31/03/2023
Immediately after receiving a devastating knee to the head by Justin Vasquez, Alejandro Gavidia lost consciousness and experienced an impact seizure which seemed to have lasted 2-3 min. As a ringside physician, these were the things I looked for and the things that concerned me:
- Airway management. During and after the seizure when Gavidia was still unconscious, we kept him on his side to prevent him from aspirating blood and oral secretions. He displayed postictal stertor which is caused by a partial airway obstruction above the larynx. It is a breathing sound characterized by deep respirations, with prolonged inspiratory and expiratory phases and heavy snoring, gasping, or gurgling. To assist him with breathing, we used the jaw thrust maneuver to open up his airway. The jaw thrust is preferred over the head tilt/chin lift maneuver because of the possibility of a neck injury. By the time we got the oxygen in the cage, he was conscious and refused it.
- Cervical spine stabilization. You saw how his head bounced around. As soon as we reached the fighter, we kept his cervical spine in a neutral position to prevent any more damage. We considered placing a collar on him but he was able to stand up and refuse so 🤷🏻♂️
- Neurological state. After doing a neurological exam, we had the paramedics transport the fighter to a hospital for brain scans and observation to make sure he didn’t sustain any catastrophic brain injuries. He also got imaging to rule out any acute injuries to his facial bones and cervical spine.
📸: Scott Hirano
