A Time To Die And A Time To Live Av Tom Scotland

This work sets out to show how tremendous progress was made in the treatment of wounded soldiers during the Great War which significantly improved chances of survival. It describes ground breaking advances in resuscitation, anaesthesia and surgery which established the foundations of modern war surgery. It stresses the importance of blood transfusion. In 1914, definitive management of wounds took place at base hospitals after a journey which sometimes took days. Resuscitation was practically non- existent, anaesthesia was poor and surgical methods were hopelessly inadequate. Many soldiers developed catastrophic wound infections and died as a result of overwhelming sepsis when they should have survived. During the Second Boer War, surgeons followed the teaching of Joseph Lister who had introduced antiseptic surgery in 1867. Antiseptic dressings were applied to prevent harmful organisms gaining access to wounds which were considered sterile. Results were satisfactory, but the Boer War