This young patient fell off of a minibike taking a hole out of his knee. He wanted to tell others how important it was to wear a safety helmet. Riding a minibike itself has its own dangers.

7 year old female had a back post of ear ring stuck in her ear lobe. The post was removed in our office operating room. Yes we have a lot of cabinets for our supplies. Although somewhat hard on the parent, their support is usually appreciated by the patient.

11 year old male fell down and cut his lip on the floor while playing basketball. The lip was repaired in the emergency department with his parent sitting next to and comforting him. My operating loupes (magnifying glasses) made enough of an impact to be included in his drawing.

This drawing by a 6 year old who fell off her bicycle and cut her chin. I repaired the laceration of the chin. She proudly showed me in the drawing the helmet she was wearing which probably prevented more severe injury. Her purple bicycle is just to the left of the green driveway. The house is above the driveway. This patient and her doctor are asking you to wear your safety gear when riding a bicycle.

9 year old with multiple dog bite lacerations of the leg. The patient wrote this note during the several debridements of the wound. He eventually needed a reclosure of the wound. He participated in the discussions about the surgery.

9 year old with a lip scar comments about her reconstructive surgery. I repaired her lip laceration two years earlier. She cut her lip when she fell off of a bicycle

6 year old who ran into a metal post cutting his cheek. We found a common topic of interest - Star Trek. During the repair he was explaining his dream of his starship cookie. The saucer section was a large cookie. He described a voyages to the planet of the mustard and ketchup guys. He explained that he hates mustard and likes ketchup.

These drawings are by a 10 year old who tried diving off backwards off the diving board. Hitting her head on the concrete side she lost consciousness. The ER doctors evaluated her for more severe injuries. I then repaired the cut of her eyelid and brow which can be seen on the second drawing. She asked me to tell other children:

• to be careful when diving
• do not do things you have never done
• before without someone helping you

Click here for a view of her laceration and repair. This is somewhat graphic.

This 17 year old was fortunately wearing her seat belt for this motor vehicle accident. She drew what was left of the car. When patients do not wear their seat belts, we see very severe lacerations as their faces go through the windshield. Air bags and seat belts seem to be an even safer combination (WHEN BOTH ARE USED CORRECTLY). Remember to follow your car manufacturer's recommendation for children in air bag equipped cars.

This 10 year old slipped on his toy truck and landed on his toy box. I repaired a laceration of the eyebrow and forehead.