A dragon's wings are the most important part of their anatomy from a practical point of view. After all, the dragons were bred specifically to be an effective aerial fighting force, and in order to fulfill this goal, usable wings are a requirement. Wing injuries are some of the most delicate and involved repairs any dragonhealer can ever do.
Light Scoring:
Generally, a light wingscoring is the result of poor judgement on the part
of the rider. These injuries will consist of light tracks, the occasional hole,
and maybe scores along the edges of the wing, and both dragon and rider will
be uncomfortable.
Moderate Scoring:
This will most likely include damages to edges and sails, but not to cartilages.
The rider will probably be uncomfortable, and the dragon will be in some pain.
Severe Scoring:
These are the injuries every dragonrider dreads. The sails, cartilages,
wingbones, and veins are all likely to be affected by these injuries. These
are the kind of wing reconstruction jobs that are described in-depth in Moreta:
Dragonlady of Pern (© Anne McCaffrey). The
injured dragon will have to be restrained by a queen or perhaps two, depending
on the severity of the injury, and the rider will most likely need to be plied
with a great deal of wine.
Assess the situation:. Wing damage is the most painful of all draconic injuries to treat. For any injury that is moderate or worse, you will need the assistance of at least one queen dragon to hold the injured beast still. If the injured dragon is a queen, it might take multiple dragons to hold her. The rider will most likely have to be plied with enough wine to make him unconscious. Make sure the rider is also cared for--oftentimes severe wing injuries to a dragon will be accompanied by injuries to the rider as well, something that can be overlooked in the general hubbub surrounding the dragon.
Determination: You will most likely not be able to talk to the rider about the injury, so don't worry about keeping him or her lucid. Instead, get them out of the way, try wine, works wonders! Try to determine exactly how the clump of Thread hit the wing--did it land on the leading edge or the trailing edge? Are there any body injuries that resulted from the same clump of Thread? Make sure you assess the extent of the injury carefully to avoid missing anything important.
Treatment:
1. Slather numbweed over everything. The more, the better.
2. Check to see if the ichor is beading properly on the cartilages of the wing. If it isn't, check first for any severed veins that will need suturing first. Clear away the numbweed with oil-soaked cloth pads before checking.
3. Splint bones if necessary. Major gouts of Thread are liable to sever the thinner bones in the wing. Stiff reeds will serve admirably as splints for these bones.
4. Cut lengths of the finest cloth available to the measure of the length of the leading or trailing edge of the wing. Avoid using things like brocades or slippery fabrics, as the wing tatters will slide around on them.
5. (This step will take at least two people.) Stitch the cloth to the wingbone, thereby providing a support mechanism for underneath the wing. The cloth will need to be alternately stretched and relaxed during the stitching process to provide a firm surface underneath the wing.
6. Fasten the cloth to the underside of the wing with small stitches. Be careful not to place them too near a torn area.
7. Brace the trailing edges of the wing if necessary, securing them to the cloth. Lay the wing fragments carefully on the fabric as close to their original positions as you can ascertain.
8. Apply thin numbweed liquid in quantity to the fabric.
9. Float the wing fragments on the numbweed liquid in some order, and stitch wherever possible.
10. If any tendons are damaged due to stretching or tearing, they will need to be supported by thin basket reeds stitched to the tendons in question.
11. Cover with more numbweed!
Recovery: Recovery time can be anywhere from a few months to a full Turn, depending on the severity of the injury. The use of the cloth and the reeds provides a framework for the new wing growth. The wing cartilages must be monitored to avoid their drying out. If they do begin to dry, then ichor drawn from a healthy dragon must be applied (see Drawing Ichor). As the wing heals, scar tissue will form spots of unsightly thickness. At first this will imbalance the dragon, but after time the dragon will learn to compensate, and wind-sand abrasion will thin the scar tissues down to normal thickness. Injuries on the inner wing are more serious, as Thread can, depending on the angle, sear through the wing down to the body.
This problem is not nearly as prevalent with proper care than Threadscore injuries. In fact, it is almost more likely to see it on firelizards than on dragons. Nevertheless, how to replace a dislocated joint is something that should be known should the situation arise.
The dragon in question will most likely have to be restrained by a queen for this process, as it's bound to be painful as all get out. Symptoms include a severe, 'sickening' pain in the affected area, distortion of the joint, and swelling.
Assess the situation: Wing damage is the most painful of all draconic injuries to treat. For any injury that is moderate or worse, you will need the assistance of at least one queen dragon to hold the injured beast still. If the injured dragon is a queen, it might take multiple dragons to hold her. The rider will most likely have to be plied with enough wine to make him unconscious.
Determination: You will most likely not be able to talk to the rider about the injury, so don't worry about keeping him or her lucid. Instead, give them wine and get them out of the way. Make sure you assess the extent of the injury carefully to avoid missing anything important. Was the pain 'sickening'?
Treatment:
1. Immobilize the area and get as much weight off it as possible. Another dragon supporting the damaged wing helps.
2. With the assistance of a larger dragon, pull steadily in line with the bone, keeping it as straight as possible.
3. Splint with tree-trunks, and treat as a bad sprain.
Recovery: Approximately two-four months. A soak in the lake can reduce the swelling. Dragons should be careful of repeat dislocations to the injury site and recovery time should allow for gentle exercise before he/she is ready for duty. Dislocated joints are relatively uncommon among dragonkind, although they do happen.
