Surgical proctologic emergency in isolated sea-based environment: How it is performed in the French Navy

Abstract

Proctologic emergency are very common and are a true challenge for a general practitioner (GP) in a sea-based environment. Performing simple surgical procedures could be essential for the management of these patients. Thrombosed external hemorrhoids are very painful and necessitate the extraction of the blood clot under local anesthesia. The perianal abscess and the pilonidal abscess are also painful entities and represent a significant septic risk. The surgical management of the latter two is simple but requires general anesthesia. Using ketamine and midazolam with these procedures offers a very high level of anesthetic safety. This short article describes the mentioned procedures that are richly illustrated. © Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S. All rights reserved.