Abstract
There is no commonly seen parallel in the civilian trauma setting that can prepare one for the instant you see your first patient with traumatic amputations caused by an explosive device. Your ATLS training will serve as your backstop. The airway must be effectively secured, if it is not already. In a mature theatre, it is likely that field medics have already taken several steps, to include endotracheal intubation and control of catastrophic hemorrhage with tourniquets. If this hasn’t been done, apply a tourniquet to stop major hemorrhage immediately. Begin resuscitation with blood products the instant intravenous or intraosseous access is obtained. It is quite conceivable that as an orthopedic surgeon, you will be supervising the resuscitation. Know the transfusion protocols for your theater.
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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Beer, R., Andersen, R. (2014). Limb Salvage vs. Amputation. In: Bone, L., Mamczak, C. (eds) Front Line Extremity and Orthopaedic Surgery. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45337-3_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45337-3_21
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