Anaesthesia under civil war conditions. An account of missions with British Red Cross surgical teams in Cambodia and Angola.

The work of British Red Cross surgical teams during the Cambodian civil war in 1975 and the Angolan war of 1976 is described. The medical, social and military situations are discussed. The problems caused by the deteriorating conditions in the working environments of these teams during the collapse of the governing regimes within which they were operating are outlined and some of the methods which were used to solve these are considered.