The OFFICIAL Journal of the Special Operations Medical Association.
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First Blood: Fixing American Trauma Care
October 2017
Overhauling how citizens and medical providers respond to trauma, as well as how they collect and store blood, could save thousands of lives annually.
Dr. Frank K. Butler, Jr., to receive Distinguished Lifetime Military Contribution Award
October 2020
Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Frank K. Butler, Jr., MD, FAAO, FUHM, will receive the American College of Surgeons Distinguished Lifetime Military Contribution Award at the virtual Clinical Congress Convocation at 6:00 pm CDT Sunday, October 4. This award recognizes Dr. Butler’s outstanding contributions to the field of surgery during his military service, specifically the adoption of Tactical Combat Casualty Care—the best-practice guideline for providing battlefield trauma care now being followed by U.S. and international civilian readiness teams around the world.
According to the award citation, Dr. Butler’s “forward-thinking to train and equip every soldier with personal medical kits redefined battlefield surgical management by delivering critical medical care at the point of injury and saving thousands of lives.” This groundbreaking initiative, which reduced the delivery time of medical aid administered to critically ill patients, is the cornerstone of the College’s collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
Read more...January 2021 Feature Article
Life and Limb In-Flight Surgical Intervention: Fifteen Years of Experience by Joint Medical Augmentation Unit Surgical Resuscitation Teams
Winter 2020
DuBose JJ, Stinner DJ, Baudek A, Martens D, Donham B, Cuthrell M, Stephens T, Schofield J, Conklin CC, Telian S. 20(4). 47 - 52. (Journal Article)
Abstract
Background: Expedient resuscitation and emergent damage control interventions remain critical tools of modern combat casualty care. Although fortunately rare, the requirement for life and limb salvaging surgical intervention prior to arrival at traditional deployed medical treatment facilities may be required for the care of select casualties. The optimal employment of a surgical resuscitation team (SRT) may afford life and limb salvage in these unique situations. Methods: Fifteen years of after-action reports (AARs) from a highly specialized SRTs were reviewed. Patient demographics, specific details of encounter, team role, advanced emergent life and limb interventions, and outcomes were analyzed. Results: Data from 317 casualties (312 human, five canines) over 15 years were reviewed. Among human casualties, 20 had no signs of life at intercept, with only one (5%) surviving to reach a Military Treatment Facility (MTF). Among the 292 casualties with signs of life at intercept, SRTs were employed in a variety of roles, including MTF augmentation (48.6%), as a transport capability from other aeromedical platforms, critical care transport (CCT) between MTFs (27.7%), or as an in-flight damage control capability directly to point of injury (POI) (18.2%). In the context of these roles, the SRT performed in-flight life and limb preserving surgery for nine patients. Procedures performed included resuscitative thoracotomy (7/9; 77.8%), damage control laparotomy (1/9; 11.1%) and extremity fasciotomy for acute lower extremity compartment syndrome (1/11; 11%). Survival following in-flight resuscitative thoracotomy was 33% (1/3) when signs of life (SOL) were absent at intercept and 75% (3/4) among patients who lost SOL during transport. Conclusion: In-flight surgery by a specifically trained and experienced SRT can salvage life and limb for casualties of major combat injury. Additional research is required to determine optimal SRT utilization in present and future conflicts.
Keywords: in-flight; surgical resuscitation team; casualty; limb salvage; military treatment facility; trauma
Integrating Military and Civilian Trauma Systems to Achieve Zero Preventable Deaths after Injury
Advances in trauma care have accelerated over the past decade, spurred by the significant burden of injury from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Between 2005 and 2013, the case fatality rate for United States Servicemembers injured in Afghanistan decreased by nearly 50 percent, despite an increase in the severity of injury among U.S. troops during the same period of time. But as the war in Afghanistan ends, knowledge and advances in trauma care developed by the Department of Defense (DoD) over the past decade from experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq may be lost. This would have implications for the quality of trauma care both within the DoD and in the civilian setting, where adoption of military advances in trauma care has become increasingly common and necessary to improve the response to multiple civilian casualty events.
This report documents the remarkable decrease in casualties killed in action during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the role of the Joint Trauma System, the CoTCCC, and the TCCC Working Group in helping to make that happen. It also outlines a clear and comprehensive vision for a National Trauma System that will enable the civilian and the military sectors to work in concert to help prevent ALL potentially preventable deaths in trauma victims.
Download a free PDF copy of the IOM ReportWhat Our Readers are Saying
I just finished reading the fall edition of the JSOM and I am completely blown away!!!! It is absolutely packed with exceptional and relevant information that without a doubt, will assist SOF Tactical Health Care professionals in providing relevant and evidence based patient care. Thank you for providing what I consider a "World Class Medical Journal". The journal itself and the website have become my primary resource for knowledge in tactical medicine."
Robert M. Miller
North American Rescue
Chief Innovation Officer
"There is no peer-reviewed academic resource that equals the Journal of Special Operations Medicine for support of the medical and veterinary lead in Stabilization, Security, Transition and Reconstruction (SSTR) operations, combat and field medicine, and adaptation of Tactical Combat Casualty Care into Tactical Emergency Casualty Care for the law enforcement and emergency management community in 195 UN member countries. JSOM is a valuable resource as we continue the Millennium Medicine Project, targeting the global population that lacks access to basic surgical services and providing crisis management, security, and defense support in this demographic."
Stephen M. Apatow
President, Humanitarian Resource Institute
(UN:NGO:DESA) and H-II OPSEC: Defense Support:
Humanitarian and Security Operations
"Military units that have trained all of their members in Tactical Combat Casualty Care have documented the lowest incidence of preventable deaths among their casualties in the history of modern warfare - and JSOM is the first journal to publish every new change in TCCC."
Frank K. Butler, MD
Chairman, Committee on Tactical
Combat Casualty Care (CoTCCC)
"The past 30 years has brought an amazing professionalization of the specialty of Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS). As new standards are set and the world faces increasingly complex security challenges, it is critical that the front line medical providers supporting military, intelligence, and law enforcement operations have a mechanism to expand their knowledge and share best practices. The Journal of Special Operations Medicine offers civilian readers access to the most cutting edge developments in the field including updates on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC), the National TEMS Imitative and Council (NTIC), and combat lessons learned. JSOM is the one-stop shop for best practice and future advancements in civilian TEMS. One of the unifying principles across humanitarian, expedition and disaster response medical operations is the ability to make complex decisions in uncertain environments. The Journal of Special Operations Medicine is one of the most unique platforms for experts to convey lessons learned and relevant scientific advances across specialties that historically have little interaction. Whether you work for Doctors Without Borders, a DMAT, or provide medical support for expeditions in austere environments, Journal of Special Operations Medicine is your journal."
David W. Callaway, MD
Director, Division of Operational and Disaster Medicine
Operational Medical Director, Carolinas MED-1
Co-Chairman, The Committee for Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (C-TECC)
Civilian Vice President, Special Operations Medical Association (SOMA)