MSInternational and she could look into his eyes for the first time. One unexpected outcome of look ing after patients in isolated cir cumstances was that in 1997 I developed a personal interest in simple telemedicine (transmitting still digital images and clinical his tories by email to relevant special ists back home for second opin ions). This has proved so successful in practice that the method was taken up by a civilian charity (the Swinfen Charitable Trust, www.swinfencharitabletrust.com) that has subsequently specialised in set ting up similar telemedicine links to isolated hospitals in the poorest countries of the developing world. Specialists from the States, UK and Australia provide email advice on a purely voluntary basis. One such link, still going strong, was estab lished by a final year medical stu dent going on elective to New Georgia (in the Solomon Islands).
vent war, I feel that, by being phys- David Vassallo (on left) seen here treating ically there as a surgeon and part of a patient injured during a gun battle in a dedicated team, I can directly mit- Hillbrow, a district of Johannesburg igate some of these horrors, per 1. TIME Europe – Cover Story: Cutting haps atoning for the mistakes of Edge Humanity. others. w w w. t i m e . c o m / t i m e / e u r o p e / m a g a
As an aside, if one really does not want to join the military, but cares passionately about helping the vic My bedrock in all this has been my tims of war, then what about con wife, and I could not have carried sidering a short-term attachment to on with my career in the military a hospital of the International without her support. She has put up Committee of the Red Cross in due time and again with me packing my course? I would thoroughly recom bags and leaving on yet another for mend this (see reference 3). eign adventure, sometimes at short notice. It is also not easy for her Sometimes one is faced by the when we are re-united, for it takes a awful results of modern weaponry. while to readjust after the sights I find this hardest when the child one sees. One needs someone like affected is the same age as my own her. daughter. I would like to end by dedicating this article to the victims War is evil, its effects are often of war, especially the children, in indiscriminate, and I feel it can particular those who are killed and rarely be justified. I hate war with a maimed by landmines and cluster vengeance, having seen how men bombs when the fighting has use bullets, bombs and fire to stopped, and to those who care for wreak horrendous damage on oth them. ers’ flesh and bone. If I cannot pre Medical Student International Magazine, Spring 2004
zine/2000/36/kosovo.html 2. Anne Franks Awards (Bogujevci family) www.annefrank.org.uk for more details 3. Vassallo D J. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and lessons from its experience of war surgery. Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps 1994;140:146-154 Lt Col David J. Vassallo, FRCS (Ed) Royal Army Medical Corps Consultant General Surgeon, Royal Hospital Haslar (UK) email: DJVassallo@aol.com
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