Basic surgical management of war wounds: The ICRC Experience

Abstract

According to WHO statistics, war injuries are the first surgical cause of death and the first cause of surgical disease in the Africa Region. The International  committee of the Red Cross is an impartial, neutral and independent  organization whose humanitarian mission includes the assistance to war wounded. During the last 30 years ICRC surgeons have gained a wide experience in the management of war wounded patients under difficult conditions, more than 40,000 have been registered in the ICRC surgical database. In additions, hundreds of thousands of operations for the wounded of war have been performed in ICRC supported hospitals. The authors present the basic principles for a correct understanding and treatment of war wounds. Attention is focused on ballistics, triage, pre hospital care, antibiotic prophylaxis, early physiotherapy and rehabilitation, and wound surgery: large debridements, wound left open with no unnecessary dressing changes, delayed primary closure.

Key words: Surgical, management, war and wounds