Sarah Maurer: auricular hematoma, ear amputation, reattachment, and VSD
Sarah's rugby ear hematoma becomes an accidental ear amputation during ER care, followed by reattachment surgery and VSD monitoring.
In Plain English
Sarah came in for an ear blood collection and ended up needing reattachment surgery after an accidental injury during care.
What Happened in the Episode
April is struck by a rugby ball during the ER procedure and accidentally cuts off Sarah's ear.
Clinical Concept
Auricular hematoma complicated by iatrogenic traumatic ear amputation.
What ER Teams Would Evaluate
A real team would assess the hematoma, protect cartilage, control bleeding, preserve amputated tissue, consult reconstructive surgery, evaluate VSD-related anesthesia risk, disclose the event, and plan follow-up.
Treatment and Management Overview
Episode-supported care includes attempted drainage, bleeding control, reattachment surgery, VSD monitoring, and counseling about separate VSD repair.
What TV Gets Right
The episode recognizes that Sarah's congenital heart defect matters for surgical monitoring.
What TV Compresses
The episode compresses incident disclosure, tissue handling, antibiotic decisions, microsurgical details, cardiology evaluation, and follow-up.
Sources and Further Reading
- iDRief catalog page
- Grey's Anatomy Universe Wiki - Games People Play
- Games People Play transcript
- Grey's Anatomy Universe Wiki - Games People PlayEPISODE
Supports: Supports Sarah's hematoma, accidental ear amputation, reattachment surgery, VSD monitoring, and prognosis.
- Games People Play transcriptEPISODE
Supports: Supports scene context for Sarah's ER and OR care.
- Merck Manual Professional - External Ear TraumaTIER 3
Supports: Supports general auricular hematoma context.
- MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia - Ventricular Septal DefectTIER 1
Supports: Supports general VSD context.
- iDRief catalog pageEPISODE
Supports: Supports episode-level evidence for this curated case.