World journal of surgery
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World journal of surgery · Jan 2005
ReviewCombat casualty care research: from bench to the battlefield.
Hemorrhagic shock is the leading cause of death in civilian and combat trauma. Effective hemorrhage control and better resuscitation strategies have the potential of saving lives. ⋯ This article highlights the salient achievements of this research effort in the areas of hemorrhage control, resuscitation, design and testing of devices, and some novel concepts such as the use of profound hypothermia. The impact of these basic science research findings on changes in military medical care and outcome of injured soldiers is also described.
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World journal of surgery · Jan 2005
Experience of treating gunshot wounds of large vessels in Afghanistan.
The problem of treating injuries of large vessels in times of peace has been sufficiently well developed both in theoretical and practical aspects. In times of war, however, due to the large numbers of the wounded, a shortage of expert angiosurgeons, and multiple gunshot wounds, many theoretical tenets lose their academic regularity. The present study is based on the experience of treating 302 patients wounded during the Afghanistan war (1981-1985). ⋯ In 6.6% of the cases extremities were amputated during the early postoperative period as a result of vessel thrombosis and an increase of tissue ischemia. The mortality rate after vessel surgery was 5.3%. We believe that for patients with gunshot wounds involving vessel injuries, early one-time reconstruction of the destroyed anatomical structures should be performed.