British Doctor Volunteering in Republic of Congo performs surgery through text-message instruction

Doctor David Nott, doing charity medical work in the Republic of Congo performed surgery by text message instructions sent from a colleague in the United Kingdom. The boy, sixteen-years-old had injured his arm in an accident. By the time Dr. Nott arrived for his one month per year stint with the charity Medecins sans Frontieres, the boy’s arm was badly infected and the boy was dying. To save the boy’s life the doctor determine the arm needed to be amputated. An arm amputation isn’t a procedure the doctor had previously performed. Aside from having very few resources he would be required to also remove the collar bone and shoulder blade.

Sending a text-message to a colleague in the U.K. Dr. Nott received step by step instructions on how to perform the operation.  If you would like to hear Dr. Nott click on the video link.

Today at the Des Moines InjuryBoard we salute Dr. Nott for his creative abilities, quick thinking and gutsy move.