Cauterize – Fire to heal wounds? 😮

Question

In a scene from The Blacklist, one of the characters uses a lighter on a wound to “cauterize” it. It looks painful but works. What exactly is it and is it actually done in medical scenarios?

In: 97

Answer 1

We use cautery all the time in surgery. It is, however, a highly specialized device. Using a lighter as cautery is a myth.

The idea is to burn a bleeding blood vessel shut. This stops bleeding of minor vessels easily. Larger vessels usually require different methods to close.