April 26 ,2023 – The Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital is hosted a press conference on Wednesday, April 26, from 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. to celebrate the recovery of Matthew Larsh, a motorman for Miami-Dade Police Department, who suffered extensive injuries to his upper and lower extremities as a result of a motorcycle accident last year. Larsh reunited with his Ryder Trauma care team, the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue unit who saved him at the crash site, and his home district on the one-year anniversary since his accident.
On April 21, 2022, Larsh was driving his motorcycle at the intersection of Northwest 36th Street and Northwest 53rd Avenue when he collided head-on with an SUV. At impact, he was flung 20 feet into the air. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Station 59 rushed Larsh to Ryder Trauma, where he was diagnosed with a torn aorta, multiple severe pelvic fractures, an open dislocated elbow, an open knee with a tibia fracture, and multiple foot fractures.
His trauma team, led by Antonio C. Marttos, Jr., MD, a UHealth – University of Miami Health System trauma surgeon at Ryder Trauma, evaluated the need for emergency surgeries; identified possible sources of internal bleeding; and placed Larsh on a ventilator to support his breathing. Multiple surgeons worked together to stabilize him while treating his multiple fractures, including a contained ruptured aorta and a fractured pelvis, while treating sources of internal bleeding.
Tony Shao, MD, a UHealth vascular and endovascular surgeon at Jackson Memorial, repaired Larsh’s ruptured aorta by successfully placing a stent in his aortawithout having to open his chest. Orthopedic trauma surgeons also worked to stabilize his severely disrupted pelvis using titanium plates and screws, and cleaned his elbow, knee, and foot fractures.
Steven Kalandiak, MD, a UHealth orthopedic trauma, shoulder and elbow surgeon performed a crucial surgery on his elbow. The UHealth orthopedics team has continued to repair his fractures in his upper and lower extremities throughout the year.
A team of urologists, including Nicholas Hauser, MD., a urologist at UHealth – University of Miami Health System, repaired his ruptured bladder.
Larsh was discharged on May 11, 2022 after nearly a month in the hospital. After just two months of physical and rehabilitation therapy, Larsh started walking again.
In January 2023, nine months after the accident, Larsh returned to work in the traffic homicide district, and is still undergoing physical therapy every week, pushing for a full recovery.
