Operation Iraqi freedom: Surgical experience of the 212th mobile army surgical hospital

John M. Cho, Ismail Jatoi, Alfonso S. Alarcon, Todd M. Morton, Booker T. King, Jeffrey M. Hermann

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

Seven hundred one patients were treated at and 394 were admitted to the 212th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Central Iraq during the combat phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ninety of those patients underwent 100 operations, with 187 procedures in 19 days. At the peak of hostilities, 48 patients were admitted, 15 operations were performed, and 56 patients were medically evacuated during different 24-hour periods. Thirty-three patients required the surgical expertise of a general or thoracic surgeon. Although 82% of injuries and 70% of the procedures were orthopedic in nature, orthopedic operating room utilization was only 60% of total operating room time (156 hours). The general and thoracic injuries were labor-intensive, frequently requiring two surgeons. Although orthopedic injury remains the predominant reason for surgical intervention on the battlefield, there remains a need to forward-deploy general and thoracic surgeons, because of the presence and complexity of nonorthopedic trauma.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)268-272
Number of pages5
JournalMilitary medicine
Volume170
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2005
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Operation Iraqi freedom: Surgical experience of the 212th mobile army surgical hospital'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this