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How did WW1 help surgery to advance? - Coggle Diagram
How did WW1 help surgery to advance?
Shell shock
Mental strain of war caused psychological damage known as "shell shock"
Some shell shocked soldiers had panic attacks, others shook all the time or were unable to speak or move.
At first, the army refused to believe that it existed and instead treated the men as cowards.
Today, the condition is known as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
Blood transfusions
They had been tried for centuries but it wasn't until 1900 that scientists worked out how to do them successfully.
Karl Landsteiner discovered blood groups, which helped doctors to work out that a transfusion only worked if the donor and the receiver shared the same blood type.
In 1914, Albert Hustin discovered that glucose and sodium citrate stopped blood from clotting on contact with air.
Other advances meant that blood could be bottled, packed in ice and taken to where it was needed by surgeons operating on soldiers.
X-rays
Discovered in 1895 and hospitals were soon using them tlo look for broken bones and disease
During WW1, X-rays became really important. Mobile X-ray machines were used near battlefields to find out where in the wounded soldier's body the bullets or pieces of shrapnel had lodged. This avoided having to cut them open to find the piece.
Plastic surgery
During WW1, the hard work and dedication of Harold Gillies, a London-based army doctor, led to the development of "plastic surgery".
He set up a special unit to graft (transplant) skin and treat men suffering from severe facial wounds.
He is commonly recognised as one of the first surgeons to consider a patient's appearance when treating wounds.
Queen's Hospital in Kent opened in 1917 and by 1921 provided over 1000 beds for soldiers with severe facial wounds.
Gillies and his colleagues treated over 5000 servicemen by 1921.
Infection
Battlefields were very dirty places and lethal wound infections such as gangrene were common.
Through trial and error, surgeons worked out that the best way to prevent this was to cut away any infected flesh and soak the wound in salty (saline) solution.
This wasn't ideal but as a short-term answer in a battle situation, it saved many lives.
Broken Bones
New techniques were developed during WW1 to repair broken bones.
For example, the Army Leg Splint (or Keller-Blake Splint) was developed, which elevated and extended the broken leg 'in traction'.
This helped the bones to knit together more securely. The splint is still in use today.