Doctors Without Borders, But With Text Messaging

The Times of London carries today the remarkable story of a doctor with Médecins Sans Frontières who saved the life of a young boy in war-torn Congo by performing a complicated operation he had to learn on the spot via text message:

The boy said that he had felt a heavy blast beside him, and woken up later with his brother screaming beside him and his arm “totally destroyed.” . . .

When Dr. Nott saw him, what remained of his upper arm was severely infected. “He had about two or three days to live when I saw him,” he said.

He knew the boy’s only hope of survival lay in a forequarter amputation, a huge operation which involves removing the collar bone and shoulder blade. It usually requires much careful planning and a well-equipped operating theater.

“In the best hands (it) carries huge risks,” he said. “I had never done this operation before but I knew a colleague in London who had so I texted him. He sent me two very long text messages back explaining how to do the operation step by step.” . . .

“In the end he would have died without it so I took a deep breath and followed the instructions to the letter.”