Western Front: new developments

Question 1

What was the Carrel-Dakin method used to treat?

Answer 1

Infection (gas gangrene)

Question 2

Describe the Carrel-Dakin method

Answer 2

A chemical solution flowed continuously through the wound through a system of tubes to stop infection from developing

Question 3

Describe the three steps involved in a surgery to deal with infection from 1915

Answer 3

• All shell and bullet fragments were removed from the wound, no matter how small
• All tissue and dead muscles surrounding the wound would be removed before it became infected
• Wounds were kept open for the use of antiseptics so bacteria could not be trapped inside

Question 4

What is the process of cutting away tissue and dead muscle from a wound better known as?

Answer 4

Debridement

Question 5

What injury was the Thomas Splint designed to deal with?

Answer 5

Broken legs

Question 6

How did the Thomas Splint change the death rate from broken legs?

Answer 6

Reduced from 80% to 20%

Question 7

How did the Thomas Splint work?

Answer 7

It pulled the bones lengthways to stop them rubbing on each other, preventing blood loss

Question 8

How many mobile X-ray units were there on the Western Front in January 1915?

Answer 8

Two

Question 9

Give THREE problems with mobile X-ray machines on the Western Front

Answer 9

X-ray tubes would overheat and needed an hour to cool down before use

The machines themselves overheated, so three machines were used in rotation

The picture quality was worse than with the static X-ray machines in the base hospitals

Question 10

What was added to blood to stop it from clotting in 1914?

Answer 10

Sodium citrate

Question 11

What two solutions allowed blood to be stored for several days?

Answer 11

Refrigerating blood

Adding a citrate glucose solution

Question 12

What did Geoffrey Keynes create to take blood closer to the front line?

Answer 12

A portable machine for storing blood

Question 13

Why was it important for soldiers to receive blood as soon as possible?

Answer 13

It stopped their bodies from going into shock

Question 14

What blood group was chosen for the blood depot before the Battle of Cambrai?

Answer 14

Group O

Question 15

How many wounded soldiers did Oswald Hope Robertson treat with donated blood at the Battle of Cambrai? How many survived?

Answer 15

20 treated - 11 survived

Question 16

What percentage of injuries on the Western Front were to the head, neck and face?

Answer 16

20%

Question 17

Why were injuries to the brain such a big problem in World War I?

Answer 17

Doctors lacked experience of neurosurgery and little was known about how the brain worked

Question 18

What did Harvey Cushing invent to extract bullets from head wounds?

Answer 18

A surgical magnet

Question 19

Why did Harvey Cushing use a local anaesthetic during brain surgery instead of a general anaesthetic?

Answer 19

He found that a general anaesthetic swelled the brain which increased risks for the patient

Question 20

What was Harvey Cushing’s operation survival rate for brain surgery?

Answer 20

71%

Question 21

What helped to reduce bleeding during brain surgery?

Answer 21

A rubber band around the head

Question 22

For how long would a patient remain at a CCS after brain surgery?

Answer 22

3 weeks

Question 23

Who was the leading plastic surgeon on the Western Front?

Answer 23

Dr Harold Gillies

Question 24

How many plastic surgery operations did Harold Gillies and his team perform during World War I?

Answer 24

100,000

Question 25

How did Harold Gillies overcome the problem of infection during plastic surgery?

Answer 25

He moved living tissue from one part of the body whilst keeping it connected to the bloodstream and immune system

Question 26

What was the tube pedicle in plastic surgery?

Answer 26

Forming human tissue into tubes and ‘walking the tube’ to the face, connecting it closer and closer to the face