Stab victim

[writer for life]

Say a guy got stabbed in the chest, but lived... how long would he have to stay in the hospital... and would he need some sort of cast, or brace or anything like that?

[Joseph Gillis]

Length of stay would depend on which organs were injured and how. I person stabbed in the chest could conceivably be discharged after a night of observation or have months of hospitalization depending upon the injury. If you're pretty vague on the injury, you could keep them in the hospital as long or as short as you need. However, the longer they stay in the hospital, the weaker they'll be when they get out. You don't spend a month in hospital and then chase down bad guys on rooftops that afternoon.

[writer for life]

I have him out like a few days later, so it's cool. He doesn't chase a bad guy until a few days after that.

[charliepanorama]

I've seen a "live in the ER" episode in which a guy had accidentally shot himself in the chest with a nail gun.
I recall the senior trauma surgeon explaining that any penetrating wound to the 'central chest' requires emergent thoracotomy.
His point was that the tiny pin-prick hole meant nothing with respect to the potential damage inside.
And when they opened the guy up they indeed found that the nail had punctured the heart slightly and the guy was collecting blood in such a way that he could have died pretty quickly.
After a thoracotomy I imagine there's at least a day of hospital stay, or two -I would hope.
I can give you more details on that case if you want. But note: this was with regard to wounds of the central chest. I'm sure entry wounds via the flank are a bit different. Those might not get opened up.
Dunno if this helps but there ya go. cp