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Surgery aboard ship: is it safe?

M Fontana1, P Lucha, M Snyder

  • 1Department of Surgery, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, VA 23708-2197, USA.

Military Medicine
|September 25, 1999
PubMed
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Surgical procedures performed on U.S. Navy ships had very low morbidity rates (0.43%) compared to shore-based facilities. This suggests elective surgeries like vasectomies can be safely performed at sea.

Area of Science:

  • Naval medicine
  • Surgical outcomes
  • Public health

Background:

  • Surgical care delivery in deployed military settings presents unique challenges.
  • Assessing surgical outcomes in austere environments is crucial for operational readiness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare morbidity and mortality rates of surgical procedures performed aboard U.S. Navy ships with those at a shore-based Naval Medical Center.
  • To evaluate the safety and feasibility of performing elective surgical procedures in a deployed fleet environment.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of 684 surgical procedures conducted on U.S. Atlantic Fleet ships between 1994 and 1996.
  • Comparison of surgical outcomes with similar procedures performed at the Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Virginia.

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Main Results:

  • Deployed surgical procedures demonstrated a significantly lower morbidity rate (0.43%) compared to the Naval Medical Center (1.69%).
  • A single mortality was reported across all onboard procedures.
  • Factors contributing to low rates include a healthy, selected patient population and performance of low-risk procedures.

Conclusions:

  • Elective surgical procedures, including vasectomy, circumcision, inguinal hernia repair, and hemorrhoidectomy, can be performed safely aboard naval vessels.
  • Onboard surgery can enhance medical training opportunities and reduce costs and risks associated with medical evacuation.