Flatline to Lifeline With Dr. Long

Ever wondered how trauma care can reach the most remote corners of our country? Joining us today is Dr. John Hill, the brilliant mind alongside Dr. Bill Long, who pioneered the Mobile Surgical Transport Team (MSTT) in Oregon. Discover how their innovative approach has revolutionized trauma care by bringing critical surgical interventions directly to rural hospitals, drastically improving survival rates. You'll hear about the o...

Join us for a gripping recap of the 1986 Mount Hood disaster on Flatline to Lifeline. Listen as Dr. Bill Long takes us through the bone-chilling events, describing the blizzard that ensnared a group of high school students and faculty, turning an annual expedition into a catastrophe. Dr. Long recounts his experience from the initial awareness at the hospital to the moment the urgency of the situation shattered the calm, drawing in ...

Balancing on the tightrope of life and death, we delve into the ethical quandaries of critical care. Listen to Dr. Long's and Dr. Hill’s insights into the moral complexities medical professionals face, especially when personal beliefs intersect with broader ethical standards. Through a case involving severe brain damage to a 19-year-old woman in a car accident, we explore the intricate decisions around using ECMO for life supp...

In this episode we share a case study of a young woman who survived a devastating car crash, thanks to Dr. Long’s use of cardiopulmonary bypass . We explore the differences between various types of burns and the extreme impacts of chemical and electrical injuries. This episode covers it all, offering a deep dive into the severity of third-degree burns and the critical role of specialized surgeons in emergency trauma care. We discus...

Prepare to be inspired by the innovations of Dr. Bill Long and Dr. John Hill, the "Cardiac Cowboys," who have revolutionized trauma care. You'll gain deep insights into their use of the portable cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) machine, a game-changer in emergency medicine that has saved countless lives. Hear the gripping tale of a 34-year-old patient from rural Walla Walla, Washington, who survived a life-threatening sh...

What if the key to saving lives in critical moments lies in the blend of mechanical precision and human compassion? Join us as we uncover the extraordinary journey of Dr. Bill Long and Dr. John Hill, two trailblazers in trauma care whose partnership began in the fast-paced world of Southern California.

Discover how the evolution of cardiopulmonary bypass technology has revolutionized cardiac surgery over the past 70 years,...

Join us on this enlightening episode of Flatline to Lifeline as Dr. Bill Long unpacks the complexities of fluid dynamics in medicine. We'll draw intriguing parallels between the cardiovascular system and electrical circuits, making sense of blood flow and pressure gradients. Understand how these fundamental principles are applied in surgical settings, particularly in the function of the intra-aortic balloon pump, and how naval...

In a small Oregon coastal fishing port, a 60 y.o. male fell from a ladder on a pier trying to get into his boat. He fell 6 feet breaking his sternum, causing a cardiac arrest. The fall was witnessed by 3 men who hoisted him to the top of the pier, where EMTs awaited him. The man wasn’t breathing, had no pulses, and was unconscious.

Local EMTs did cardiac life support, including endotracheal intubation and defibrillating  him multipl...

Case study of a 22 y.o. male driver of car, head on collision on an interstate highway, blunt chest trauma, rupture of pericardium with herniation of heart into left pleural cavity

The accident occurred not far from The Dalles, an Oregon town on the Columbia River about a 1 ½ hour drive from Portland. EMTs extricated him from the vehicle, “needled his left chest” to release a tension pneumothorax, and transported him to the nearest ...

Penetrating Trauma (.22 rifle bullet at close range) with injury to left common iliac artery & vein with initial stabilization by emergency physician in a very rural hospital in Lakeview, Oregon 

Josh, a 16 y.o. boy, was going to hunt squirrels with his .22 rifle.  He drove his car to a ranch outside of Lakeview, Oregon, a small rural town where Lakeview District Hospital has a 24-bed capacity and provided emergency medical serv...

Case Study: Temporizing Balloon Angioplasty and Embolectomy for a Blunt Trauma Thrombosed Left Common Iliac Artery at a Rural Level 3 Trauma Center

A 36 year-old lady and her husband from New York were vacationing on the northern Oregon Coast when an oncoming car crashed into their car and their car went off the highway into a deep ditch. This happened during a coastal storm with high winds and rain. Coastal EMS had diffic...

Case Study of a Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound to the Heart in a Very Rural Setting

This episode includes a discussion of a mathematical description of the severity of the three worst injuries in a trauma patient, the Injury Severity Score, developed by Susan Baker at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Bill Long when he was a fellow at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. This score was further refined by adding physiological variab...

This episode, packed with an edge-of-your-seat medical scenario and compelling discussions, will encourage you to envision a world where there's always a glimmer of hope, even in the face of failure. Dr. Long brings his 50-year medical journey to life as he delves into the intricacies of board certification and surgical training.

We tackle leadership's pivotal role in high-stress medical situations and the impor...

Welcome to season two of Flatline to Lifeline!  Join us in this episode for a conversation about the events that changed the way some emergency treatments can be approached, somewhat akin to improving the performance of a football team. We explore the concept of the Golden Hour and how medical teams can prioritize the decisions and surgical and critical care of every critically injured trauma patient. In our experience, these chang...

Motor Vehicle Crash (Pickup Truck vs. Telephone Pole)

This accident happened in the Fall of 1983. At the time of impact, the restrained teenage female driver’s upper torso moved forward and hit the steering wheel. The transformer crashed through the roof, hit her in the mid back, and crushed her liver. She was in shock at the scene from blood loss. EMTs extricated her from the pickup and transported her to Emanuel.

She arrived in the...

Motorcycle Crash in Oregon Coast Mountains Resulting in Paraplegia and Prolonged Immersion in Near Freezing Water and Death From Severe Hypothermia

This young man, riding his motorcycle on trails in the Coastal mountains during the wintertime, lost traction and rolled down a steep hill, hit a tree, became paraplegic, and landed in a mountain lake with ice forming on it. No one witnessed the accident. He was able to grab a ...

Survival of Salt Water and Sand Aspiration

This middle-aged woman drove her SUV to a beach on the Oregon coast to watch the ocean in a winter storm. She parked her vehicle on the beach, about 100 yards from the surf. A “sneaker” wave, much larger than usual, swept up the beach and washed her under her SUV and trapped her there. She inhaled sand and salt water, causing acute respiratory distress. Bystanders pulled her from ...

Pediatric Cold Fresh Water Drowning in a Portland Metro Area Case Study Summary

This 4-year-old boy got away from his mother and disappeared near an area where Johnson Creek meanders and drains the foot hills of the Cascade mountains in Clackamas County on its way to the Willamette River. 

This happened during the winter time. While the mother looked frantically for her son, a Metro bus driver in Clackamas County was showing her son ...

Rural Trauma Road Traffic Accident in SW Washington State Case Study

This young man was the sole occupant in a car at an intersection, when his car was “t-boned” by another vehicle with a drunk driver. The accident was witnessed by other drivers who called on their cell phones to get help. Rural EMTs are mostly volunteers who work and have to be called in. The EMTs arrive at the scene approximately 30 minutes after the accident. The...