WEST PALM, Fla. (NewsNation) — Florida has been widely regarded as the shark bite capital of the world, and trauma centers are always prepared to treat their victims. And to better treat those injuries, the “shark doctor” is revolutionizing how shark bites are managed around the world.
As the medical director and head of trauma at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm, Florida, Dr. Robert Borrego wears many hats. Once a combat surgeon during the war in Iraq, he was taught how to work quickly and precisely under pressure.
NewsNation tagged along with Borrego a few miles offshore onto the Atlantic Ocean, where in his natural habitat, he collects samples from different species of sharks to better treat shark bite victims.
“I grew up on the ocean pretty much,” Borrego said as he poured chum — chopped fish used as bait — into the ocean.
Within 10 minutes of settling the boat and throwing out bait, the doctor captured the attention of a shark.
“He snapped the line,” Borrego said. “The stinkier (the chum), the more they like it.”
A few minutes later, the shark doctor caught a shark.
“Woah. Might be a hammerhead,” he exclaimed.
After about 20 minutes, the doctor’s crew hooked a 7-foot bull shark. Then they pulled it to the side of the boat to collect a sample.
“What it does is we can treat the patient preemptively the moment they get bit with the right antibiotics,” Borrego explained. “The likelihood of infection is much less. They go home much sooner. They’ll feel better because there is no muscle necrosis or those sorts of things.”
So far this year, there have been 16 shark bites off the coast of Florida, five in New York, three in Hawaii and two in South Carolina.
Borrego said the work he’s doing is not only helping trauma centers but anyone who encounters a shark themselves.
After collecting bacteria samples from the sharks and running lab tests to see what antibiotics respond best to each species, Borrego lets the sharks go unharmed. It’s important to note that no sharks are ever harmed during the doctor’s research, and the hooks used actually disintegrate in the water.
Borrego receives calls and emails from all over the world asking for his research — and that’s why he’s the shark doctor.