March 2018

Page A16 MARCH 2018 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A ® “The Original Casket & Vault Combo” www.mccordcasketsandvaults.com • Email: mccordcasketsandvaults@yahoo.com PO Box 646, Bowling Green OH 43402 Independent & Family Owned Since 1945 Order direct at: 1-800-782-8249 Free UPS Ground Shipping 1' $140 2' $290 3' $350 4' $460 Staff at Leevy’s Funeral Home Mary Leevy I. S. Leevy vice provided by the Leevy’s Funeral Home. In 1997, Leevy’s Funeral Home opened it’s lower Richland chapel to serve families in the lower Richland community. Additionally, in 2006, a 350 seat chapel was added to the Taylor Street location. Rev. Chris Leevy Johnson has been entrusted with continuing the future Leevy legacy and Leevy’s Funer- al Home remains committed to the original mission of the late I.S. and Mary Leey, to always provide superior person- nel, superior service, superior equipment and understanding care at a very fair and reasonable price for all that they serve. They are so humbled by their phenomenal history and the 100 Black Women of Funeral Service are honored to induct them in the African American Funeral Service History Mu- seum- Funeral Home Hall of Fame. Legacies, Trailblazers and Inductees Continued from Page A15 By Matt Black Embalming Tips & Tools The Challenges of Edema (Part 7) When aspirating, consider an increasingly popular and effective technique – multi-point aspiration. I typically be- gin using a standard entry point, perform my aspiration then place a trocar button. Then I use an entry point on the right lumbar and left lumbar areas, recalling the nine divisions of the abdomen. In these nine division, we must remember to remove liquids, gases and semi-solids. We need to puncture these organs to allow penetration of the cavity fluid. Once a thorough aspiration has taken place, l use a pow- erful cavity treatment, typically a mixture of phenol cau- terant and Cavity 50. A popular recommendation of a minimum of 32 oz. cavity fluid with normal injection of 48 oz. Please remember when treating with cavity fluid that there is no distribution by the vascular system. This is only a saturation method by the cavity fluid. A unique technique is to wait 5-10 minutes then come back with a “dummy” trocar that has no suction or drain- age. Re-enter typical trocar entry point and use the tro- car in a fanlike manner trying to puncture the hollow or- gans again, forcing the chemical into the hollow organs and allowing more penetration of the cavity fluid into the organs. Please be careful! The formaldehyde odors and gas will become very strong. Once finished, washing and cleaning the body by rolling and scrubbing will also help with moving the cavity fluid around. A re-aspiration prior to dressing and casketing has be- come popular on normal cases and highly recommended for edema cases. Followed by re-injection as needed with 16-32 oz. of cavity if necessary, allowing the body to show you how much you can inject. A sealing agent for added with Saran Wrap. The commercial grade shrink-wrap is the only way to go; it’s a better-quality product.) At this point, warm the shrink wrap with a hairdryer. This helps to mold and seal the shrink wrap together. Use plastic goods with powder and/or a sleeve and stockings if pos- sible, with an absorbent preservative powder. Wrap the plastic goods with shrink wrap for even more protection. For the most extreme cases of leakage, when finished warming the shrink wrap, use mortuary sealant spray and apply to the shrink-wrapped area. If the leakage is from an area where you can use an ab- sorbent sleeve and/or stockings you’re in luck, though it is advisable to still use protection powder. At the elasti- cized opening of these plastics, where the elastic is con- tacting the skin, run a bead of sealant around the con- tact area of the skin and plastic. This will help seal this opening. The ability to use commercial shrink wrap, ab- sorbent products, plastics and mortuary sealant products will allow us to control the leakage from edematous tis- sue. Good common sense and embalmer discretion is al- ways advised. I would be the first to say there are numer- ous variations to all techniques dealing with embalming and its protocol. The future is in our hands – let’s work together! This article is only a guide! We must remember knowledge is power and we are the experts! The future of embalming is in our hands. Embalming, like modern medicine, changes daily. security can be placed around the trocar button/multi-clo- sure, and all incisions. This product is added as more protec- tion against leakage. The added security is cheap insurance. Use heat for removing excess fluid from tissue and wrinkles. Massage cream should be applied to the skin and any wrin- kles that may develop can be ironed out using a tissue reduc- er. It is best to do this process directly after the embalming to prevent fixated wrinkles the following day. Please allow a few minutes for the tissue reducer to heat up to maximum tem- perature. It should be hot enough to sizzle the massage cream. Pass the tissue reducer tip over the areas you’re treating in a smooth continuous movement. This technique can be used on eyes, lips, jowls, cheeks, and yes, the hands and fingers. Use light pressure for removing wrinkles, increasing pressure to reduce swelling and edema. Please be aware that excessive ironing will cause leathering of the skin. But if the edema is gross this process can be used. Replacing the layer of massage cream will help avoid weatherizing and accidental burns to the skin. Also, be careful around the eyelashes. Once you’re finished using the tissue reducer do not remove the remain- ing massage cream. This can help treat this fragile tissue. Elevation is such a benefit when dealing with edema. You may see wrinkles caused from draining fluid, especially in edematous hands. Using elevation with edematous hands will often reduce edema. Wrinkles are common in the hands us- ing this technique, but can be helped hypodermically by in- jecting feature builder. Many embalmers over the years have recommended using a firming feature builder and adding the advantage of preservative is always a help when dealing with edema. Plastics are always a must for an embalming procedure and are cheap insurance. It is always wise to use an absorbent and preservative powder in your plastic goods. If leakage is se- vere and continues, and you have tried every avenue possi- ble to relieve the edema in the localized area, start with we- bril that is saturated with SuperGel and cover the area. Then wrap the edematous area with shrink wrap, overlapping as tight as possible. (This shrink wrap is not to be confused Matt Black has been a licensed funeral director and embalmer in the State of Pennsylvania for over 20 years. He represents The Dodge Company in Central and Western Pennsylvania. In addi- tion to being a graduate of the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortu- ary Science, Matt also holds degrees in Bio-Medical Engineering Technology and Industrial Management. Matt has also attended the Fountain National Academy of Professional Embalming Skills, Springfield, MO, and is licensed in eye and corneal enucleation. He has presented at Dodge Embalming Seminars as well as numer- ous local seminars in Pennsylvania. He can be reached by email at mblack@Dodgeco.com. www.nomispublications.com Funeral Home & Cemetery News Contributors share insights and exchange ideas. 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