Selective conservatism in trauma management: a South African contribution

Trauma in South Africa has been termed the malignant epidemic. This heritage was the result of a violent colonial legacy which spawned the apartheid system of injustice and the struggle against it The Apartheid regime created overcrowding, unemployment, social stagnation, and the disruption of normal family life. These were the catalysts for the incredible amount of criminal and interpersonal conflict in South Africa over the last 50 years. African townships such as Soweto in Johannesburg and Umlazi in Durban were crime-ridden ghettoes where the apartheid police were more interested in fueling the "black on black" violence rather than trying to curb it. Baragwanath (Chris Hani-Baragwanath) and King Edward the VIII Hospital in Durban were the "trauma care epicenters" on the fringes of these huge urban conurbations. Both were designated black hospitals and both were underfunded and dilapidated. Even the architecture was similar, with prefabricated, poorly ventilated structures serving as wards and clinics in both institutions. Trauma volumes consisted of between 10 and 20 laparotomies on weekend nights at the height of political unrest. This led to vast individual experience in several areas of trauma typified by Demetriades' experience with 70 penetrating cardiac injuries. In this setting of limited resources and an overwhelming volume of trauma, selective conservatism as a surgical philosophy took root and has profoundly influenced the way the world manages trauma. We detail and illustrate the evolution of this approach and its continued application.