Abstract
Following a huge earthquake in a Caribbean island you deploy with a surgical team arriving 48 h later. On arrival it is clear that existing facilities are destroyed and so an improvised operating theatre is constructed and you operate around the clock for the next 48 h. Many patients present with damaged limbs which have become infected. Sepsis is likely to result from conservative management yet amputation will create lifelong problems for the patient. The decisions are very difficult. Finally you are relieved from your post. You read an article criticising the number of amputations which took place.
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MacGarty, D. (2013). Surgery in Austere Environments. In: MacGarty, D., Nott, D. (eds) Disaster Medicine. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4423-6_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4423-6_15
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