Last year, Dr. Mark Thomas, a surgeon at the Oregon Burn Center at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, had a hunch. More and more, he noticed, patients were coming in maimed by nasty, hyperfocused burns—a “catastrophic injury pattern” that offered little if any prospect of a full recovery.
Now, after looking into the matter further, he’s launching something of a public health crusade. “I’m tired of cutting off arms and legs,” he tells WW.
The objects of his ire are the little butane torches that have become ubiquitous implements for drug smokers in Portland and beyond…