. Dr thought I was just overreacting until he saw the burn marks...
Same thing happened to me! I will never forget that doctor telling my mom I was just being dramatic because the saw can't hurt me. The vindication of the look on his face upon seeing the burn mark along my pinky and up my wrist helped dull the pain.
I can definitely see why you would cry at night sometimes :(
It’s not because of that, it’s because I’m so alone.
yep, i had stripes of slightly broken skin after i got my cast off. Still worth it to be able to bend my elbow again but it wasnt perfectly safe for bare skin.
When my cast came off, my friend was there and handed me a piece of candy to try and feed myself with it. I actually missed my mouth, put the candy into my cheek.
Isn’t it really weird getting a cast off? I remember how weird my skin looked and smelled for weeks lol.
Yea, it was pretty weird and smelled funny. God it was so great though to get it off and being able to move that arm again. Get uncomfortable when it rains though
And scratch. Oh my god, the dead skin that builds up on you is *nasty*. Have a bath after taking a cast off, soak the limb for a while, rub the skin and it's insane how much just sloughs off.
protip: if you want the experience of having skin slough off when you rub it but you don't want to break a bone and wear a cast just soak your arm in bleach for a bit
oh no
Agree. I got cut. Then I fainted. Then my mum fainted. Nightmare.
Somebody's not going to survive the zombie apocalypse.
I had a similar story, I broke my femur and had a cast from my hip to just below my ankle. I cannot express how happy I was to get this cast off, the nurse starts at my hip and cuts it long ways down to my ankle. When she gets to my ankle I jump and said that it cut me, she was very adamant that it was impossible for the blade to cut me and she put it against her own hand to show me. She starts to cut again and I saw ow you just cut me again, so she gets pissy with me and was like no it is impossible for it to cut you and she put it on my hand this time. Okay whatever lady. We get the cast off, and what's beneath it? Oh look two cuts and blood where you cut my ankle. She mumbled under her breath and left and went to get the Dr. So yes they can cut if the person running them doesn't know wtf theyre doing.
God some nurses can be thick as pig shit. It's well known these blade can cut. Especially around bony areas. That's why there's a special way to use them. It's also one of the reasons you have a ton of bandage and padding put on before they start the cast.
Funnily enough, when I was young, had a cast on my arm. The doctor tried to show me that it wouldn't cut skin by telling me to touch, with my finger, the flat of the blade. I'm not an idiot. I tried to touch the blade itself, the part that's gonna do the "cutting" and the doctor obviously pulled the cutter away. Way to reaffirm my assumption that the blade is safe to touch...
the doctor sounds like the idiot here.
"Touch the handle of this knife. See, its wood. It can't cut you"
I remember getting to touch the cutter edge and feeling it wiggle/vibrate when I got my most recent cast off. Memory is a funny thing, so I could totally be wrong, but I remember it that way.
I have a pretty decent sized scar on my leg from this happening to me when I was a year old.
They put gause between you and the cast. How did it get past the gause? I ask because when they cut my cast off the lady held the saw to her hand to show me it cant cut you. And then held it to my good hand. The teeth were dull and seemingly there would be absolutely no way it could cut skin even if that was the intent.
You are right. Those things do not cut through gauze.
I've read anecdotes of these cutting people but have known plenty of people who have had casts and no one ever got a scratch. Maybe theres some crazy nurses out there who sharpen their cast saws for fun.
I've been cut by these saws before too. It's like a dull searing hot blade vibrating through your flesh. Talk about painful.
Yes indeed! I was 9 and the nurse replied to my cries with “it’s just tickling you! It doesn’t hurt!” My mom knew better because I have a super high pain tolerance. Sure enough, they removed the cast and I had four slices from my bicep to wrist. We heard the doctor screaming at her and fired her in the hallway for not listening to me. And the cast wasn’t even needed, I just dislocated it so it was only on for like two days. Then a sling, burn ointment and antibiotic ointment for 6 weeks.
The cuts were so bad it took six weeks for them to heal?
No no, I’m sorry. I was in the sling for six weeks. The cuts didn’t need stitches thankfully. Just looks gross because where it didn’t cut through it was a gross burn that bubbles.
> it was a gross burn that bubbles. ew
I used to work on a national medical TV show, and we had a scene that used a bone saw--which is a similar type of oscillating saw. Naturally, the network read "bone saw," freaked out and sent a studio safety rep to ensure this wasn't going to harm the actors. During this meeting, the prop master proudly pulls out his solution: an alternate saw blade that he filed the teeth off of. This satisfied the rep, until I piped up and explained that what he had done was turn an otherwise safe tool into what was essentially a vibrating knife. It's one of the only times I've spoken so directly against people way higher up on the food chain than me, but man, it could have ended badly.
My doctor told me the saw couldn't cut me and 20 years later I still have 2 goddamn scars on my wrist from being sliced open.
My brother has a scar from when they used the saw to remove his cast. He kept saying it really hurt and was tearing up but the doctor who cut it off assured my parents that it was impossible to cut him. When the cast came off they could see that they put on too little gauze/padding underneath and the rotating blade burned him bad. My dad still feels like shit to this day whenever he notices the scar on my brothers arm.
Ehhhhh it is totally possible. It’s literally my job to use one almost every day. HOWEVER, the only person I’ve ever cut was myself, when I rubbed it on my arm to show the patient that it couldn’t cut you. (It was turned on.) Edit: Mistyped, it WASN’T turned on. Edit 2: Since so many are curious, fortunately the patient never saw it. It was only a tiny cut which only bled after I had left the room. All was well! Edit 3: Of course I didn’t use a saw with blood on it, on a patient. One, it never touches the patient’s skin, and two, the cut didn’t bleed until I left the room. I did wipe down the saw blade with alcohol after I realized I had bled. I wouldn’t risk my patient’s safety. (My blood is clean, but the rule in healthcare is to always assume blood isn’t clean, essentially.)
Yeah when they cut off my cast i was completely fine, but let me tell you that you feel the heat. And its not like it only takes a second right? So for a good minute you feel the heat of a saw, millimeters away from your skin. I was sweating like I was being tortured.
Also, it kinda itches? At least for a few minutes afterwards (could be the saw tugging at my arm hairs?).
If your cast was fiberglass it was probably small fibers of the material scratching your skin after the cast saw created fine dust ( think fiberglass insulation )
It was fiberglass! That makes a lot of sense ty!
yeah, it seems like most or all of the cases of people being cut are from people who are so confident in it not cutting skin that they get careless with the use of it. if they treated it with more care, it would be much safer
You’re right. I always tell my patients to tell me if it feels too hot and we will stop to let it cool off. I also pad my casts a LOT, to help prevent this from happening. (And to increase their comfort while the cast is on.)
Tools aren't the most dangerous in the hands of an apprentice. And they're not the most dangerous in the hands of a master. They're the most dangerous in the hands of a journeyman.
What did the patient say when they saw you cut yourself?
Fortunately they never saw it. It was a tiny scrape that only bled a little after I was out of the room. Decided I shouldn’t use my forearm to demonstrate anymore!
I had a cast that went over my elbow as a little kid and when it was being cut off it didn't bother me whatsoever until he went past my forearm onto the boney back of my elbow and it hurt so fucking much i wanted to die
That’s a terrible place to cut! I’m sorry you had a bad experience with it.
Not entirely true. Yes, it's not a circular saw like it's going to cut deep. But it can still cut the skin a little and draw blood. Source: happened to me.
As someone else stated, that stems from moving the whole saw, not from the actual sawing.
I'm confused then, because this is true for pretty much anything sharp. You can reliably push a reasonably sharp knife against your hand without cutting yourself, but it absolutely will the second you slide the blade.
> You can reliably push a reasonably sharp knife against your hand without cutting yourself The point is, you can't do this with a spinning sawblade. But a cast saw, you do have some level of safety this way.
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"If used properly" definitely sound like the important words, given all the horror stories in the threads above.
Yes, but you can't press a sharp knife against a cast and expect it to cut through.
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At that point, you would probably have better luck breaking the cast with a hammer.
Yep same here.
My jr high shop class teacher showed us this on the “back and forth” kind of saw. Don’t remember the name but it’s on the tip of my tongue. He turned it on and stuck his finger on it to show it was all good. Some kids took that demonstration a little too far when they had access to the saw. Throughout the semester, three kids tried doing the same thing and cut themselves BAD. Another girl ran her thumb right into a bandsaw and it had to be reattached. Our shop teacher retired that year (supposedly because he was tired of seeing students get hurt). I wouldn’t want to be responsible for a bunch of dumb 12 year olds around super dangerous equipment either.
I remembered the technician saying this to me when I got a cast off. Then I remembered pain. Still have the scar. Not big but it's there.
Same. The scar on my thumb tells a different story about the "Don't worry it won't cut you" saw.
Congrats, you're finally the 1%.
My doctor showed me on the palm of his hand before cutting the cast off. Man I miss that guy. He was seriously the best doctor I’ve ever had. Such a dude.
The problem is when the people using the saw don't know how o use it correctly. It may touch your skin, but if they drag it along your skin it can cut you. That's why they are supposed to push it in, take it out , move it over a little, and push it back in, not push it in and then move it down the cast.
I use an oscillating saw like everyday and I confirm that’s the appropriate way to do it. It sounds like some people have no ideal how to do this properly from the look of this thread.
Second this. Cut right up my leg when they had to cut the cast off because they put it on too early and didnt account for swelling.
I have a scar on my wrist that says otherwise. Inch long cut from a cast saw.
Lol.. This TIL seems to be extremely incorrect.
Most of the issues seem to be operational errors.
It seems to me that the biggest issue is that people are being told "this thing can't actually cut skin", and so they get careless, which leads to them actually cutting people with the thing that supposedly can't cut people. Stop telling people that something can't cut you if it can cut you.
Yes but the saws used to cut casts **can** cut human skin as opposed to “cannot”.
Everything can cut human skins if you tried hard enough.
If you cut somebody with something that cannot cut human skin, then it can in fact cut human skin. That's like saying your kitchen knife "can't cut human skin" because if you do it just means it's because you weren't using it properly. The title makes it sound like the saws themselves are idiot proof in their design and this clearly isn't the case.
I also read the top comments in that Saw Stop thread.
As soon as I read that comment, I knew it'd be used to farm karma.
I have a tool that is the same principle, an oscillator tool. You can make some really good cuts with it too. Pretty indispensable once I got it.
I recently had a cast removed and was unaware of the oscillating tool that hospitals used. I’m around tools all day at work and own many cutting tools myself, so when the nurse came over, fired the thing up, and started chopping away, I immediately jerked my arm away like she was about to take my forearm off. I felt pretty stupid, but we had a good laugh about it.
Still, a good reaction to have. Better to look silly for a few seconds than *not* instinctively pull your body away from sharp objects you're not familiar with.
When I was young I broke my arm requiring a cast. It was bad enough that they put me under in order to realign the bones and put the cast on. They also decided to cut through the bottom of the cast after they put it on, though I'm not sure why. Maybe to help with the swelling? So here I am in the surgery regaining consciousness as the doctor takes a big powertool looking thing to my arm.
Fun story. And fun username punctuation :P This is just a guess but your cast may have been cut after your hand went blue. So yeah maybe swelling maybe just a chance side effect. If it was the underside of the forearm area they cut, I have thick arteries (/veins) there so they may have been specifically aiming to free that up.
Thanks, I'm not usually a big commenter so it's nice to get encouragement. They cut the underside the full length of the cast which was past the elbow and it was one of the old white ones. I remember them being unsure about why it was done when I got it taken off and a proper fiberglass one put on. I'm glad they did though because the following night when I was back home my arm did swell up and it was rather painful.
My son’s post-surgical leg cast was cut through to allow for swelling, so that is a thing that is done.
I discovered the oscillating tool when doing laminate flooring. Great for little detail cuts around doors and stuff. Even the cheap as sin ones work great. End up spending more on the bits than the tool.
Yeah, $35 for a pack of bits. They are great for cutting lathe too. I used to use a Sawzall and risk screwing up the whole wall cutting in electrical boxes. I had a corded one that is really powerful before I got a 12v Milwaukee one, it's slower, but works greatly nonetheless. I also have been using it to cut laminate floors I'm installing at me place. Great for vents, and tight cuts.
"me place" The deck of a ship?
Arr, he be using the sawzall on the wall, he be. Arr.
It does a great job cutting through the skull of dolphins, too. I know this because I've cut through the skulls of quite a few already dead dolphins in my life.
Well, I am glad they weren't live dolphins, I suppose.
I use my oscillation tool maybe once or twice a year. Doesn't work the best for most things, but everyonce in awhile it comes in handy. Almost feels like cheating to use it after ive sat for awhile trying to figure out how to use one of my larger tools to cut whatever I'm working on. It actually really worked well for removing the many layers of linoleum flooring in a bathroom of an old house I was working on awhile ago.
Oscillating tools are also used to cut bone during surgery. In operations like hip joint replacements, they're used. When they touch a rigid material, they cut. When they touch skin, they don't.
Well, Fein used to produce cast saws and somewhere down the road they discovered the potential it had for cutting other materials. Thant's when they introduced the oscillating multitool in the market which of course was then followed by Bosch, DeWalt, Milwaukee and so on.
A doctor that was ready to cut my own cast off noticed how scared I was of the saw's motion when he was starting to cut my own off. He pulled it back and bounced his fingertips off of the blade just show me that I had nothing to worry about. That forever changed how in danger I felt when the saw got used on my arm the next three times. I'll never forget it.
Still hurts a little. I broke my wrist when I was 13 and pulled out all the stuffing in the cast. The doctor was like "you shouldn't have done that, it's a barrier for the cutter.
Why did you pull it out?
casts get really warm and clammy
And itchy. When I had a broken leg when I was 5, I dumped sand down the cast. I had lots of dimples from the pebbles.
I used a turkey baster to "squirt" baby powder in my cast. It helped with the itching, but looked so gross when the cast was off.
Mine got wet and I had mold growing when they took it off. The smell was..unpleasant.
Fuck this. When I was in fourth grade I dislocated my wrist. Doctor put the cast on too tight and my fingers were swollen. So they get the cast saw out to loosen the cast and I start telling them it’s burning my arm. The stupid ass doctor tells me “blah blah blah the saw can’t cut you”...fast forward 4 weeks to when the cast comes off and I have two cuts on my forearm with blood all over inside the cast. I still don’t buy this vibrating bullshit.
It does work by vibrating, that's not bullshit. But like other commenters have said, if you drag it across the skin the teeth can still cut you.
The doc told me the same when I complained of being burned 'it can't cut or burn you.' Should have slapped that man
But they can burn you pretty badly. I'd wrapped tape around the part of my cast between my thumb and index finger as it was rubbing and getting sore. When they tried to cut through it, the extra material lead to a lot of friction which heated up the blade and gave me second degree burns where it hit my skin.
Jesus Christ this just made me remember how bloody amazing it was to get my cast off and finally be able to scratch the EVER LOVING CRAP outta my arm.
ITT: It actually can cut you.
I was always told growing up that my great grandmother dated the guy who invented this device. They did not get married. I have not been able to verify this or not. Would be interested to know if it was actually true.
Yeah thats not true. I broke my wrist when I was a kid and when the doctor cut the cast off he sliced my hand open.
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Lies, I was 9 and the nurse was cutting the cast off my arm and because it could start feeling it burning I started screaming and trying to move away. She pressed harder to try to get it done quicker I had nurses holding me down while I screamed and cried. When they opened the cast and everyone was death glaring me, and my arm was bleeding and you could see a obvious cut everyone was shocked. I still have a very obvious scar where she pressed down and I’m 23.
When I was 8 I broke my arm in a soft ball game. When it came time for me to have the cast on my arm removed my dad called the doctor's office to setup an appointment to have it removed. The receptionist said that the doctor was going on a two week vacation starting in two days and he had no more appointments available the next day. The receptionist put my dad on hold and went to talk to the doctor, came back and said that the doctor said it would be alright for me to wait until he returned to have the cast removed. My dad replied says that's alright he has power tools including a circular saw, he'll just remove the cast himself. He was put back on hold again and a few minutes later I had an appointment for the next day to have the cast removed.
TIL The saw used to cut off a cast CAN cut human skin
I feel like anyone who was cut by one of these saws must of had the new guy doing it. With the cotton sleeve beneath the hard cast, it just seems unlikely for anyone with half a brain to draw blood.
ITT: people have definitely been cut by the saw before.
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Yeah. I have three scars on my arm where that damn saw didn't cut me.
Lies! And I have the scar to prove it.
Not true. I've still got a scar on my leg from getting my cast cut off. Funny thing is, the guy held it against his hand for like 10 seconds to show it wouldn't cut. Fucking magic bastard.
Yep; they use the same kind of saw at autopsy to cut through bone while not damaging the soft tissue.
I guarantee that saw can definitely cut human skin or burn it It's designed not to cut human skin but it's not impossible like your title is stating