Michael Woll1, Paul Brisson. 1. Department of Surgery, Evans Army Community Hospital, 1650 Cochrane Circle, Fort Carson, CO 80913, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The mission of a Forward Surgical Team (FST) is to provide immediate lifesaving surgery to wounded U.S. and coalition forces. The degree of humanitarian surgical care provided to civilians is a topic of controversy. METHODS: From May 2011 to November 2011, the surgeons of the 126th FST provided humanitarian surgical care to Afghan civilians. RESULTS: The FST surgeons provided 553 surgical evaluations on 511 Afghan civilians. Of the patients, 95% were male and 38% were children. Forty percent of the clinic visits involved wound care and 20% involved a general surgery diagnosis. Seventeen percent involved an orthopedic diagnosis and 23% involved various surgical subspecialty diagnoses. Of the patients, 11% required a procedure necessitating the use of anesthesia. Interviews with Afghan patients and civic leaders identified a positive impact. CONCLUSION: This is the first report of humanitarian surgical care provided by surgeons of a FST in Afghanistan. Time and resource investment was minimal with no evidence of a negative impact on the primary mission of the FST. Reprint &
BACKGROUND: The mission of a Forward Surgical Team (FST) is to provide immediate lifesaving surgery to wounded U.S. and coalition forces. The degree of humanitarian surgical care provided to civilians is a topic of controversy. METHODS: From May 2011 to November 2011, the surgeons of the 126th FST provided humanitarian surgical care to Afghan civilians. RESULTS: The FST surgeons provided 553 surgical evaluations on 511 Afghan civilians. Of the patients, 95% were male and 38% were children. Forty percent of the clinic visits involved wound care and 20% involved a general surgery diagnosis. Seventeen percent involved an orthopedic diagnosis and 23% involved various surgical subspecialty diagnoses. Of the patients, 11% required a procedure necessitating the use of anesthesia. Interviews with Afghan patients and civic leaders identified a positive impact. CONCLUSION: This is the first report of humanitarian surgical care provided by surgeons of a FST in Afghanistan. Time and resource investment was minimal with no evidence of a negative impact on the primary mission of the FST. Reprint &
Authors: Floris J Idenburg; Thijs T C F van Dongen; Edward C T H Tan; Jaap H Hamming; Luke P H Leenen; Rigo Hoencamp Journal: World J Surg Date: 2015-10 Impact factor: 3.352
Authors: Frederike J C Haverkamp; Lisanne van Gennip; Måns Muhrbeck; Harald Veen; Andreas Wladis; Edward C T H Tan Journal: World J Emerg Surg Date: 2019-12-09 Impact factor: 5.469