Victims of war. Surgical principles must not be forgotten (again)!

Severe injuries to the limbs are common in wars and natural disasters, and most of them occur in developing countries with weak health-care systems. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has gained a vast amount of experience in treating the war-wounded in this context. Basic principles for wound management, safe and simple methods for fracture-holding and amputation techniques adapted to missile and explosive injuries have proven successful. More than 81,000 amputees have been fitted with artificial limbs in ICRC workshops since 1979, but the needs are far greater. In an attempt to limit the effects of war, the ICRC promotes compliance with international humanitarian law, supports preventive activities such as the campaign to ban anti-personnel landmines, and strives to raise awareness of the implications of fast-developing weapon technologies.