Can werewolves have scars?

[llearch]

Dr Abe is the local GP.

One wouldn't expect him to meet the requirements of your average thoracic surgeon. He might be able to do the job in a pinch, but I would want someone specialised, were I under the knife, and it wasn't in the back of a van that'd run into a tree somewhere, and I had 2 minutes to live if it didn't happen...

Don't get me wrong, but I suspect that, as K-Mack points out, it's a rather more serious job. After all - in a C-section, there's ~10 people in the room, not counting the one on the table. That sort of numbers who are in the loop enough to know what's going on and not tell, -and- have the skills required, just wouldn't happen in Genericville, from what we've seen of the place.

my 2p, of course. ;-]

[K-MacK]

It just makes sense to me that either the Werewolf community would send a really bright Were' to medical school, or bring in a trusted M.D. who isn't Werewolf, but already knows of their existence.
I'd expect maybe one surgeon per state, or every two states; with a trusted surgical team. The team might be mixed Were' and Smoothskin. for that matter; all you need for certain is a Surgeon who is aware of what can and cannot be done to Werewolf anatomy, and how to do what can be done. The rest of the team could be just experienced and trusted people with medical experience.
I've seen O.H. Surgery done: getting in is fast, fast, fast; and remember, the Wulf involved is in Smooth; and thus will react more slowly to the surgical assault on his/her body than a Fuzzed-up Werewolf. For a good doctor/surgeon-there would be time... just barely.

[Kris@WLP]

OK, more explanation is needed, then.

In the Mutations thread I mentioned that corrective surgery for birth defects generally doesn't work with lycanthropes. That's because the regeneration factor has the defect as a part of what it's trying to regenerate. Eventually surgeries that correct cleft palate, esophageal fistulas, etc. will be undone by regeneration- and "eventually" can potentially mean "before breakfast the day after the surgery." Even if all silver is used, over weeks or months the damage will slowly reappear.

That said, for surgeries to repair actual injuries regeneration is a bonus. The main inconvenience is that the entry incision will continually try to seal itself. For that you need the silver scalpel. If the procedure is being done in a hospital, is known publicly, and is done with the involvement of humans, then all the tools will need to be silver (except the sponges). The main reason for this is that the lycanthrope will need to be seen to heal at the normal human rate. He -could- heal much faster, if things were done a bit differently, but it would look highly suspicious.

For surgeries done in secret- and for emergencies such as the removal of silver bullets- it's better to go back to steel after you're in, keep things separated as much as possible, and work fast. You can take shortcuts which would be out-and-out malpractice with humans, because although lycanthropes -can- get infections, it's very rare. You can leave gauze, sponges, and even non-silver instruments inside, and they'll be absorbed or expelled in the course of time.

(There's one surgery which absolutely has to be done in secret- appendectomies. Lycanthropes CAN get an infected appendix- in fact it happens quite often, what with the hyper-efficient immune response dumping its "garbage" there. Lycanthrope surgeons set speed records for grabbing the appendix, because they CAN'T use silver for the entry incision; you don't want some future doctor wondering why in the hell someone has four or five appendix scars. Y'see, the appendix keeps coming BACK...)

Oh, one other note: any person who has dental problems is probably NOT a werewolf. It's kind of hard to get tooth decay when you essentially grow an entirely new set from scratch each and every time you change forms...

[Kris@WLP]

All that said, Dr. Abe is the emergency surgeon (NOT licensed as a surgeon) for the town pack. He's done a lot of cutting on the pack.

That said, if y'all want to be helpful, speculate a bit on why male circumcision works when other forms of baby surgery don't on werewolves... I just thought of that, and as yet I don't have an answer I like.

[Happygun]

[Spiritbw]

[RBrigham]

[Kris@WLP]

[K-MacK]

Circumcision? Since the regenerative systems in Humans are weakest in infancy, it follows that Werewolves would have the same problem, since-Gus to the contrary- they ARE Human, or human based. Another way that circumcision could be made to "stick" would be to swab the tissue with a dilute solution of SILVER nitrate-an antiseptic.
As to the why: Regeration systems are weakest in infants; it's because the growing body is taking most of the energy available, leaving regeneration at the far end of the energy budget.

[bar1scorpio]

OTOH, perhaps completely unrelated, you might noticed that both Gus and Peter are uncircumcised. Mainly because I didn't know how we were going to address the issue of circumcision, and I thought it was funny to have them being both 'cut' and 'uncut' when they shifted back & forth.

[Kris@WLP]

Actually I thought Peter -was- circumcised.

[RBrigham]

OK, I can accept these answers..., now heres another to wrap your brain around...

If a smooth has pre-existing scars, tattoos, misssing digits, ect..., when that person becomes a thrall, will any of these conditions change (ie. regrow said digits, tattoos-be-gone)?

[Kris@WLP]

Tattoos stay. (For that matter, weres can get tattooed; the ink is neither regenerated nor repelled, it's just inert.)

Some scars also stay- those which don't get in the way of repairing more vital damage.

Regrowth of limbs is possible, provided the thrall doesn't die of system shock or exhaustion in his/her first change. The younger the better; the less damage to repair during that first shift, the better. The trick, of course, is that it's not going to happen gradually; it's going to try to happen all at once. If Max Cleland* were bitten by a werewolf, he likely wouldn't survive.

* Former Georgia Congressman; lost three limbs in battle while serving in the military.

[Happygun]

I'm guessing, however, that Sarah-wolf might actually get away with it.

[RBrigham]

She has already gotten away with it, if you remember, she was shot by sheriff Con (almost point blank ) and healed almost instantly.

She was also "just born" as a were, being only approx. a half hour old (?), and she is in her mid teens ( i would guess ), so that her healing properties would be fairly high.

[Les]

[Spiritbw]

[RBrigham]

[Spiritbw]

[RBrigham]

[Kris@WLP]

[PHDrillSergeant]

[Kris@WLP]

[RBrigham]

[Kris@WLP]