the Albertville hospital on the bridge

The SAMU helicopter from Chambéry (Savoie) arrives from La Plagne. On board, a doctor and a nurse surround a patient who has suffered a serious fall on skis. The diagnosis has already been made by a doctor from the Savoyard station, who decided to evacuate him to CHAM, the Albertville hospital. Arrived at the shock service, the radio confirms a severe fracture of the femur, in this Parisian tourist. “In a thigh, you can lose a lot of blood, and therefore a femur fracture, in some cases, can give a hemorrhagic shock”says Olivier Tilak, emergency doctor.

“It’s like falling on the road on a motorcycle”

During the winter season, surgeons operate here on up to 20 patients on certain days. For Anne, the ski vacation only lasted 24 hours. This Belgian tourist was operated on the day after an ordinary fall. “Someone who falls at high speed on hard snow is like falling on the road on a motorcycle, and there are more femur fractures in these conditions”, explains Benoît Vibert, orthopedic and trauma surgeon. With four times more fractures between December and March, the Savoyard hospital nevertheless manages to avoid overheating.