Orthopedic emergencies at Iris-Sud hospitals are dealing with new pathologies that are taking hold. Reportage.
With the return of sunny days, electric scooter accidents are on the rise.
If the phenomenon is not new, self-service machines have made a place for themselves in the urban landscape in the space of a few years. A “soft”, silent and very practical mode of travel, but which can be dangerous in terms of health. In hospitals, the number of people treated for fractures following electric scooter accidents is rising sharply.
This is the case within the Iris hospitals, and in particular at the level of the orthopedic emergency services available for three years, with a view to improving patient care and relieving congestion in general emergencies. The Brussels hospital has in fact developed specific additional care at three of its sites (Bracops, Longchamps and Etterbeek-Ixelles) via a service 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. And since its creation, emergencies have faced to an over-representation of orthopedic injuries caused by electric scooters. “It’s just amazing how much it has grown in recent months, it has become one of our daily activities”, is still surprised Renaud Baillon, coordinator of surgery and head of the Orthopedic-Traumatology Unit of the Joseph Bracops hospital (Iris Sud hospitals). Trauma related to these accidents have become the daily bread of orthopedic surgeries. On the Etterbeek-Ixelles site, specialists receive new cases every day.