Medicine Through Time (Western Front 3) Flashcards
Why were there issues relating to treatment of the injured?
- the contaminated conditions made aseptic surgery impossible. Shrapnel, dirt, and bits of uniform in wounds caused infection
- The sheer number of casualties often meant the system struggled to cope
What were the three methods of dealing with infection?
- Debridement
- Carrel- Dakin method
- Amputation
What is debridement?
the removal of dead or infected tissue
What was the Carrel-Dakin method?
using a sterilised salt solution in the wound through a tube (antiseptics like carbolic acid didn’t work on gas gangrene).
What was amputation and how many men had lost limbs by 1918?
removing infected limbs, 240,000 men
What was the Thomas Splint?
A large splint designed to keep limbs and joints still during surgery
Why did many men die from shrapnel wounds to the legs?
because the leg was not kept
rigid during transfer from the frontline to a CCS, leading to blood loss and infection.
How did the Thomas Splint improve survival rates from leg injuries?
Improved survival rates from leg injuries from 20% to 82%
What were the issues with X-rays?
- X-rays couldn’t identify all objects in the body e.g. fragments of clothing
- X-rays took several minutes, a lot of time for a wounded man to keep still
- X-ray machines could only be used for an hour before they overheated
What were mobile X-ray units?
vans loaded with X-ray equipment, at the back
Who developed Blood transfusions on the Western Front?
Robertson, A canadian doctor. He used a syringe and tube to transfer blood from the donor to the patient.
Where were blood transfusions carried out?
In base hospitals, and by 1917, in Casualty Clearing Stations
Who designed a portable blood transfusion kit and why?
Geoffrey Keynes, a British doctor in the RAMC, designed a portable blood
transfusion kit so that transfusions could be carried out near the frontline.
What did Richard Lewisohn discover?
In 1915, he discovered that adding sodium nitrate to blood stopped it clotting and that blood with sodium nitrate could be stored for up to 2 days if refrigerated.
In 1916, what did Rous and Turner discover?
That adding citrate glucose solution allowed blood to be stored for up to 4 weeks
What happened in the Battle of Cambrai, relating to blood?
An american doctor built a carrying case for bottles of donated blood, he treated 20 severely wounded soldiers during the battle, to which 11 survived
Why were blood banks important?
because they made blood more easily available on the frontline, meaning badly injured soldiers were more likely to survive.
What percentage of British wounds were to the head, face and neck?
20%
Why were brain injuries usually fatal towards the start of the war?
because unconscious/confused patients were difficult to move through the chain of evacuation, and very few doctors had experience of neurosurgery.
Who developed new brain surgery techniques by observing and experimenting?
Harvey Cushing
What was local anaesthetic?
numbing the area being operated on
What was general anaesthetic?
Putting the patient to sleep
What did Harvey Cushing do?
- He used a magnet to remove metal fragments from the brain
- He used local anaesthetic rather than general anaesthetic, because general anaesthetic swelled the brain
Who developed methods of restoring and and rebuilding destroyed facial features?
Harold Gillies
What new operations did Gillies devise to overcome problems?
- using skin grafts (taking skin from one area to graft onto the wounded area)
- using jaw splints, wiring and metal replacement cheeks for facial reconstruction
In total, how many plastic surgery operations were carried out throughout the war?
12,000
By 1915, how many hospitals in France specialised in plastic surgery, especially for head injuries?
7
After the battle of the Somme, how many cases of facial damage did Gillies personally deal with?
2,000
