426 - The Surgical Legacy of World War II - Part 3: Blood and Valor

cadavers gave Russian Army sniper and surgeon Vladimir Filatov the opportunity to perfect corneal transplantation techniques. Ubiquitous OR tables full of patients with shrapnel-torn limbs gave rise to an exponential number of talented orthopedic surgeons who came back to the US skilled in German techniques such as the Kirshner fixa- tion system. The astounding volume of vascular injuries of battle created a tremendous wealth of expe- rience for the trauma delivery system, cardiac, and peripheral vas cular spe- cialties. The role of women who served as nurses and surgical technicians would expand in the 1950s both in the military medical ranks and in the civilian healthcare and medical college systems. The serene high bluff over the beaches of Normandy is the final resting place for 9,387 Americans killed during the early days of June 1944. The blood that turned the Chan- nel waters crimson was not only American, though, but it was also the blood of English, Canadian, Free French, and German combatants. The tally of those killed and wounded from both the Allies and the Germans was over 425,000 during the invasion. As our nation and the world remem- bers the 75th anniversary of D-Day, there is much to recog- nize and be grateful for.The sacrifice and contribution of the men and women who served that day did not end when the sun set over the waters of a shore not our own. A U T H O R A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S I want to thank my family and my mentors who encour- age and support me. It is a privilege to tell the stories of the veterans and home-front heroes I work with. Below is a photo of my g r a n d m o t h e r ’ s b o o k f r om h e r volunteer work in Uxbridge, Massa- chusetts during the War. When Swan and the 5th ASG were deployed in France, Germany, and then Belgium toward the end of the war in 1945, his steadfast correspondence with his wife chronicled his unrelenting weariness and the senselessness of war. Dr. Swan soon began quietly forgoing directives and expanded his repertoire of procedures. For example, he performed the world’s first end-to-end arterial repair to save a soldier’s foot from amputation in August 1945 while in Germany. These maverick surgeries were groundbreaking, and would be the inspiration for his illustrious postwar career in car- diac surgery. “ … D E V O T I O N T O D U T Y A N D S K I L L … ” G E N . D . E I S E N H O W E R , S C A E F , 6 - 6 - 4 4 The Invasion of Normandy was a turning point but did not represent the ultimate conclusion to the war in Europe. The Allied and Axis forces had not yet engaged in some of their deadliest battles in Europe. The months immediately follow- ing were almost inhumanely taxing for American medical personnel, and their expanded mission included absorbing surrendered German Army hospital patients and treating the survivors of Nazi concentration camps. What was asked of the medical personnel between June 6, 1944, and the victory in Europe on May 8, 1945, must have been unimaginable for all sides. The profound physical and emotional toll of long days of caring for grotesquely wounded young bodies must have impacted these healers for the rest of their lives. Yet so many of these men and women returned to the US and to their respective nations and never spoke of the horror. The surgeons left “meatball” surgery back in the tents and committed themselves to a period of remarkable clinical advancement. The burned skin and disfigured faces of combat rapidly lead surgeons to develop advances in plastic surgery, by which reconstructive pedicle skin grafting techniques gave men a chance to re-enter society. Eye injuries and a supply of fresh The breadth of life experience and practical skills that an enlisted man who came through an Army or Navy operat ing room technic ian t raining program was invaluable in the lead-up to D-Day. JUNE 2019 | The Surgical Technologist | 259

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