Army Trauma Medicine -- New York Times

[Christos Giannou]

Total agreement with Ken Mattox. Documentation, documentation, documentation
... and all that can then follow scientifically -- trials etc. -- to further
our knowledge and provide better care. One of the most frustrating things
performing war surgery with the International Committee of the Red Cross is
that our security situation and personnel capacity are much different from
the military. When you have two to four surgeons performing triage and
surgery while triaging 100+ patients per day and operating 40+, for days and
weeks on end, (Kabul 1992, Mogadiscio 1992, Monrovia, Liberia 2003)
maintaining the documentation beyond an operative note and post-operative
orders is extremely difficult. Even the military literature often mentions
the number of patient files that were "incomplete". Stress, limited
resources, and trying, if not dangerous, circumstances do not promote
writing and statistics keeping. It's afterward that we say "if only". As a
result, much of what we learn remains anecdotal. Anything that can be done
in more tranquil settings to build on the battlefield experience is worth
it. And the results are almost always applicable to civilian surgery
afterwards.

cheers
-- 
christos giannou
Monemvasia Lakonia
23070 Greece
tel & fax: (++30) 27320-61772
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