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Damage Control in Trauma Care pp 251–261Cite as

Damage Control Surgery and the Boston Marathon Bombing

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Abstract

The practice of trauma surgery in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing took place within the walls of the multiple Boston Level I trauma centers, as well as several adjacent community hospitals. The approach to these patients reflected the general philosophy of rapid damage control, abbreviated surgery, frequent returns to the operating room in a staged fashion, and high-ratio blood transfusions. The real lesson for surgeons, however, is learned from careful examination of the prehospital treatment of the injuries resulting from the two improvised explosive devices detonated on Boylston Street during the running of the 117th Boston Marathon at 14:49 on April 15, 2013: damage control starts at the point of wounding.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Trauma, Emergency Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    David R. King M.D., F.A.C.S.

  2. Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    David R. King M.D., F.A.C.S.

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  1. David R. King M.D., F.A.C.S.
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Correspondence to David R. King M.D., F.A.C.S. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Tulane School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    Juan Duchesne

  2. LAC+USC Medical Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Kenji Inaba

  3. St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom

    Mansoor Ali Khan

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King, D.R. (2018). Damage Control Surgery and the Boston Marathon Bombing. In: Duchesne, J., Inaba, K., Khan, M. (eds) Damage Control in Trauma Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72607-6_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72607-6_22

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-72606-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-72607-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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