Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2021 March 9

= March 9 =

Is it possible to perform heart surgery with silverware
Hello wikipedians I`m posting a question concerning whether or not it is possible to perform heart surgery with silverware in other words kitchenknives, forks, even spoons etc? If so what is the chance of success of this surgery? THANKS — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.113.197.52 (talk) 23:05, 9 March 2021 (UTC)


 * Have you stabbed someone in the heart while they were in the midst of a heart attack, and are now hoping to repair the damage?
 * Time is of the essence and you shouldn't be waiting for an answer from us, even if it were our habit to give medical advice, which it is not.
 * Do please drop us a note to tell what you chose to do and how it worked out. -- ToE 23:32, 9 March 2021 (UTC)
 * maybe the OP will get back to us in another 6 weeks or so. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:30, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
 * As with writing Wikipedia articles, the answer is that competence is required. Mike Turnbull (talk) 10:35, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
 * True. For example, using a butter knife as a scalpel is not likely to work. My money would be on a Spork. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 12:35, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Many things are possible, despite not being advisable. Surgical scalpels are much sharper than silverware. As for the latter question, please refer to the page header: "We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate." --47.152.93.24 (talk) 17:16, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
 * We used to say "A good medic is an improvising medic", and that goes to any desperate medical situation. You can do surgery with the lid of a canned food, having the risk of tearing tissue, if that's the only alternative to certain death. Also, this. אילן שמעוני (talk) 19:45, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Well, sure, if you've got no choice. Like "MacGyver". But since the OP first broached this subject several weeks ago, there doesn't seem to be any urgency. Maybe he's working on a new entry in the book series, The Worst-Case Scenario. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 20:38, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
 * After the planes hit on 9/11 some people took the elevator to escape.  It stopped between floors when the power cut out, but one of the passengers had been involved in the construction of the tower and knew what the walls were made of at that point.   He cut a way out with a penknife.   An Irish doctor was not so lucky.   When her car crashed the steering wheel crushed her windpipe and she was unable to breathe.   She picked up a paring knife and began to perform a tracheotomy on herself.   Rescuers found her dead after having just failed to complete the procedure before falling unconscious. 95.149.135.227 (talk) 15:34, 11 March 2021 (UTC)


 * Most forms of heart surgery, especially the kinds you might do with a knife, involve opening the rib cage. You're not going to do that with a steak knife.  A butcher's meat saw would probably do it, but if you've set the table with meat saws you're having a very strange dinner party.
 * Worse, the lungs won't work once the chest cavity is open, and there's nothing on the dinner table you could use to keep the patient's blood oxygenated while you hack at them. ApLundell (talk) 18:01, 12 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Once it's all splashed out onto the floor, wouldn't it be exposed to enough air to oxygenate it? The only difficulty is getting it back in. DMacks (talk) 07:34, 14 March 2021 (UTC)