The surgical management in war of penetrating wounds contaminated with chemical warfare agents.

Abstract

Military surgeons in a future conflict may face the problem of wounds contaminated with chemical warfare (CW) agents. No useful guidelines for this eventuality exist-nor any assessment of the specific CW risk to such casualties or to the surgical teams operating on them. The principal hazard to surgeons is direct contact with contaminated clothing in the wound. Practices are recommended to reduce this threat significantly. Thorough wound excision augmented by lavage with a specific proprietary hypochlorite solution will provide effective wound decontamination without producing unacceptable tissue damage. The vapour hazard at surgery is very low-respirators are unnecessary but goggles or glasses should be worn to prevent conjunctival splashes of potentially contaminated body fluids.