JAN 26: "IT'S A MASS CASUALTY EVENT", THE IRISH TIMES WITH IN DEPTH COVERAGE ON THE WORK OF MEDICAL TEAMS

The Irish Times, Horror of Haiti

Excerpt:
“A lot of wounds are becoming infected,” warned Dr William Gregor, a specialist in emergency medicine from Los Angeles. Haiti’s tropical heat, the failure to change dressings, and poor timing means that anti-antibiotics are often ineffective.

“I saw more loss of limbs yesterday than in 15 years of emergency medicine,” Dr Gregor said. “Twenty amputations in one day, upper and lower extremities, and there are hundreds more to be done. It’s a mass casualty event.” Dr Gregor suggested that Haiti will resemble post-war countries like Liberia, which have a high percentage of amputees because of landmines.

Many of the “guillotine” amputations done in the frantic hours after the quake are now being repeated, higher up on the limb. “This island will require many thousands of prostheses, and a great deal of reconstructive surgery,” said Dr Jim Ringler, another US volunteer. “We are running by the seat of our pants, with very few X-rays. We are just extrapolating. It’s not how we usually do it.”