War Surgery in Afghanistan and Iraq

While the U.S. government has tried its best to censor a textbook of military medicine as experienced in Afghanistan and Iraq, authors Dr. David Lounsbury, Dr. Stephen P. Hetz and Dr. Shawn C. Nessen have succeeded in bringing it to bookshelves, at least virtual ones like Amazon.com or the Government Printing Office.

In a New York Times Article on 5 August, journalist Donald G. McNeil, Jr. discusses what it took to get the book published by the U.S. Army, of all outfits. With the help of surgeon generals, the authors were able to present the book with the photos and captions they intended, acquiescing only on the issue of covering the eyes of the wounded who did not give written permission to be included.

“War Surgery in Afghanistan and Iraq: A Series of Cases, 2003-2007,” is not for the faint of heart. With sometimes gruesome photos of missing limbs, bomber's ribs sticking out of injured soldiers, blood, guts and gore, the authors have pulled together a handbook of the latest findings of battlefield surgeons in our most current conflict. Their hope: medics will hit the ground with a more realistic and accurate understanding of what to expect and will benefit from the knowledge learned by others on the front lines of how to best treat the injured. Often, the old ways are no longer the best ways, at least not with the kinds of injuries and resources available under a medical tent in the middle of Kabul or Baghdad.

I first learned of the book's publication from an email I received from Dr. Lounsbury (who contacted me based on a connection we made when I worked for conflict photographer James Nachtwey). A retired colonel, Dr. Lounsbury took part in both invasions of Iraq in the past two decades, and edited military medicine textbooks at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. According to Lounsbury, the book has garnered attention not only in the New York Times, but also NPR and the BBC. In response to the article in the Science Times section of the NYT, Lounsbury says that he agrees, "with the tenor of the article that 'Americans who choose to do so have the right to see ...the human cost of war'."

I haven't put my hands on the book as of yet, although I plan to. And to share it with as many of you as can stomach it. It's as important a tome as Philip Jones Griffiths' Vietnam Inc., if not more important, given that the warfare it depicts rages on and the book could possibly impact how the wounded - soldiers and civilians, allies and enemies - are cared for. Even better, it could prevent greater loss in the future by bringing our troops home.