The man who crushed 10,000 groins
January 3, 2019 7:06 AM Subscribe
They call him ‘Pete The Groin Crusher’, ‘Petey Pressure’, ‘The Groin Guy’, ‘Crusher’, and ‘Pain in the Ass Pete’: Pete Schiavo, hemostasis technician at Pennsylvania Hospital, is the first friendly face that people see when they come out of a coronary procedure, and while his three-finger method is hard enough ‘to be felt in their derriere’, some patients have called him a ‘health care hero’.
The full procedure (femoral sheath removal) is described in detail here. A nurse explains it on Reddit as follows:
You pull a large bore catheter out of a femoral artery (or a vein depending on which side of the heart was being worked on). Often, it is both. At the same time, you hold pressure directly over the vessel. We held 20 minutes minimum for an artery, and at least 5 minutes for a vein. Patients have been on blood thinners, so many times it can take even longer than that. Placement of your hand, or a pressure device, is critical to avoid hematomas, so we check femoral and peripheral pulses to make sure we are in the right spot. It is a relatively tender area, and patients have varying levels of what discomfort they can tolerate, so it can feel like they are being crushed. Once all is said and done and the pressure dressing is applied, then they have to lay flat for several hours to prevent the vessel from bleeding from pressure of bending at the waist.
The full procedure (femoral sheath removal) is described in detail here. A nurse explains it on Reddit as follows:
You pull a large bore catheter out of a femoral artery (or a vein depending on which side of the heart was being worked on). Often, it is both. At the same time, you hold pressure directly over the vessel. We held 20 minutes minimum for an artery, and at least 5 minutes for a vein. Patients have been on blood thinners, so many times it can take even longer than that. Placement of your hand, or a pressure device, is critical to avoid hematomas, so we check femoral and peripheral pulses to make sure we are in the right spot. It is a relatively tender area, and patients have varying levels of what discomfort they can tolerate, so it can feel like they are being crushed. Once all is said and done and the pressure dressing is applied, then they have to lay flat for several hours to prevent the vessel from bleeding from pressure of bending at the waist.
(it was a toss-up between that and "I would crush 500 groins and I would crush 500 more" à la Proclaimers)
posted by terretu at 7:18 AM on January 3, 2019 [12 favorites]
posted by terretu at 7:18 AM on January 3, 2019 [12 favorites]
Typical, another man taking a job a woman would be so much better suited for.
I keed, I keed
posted by phunniemee at 7:33 AM on January 3, 2019 [10 favorites]
I keed, I keed
posted by phunniemee at 7:33 AM on January 3, 2019 [10 favorites]
Nice article. I can't imagine another person I would prefer to have crush my groin.
posted by exogenous at 8:19 AM on January 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by exogenous at 8:19 AM on January 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
I had heard people paid money for this kind of treatment, but this was not what I expected.
posted by GuyZero at 8:45 AM on January 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by GuyZero at 8:45 AM on January 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
After the Navy, Schiavo became a welder at a General Electric plant in Southwest Philly. When four of his colleagues died of heart attacks at the plant in a short period of time, GE offered to put employees through EMT and paramedic school so they might be able to aid their colleagues in the future.
Schiavo raised his hand.
After training, he began moonlighting as a critical-care technician and volunteered with his local ambulance company. After the GE plant closed, Schiavo was hired at Pennsylvania Hospital — the nation’s first hospital — where he worked as a critical-care tech for three years before his current position opened up.
Never turn down the opportunity to learn something. You never know when it might come in handy.
GE's approach is interesting... We have an aging workforce here that I'm concerned about. We do have First Responder training, and calling 911 gets pros here pretty quickly (<5 min generally). I'm not sure getting extra training would really be helpful, other than maybe being able to spot the signs earlier and call 911 immediately. If you had a longer lag time getting emergency personnel in, then I could see it. (End derail)
Interesting procedure, one that I did not know existed before today and sounds pretty awful, but also very critical.
posted by Fig at 10:11 AM on January 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
Schiavo raised his hand.
After training, he began moonlighting as a critical-care technician and volunteered with his local ambulance company. After the GE plant closed, Schiavo was hired at Pennsylvania Hospital — the nation’s first hospital — where he worked as a critical-care tech for three years before his current position opened up.
Never turn down the opportunity to learn something. You never know when it might come in handy.
GE's approach is interesting... We have an aging workforce here that I'm concerned about. We do have First Responder training, and calling 911 gets pros here pretty quickly (<5 min generally). I'm not sure getting extra training would really be helpful, other than maybe being able to spot the signs earlier and call 911 immediately. If you had a longer lag time getting emergency personnel in, then I could see it. (End derail)
Interesting procedure, one that I did not know existed before today and sounds pretty awful, but also very critical.
posted by Fig at 10:11 AM on January 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
Schiavo, 52, was so overwhelmed to learn that reader Sandy Kuritzky, whose husband’s groin he crushed earlier this year, nominated him for this series that he wept tears of joy several times during his interview.
“I know he doesn’t remember me or my husband because he has his hands on so many groins,”
This is delightful, in and out of context.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:12 AM on January 3, 2019 [12 favorites]
“I know he doesn’t remember me or my husband because he has his hands on so many groins,”
This is delightful, in and out of context.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:12 AM on January 3, 2019 [12 favorites]
>when it might come in handy<
I see what you did there...
posted by twidget at 5:40 PM on January 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
I see what you did there...
posted by twidget at 5:40 PM on January 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
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posted by terretu at 7:16 AM on January 3, 2019 [1 favorite]