Also known as: Leg amputation
A drug dealer arrives with his left hand blown off by a point-blank shotgun blast. The team works to control bleeding and prepare him for surgery, though the hand is too damaged to reattach.
Also known as: Slipped disk
A surfer presents with severe back pain and foot weakness. Corday performs an endoscopic discectomy to rush out for a weekend trip, but the patient develops spinal cord compression with paralysis postoperatively, creating a subplot about surgical ethics and complications.
Also known as: Knife in the heart
Benton's nephew Jesse arrives with a gunshot wound to the chest. Despite aggressive bilateral thoracotomy and cardiac bypass, the bullet has caused extensive cardiac damage with multiple ventricular holes and hilar injury. Jesse dies on the table despite Benton's desperate attempts to save him.
Also known as: Intimate partner violence
A 13-year-old girl presents with a fall but has extensive bruising suggesting abuse. Initially suspected to be her father, it's revealed her seventh-grade boyfriend Vinnie has been beating her. She is also discovered to be pregnant.
Also known as: Manic depression
Abby's mother Maggie arrives at County in a manic state, having stopped her lithium and been placed on Prozac which triggered a manic episode. The episode focuses on Abby's painful history dealing with her mother's untreated mental illness and the cycle of mania and depression.
Also known as: Unplanned pregnancy
Chen is shown meeting with an adoption counselor to arrange giving up her baby for adoption. She has not told the father or her family about the pregnancy and is proceeding with adoption plans.