A torn artery and a pulsating fountain of blood usually meant one thing to Army surgeons in World War Iamputation. In World War II, it may not mean any such thing. In the American Journal of Surgery last week, Surgeon Gerald Hillary Pratt published instructions on the "neglected" art of sewing arteries:
First step is to stop the spurting blood, by tourniquet or by a surgical clamp applied directly to the bleeding vessel. Next, remove blood clots (which form in about 50% of the cases) with forceps or a corkscrew of silver wire. Then,...
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