THE VOLUNTEER MILITARY SURGEON

Occult hypoperfusion--should the military surgeon care?

The treatment of traumatic shock has changed unrecognizably over the past decade as the combination of targeted research and lessons learnt from conflict have combined with a common goal. The term damage control resuscitation has emerged as the most likely strategy to treat the underlying cause, restore normal physiology and ultimately return to normal function. However, there is still a great ...

John Hunter – A very modern military surgeon

The history of warfare and surgery is long and complex. As Hippocrates' dictum states, war has been the crucible in which many medical advances have been pioneered, and has also been a bloody business. In the time of John Hunter, 40% of those injured on the battlefield could expect to die of their wounds. By the 20 century, with improved technique, anaesthesia and aseptic technique, this had be...

A Volunteer Surgeon in War Zones: Experience of 35 Years and a Call to Action

The aphorism of Hippocrates has become a cliché. From Larrey to Pirogov, Winnett-Orr and Trueta to DeBakey, the cliché has been proven to be a reality. The idea that surgery during armed conflict advances our knowledge of medicine and surgery has become commonplace. After 35 years’ experience, I think back on some of the implications of these clichés and commonplace ideas. Some progress has bee...

Combat readiness for the modern military surgeon: data from a decade of combat operations.

OBJECTIVE Hundreds of general surgeons from the army, navy, and air force have been deployed during the past 10 years to support combat forces, but little data exist on their preparedness to handle the challenging injuries that they are currently encountering. Our objective was to assess operative and operational experience in theater with the goal of improving combat readiness among surgeons. ...

James Mann, M.D. (1759-1832): Military Surgeon for the "Second War of Independence".