Battalion Surgeon Research Articles

Two views on the family succession problem with regards to Nikolai Platonovich Bisenkov and Leonid Nikolaevich Bisenkov anniversaries

It is known that N.I. Pirogov sharply criticized nepotism in his diary in the history of the Imperial Medical and Surgical Academy in the middle of the 19th century, designating this phenomenon with the term nepotism. The great surgeon and patriots position caused goes against other examples when family relations became a springboard into our academys future. It is a rare coincidence when the same family celebrates the major father and son anniversaries. The family of Professors Bisenkov marked two anniversaries in 2021. The dates coincidence became the reason for the analysis of the relations that developed at different stages of a complex life associated with wars, surgery, and teaching. Most of the articles authors witnessed the exchange of life and surgical experience of the Professors Bisenkovs, and were participants in the acute discussions and course of scientific research in the thoracic surgery field. Nikolai Platonovich Bisenkov lived by the plans, creative successes, and failures of his son and compared his front-line experience as a medical battalion surgeon with new surgery possibilities. His insight and critical assessment of the changes that he learned about through daily information from his son were surprising, about the current clinical work of the department. Many new research technologies were initiated at the Department of Operative Surgery, which was headed by Bisenkov Sr., thanks to close contact through his son in the clinic for the highest level and fame known to surgeons of all the Soviet Unions republics. Personal views, creative, and scientific continuation of Nikolai Platonovich was found to be in continuation in his son. Leonid Nikolaevich defined the main paradigms of his work as the introduction into the clinical practice of the department of video thoracoscopic interventions for breast injuries, original a minimally invasive treatment method of purulent-septic diseases, the development of the most complex surgical interventions extended and combined resections for paracancrotic changes in patients with lung cancer, as well as simultaneous operations for polyneoplasia, high-quality training of young surgeons. Nikolai Platonovich and Leonid Nikolaevich Bisenkov had warm relations as father and son, as two comrades, as two surgeons with combat experience, and as two brilliant scientists.

Leadership Lessons for a New Battalion Surgeon.

Military medical corps officers often do not have experience with line units until after residency. This case demonstrates the importance of understanding the flow of information within an operational setting. The case also highlights the challenges of advocating for patients as a young officer and physician.

The shipboard Beirut terrorist bombing experience: a historical account and recommendations for preparedness in events of mass neurological injuries.

On a Sunday morning at 06:22 on October 23, 1983, in Beirut, Lebanon, a semitrailer filled with TNT sped through the guarded barrier into the ground floor of the Civilian Aviation Authority and exploded, killing and wounding US Marines from the 1st Battalion 8th Regiment (2nd Division), as well as the battalion surgeon and deployed corpsmen. The truck bomb explosion, estimated to be the equivalent of 21,000 lbs of TNT, and regarded as the largest nonnuclear explosion since World War II, caused what was then the most lethal single-day death toll for the US Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. Considerable neurological injury resulted from the bombing. Of the 112 survivors, 37 had head injuries, 2 had spinal cord injuries, and 9 had peripheral nerve injuries. Concussion, scalp laceration, and skull fracture were the most common cranial injuries.Within minutes of the explosion, the Commander Task Force 61/62 Mass Casualty Plan was implemented by personnel aboard the USS Iwo Jima. The wounded were triaged according to standard protocol at the time. Senator Humphreys, chairman of the Preparedness Committee and a corpsman in the Korean War, commented that he had never seen such a well-executed evolution. This was the result of meticulous preparation that included training not only of the medical personnel but also of volunteers from the ship's company, frequent drilling with other shipboard units, coordination of resources throughout the ship, the presence of a meticulous senior enlisted man who carefully registered each of the wounded, the presence of trained security forces, and a drilled and functioning communication system.Viewed through the lens of a neurosurgeon, the 1983 bombings and mass casualty event impart important lessons in preparedness. Medical personnel should be trained specifically to handle the kinds of injuries anticipated and should rehearse the mass casualty event on a regular basis using mock-up patients. Neurosurgery staff should participate in training and planning for events alongside other clinicians. Training of nurses, corpsmen, and also nonmedical personnel is essential. In a large-scale evolution, nonmedical personnel may monitor vital signs, work as scribes or stretcher bearers, and run messages. It is incumbent upon medical providers and neurosurgeons in particular to be aware of the potential for mass casualty events and to make necessary preparations.

John P. Craig, MD, MPH. Physician-Scientist, Educator, and Mentor. 1923-2016.

John P. Craig (1923-2016) was an eminent physician-scientist, gifted educator, and greatly valued mentor. Born in West Liberty, Ohio on 29 November 1923, he attended Oberlin College, and received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine. This was followed by an internship at Yale University Medical Center, and then service in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was a battalion surgeon, preventive medicine officer, and epidemiologist. While in Korea, he conducted important investigations of hemorrhagic fever among American troops. His observations led to the recognition of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, now called Korean hemorrhagic fever. He also identified a new Hanta virus. Craig received his Master of Public Health degree magna cum laude from the Harvard School of Public Health. He then worked with Nobel Laureate, Max Theiler, at the Rockefeller Foundation. Soon afterwards, he joined the faculty of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, where he established a new research laboratory. Over the years, his research focused on diphtheria infections and cholera. He became internationally respected for his work on cholera, and specifically on cholera toxin and its relationship to vascular permeability. He served for over 6years as the Chair of the Cholera Panel of the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Program, and in this position set the direction for future research. The author of over 100 articles published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, he also gave numerous presentations at national and international scientific meetings on a wide range of microbial diseases. Craig was highly regarded by colleagues and students as a superb teacher. He was a leader in initiating patient-oriented problem-solving (POPS) exercises for medical students. He also led curricular reform in the medical school in the 1990s whose purpose was to reduce lecture hours and expand time for small-group interactive sessions. Craig was designated Distinguished Teaching Professor by the State University of New York, and inducted as an Honorary Alumnus of the College of Medicine. The John P. Craig Award for Excellence in Microbiology and Immunology was established in 1993, and is annually presented to a graduating medical student. Following retirement to Tucson, Arizona, Craig devoted time to planning and teaching a tropical medicine course in Costa Rica that was co-sponsored by the University of Costa Rica Medical School and Louisiana State University. He was a member of the Board of Managers of the Wright Nature Center in Trinidad, and an active volunteer in the Herpetology Department of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona. He also had a great interest in ornithology. John P. Craig passed away in Tucson, Arizona on 27 September 2016 in his ninety-third year. He was an eminent success as a research scientist as well as an outstanding educator and mentor. As a result, he had a lasting influence on the lives and careers of both students and colleagues.

Future Psychoanalysts and Memories of the Second World War

On Veterans Day, November 11, 1995, the year marking the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute organized the presentation of soldiers’ experiences from that war. The article is a transcription of the memoirs that the analysts delivered on that occasion. The presenters were NYPSI members M. Donald Coleman, Eugene H. Kaplan, Maurice S. Nadelman, and Howard M. Schlossman. During the war, Dr. Coleman was stationed with the 9 th Army Field Hospital. Drs. Kaplan and Nadelman served in combat with the 87 th Infantry Division. Dr. Schlossman was a Battalion surgeon in the 6 th Armored Division; like Drs. Kaplan and Nadelman, he served in General George S. Patton’s Third Army. All four presenters trained in psychoanalysis at NYPSI after the war.

Role of the Battalion Surgeon in the Iraq and Afghanistan War

The battalion surgeon is an invaluable asset to a deploying unit. The primary role of a battalion surgeon is to provide basic primary care medicine and combat resuscitation. Other expectations include health care screening, vaccinations, supervision of medics, and being a medical advisor to the unit's commander. As many physicians who fill this role previously worked at medical treatment facilities or medical centers without prior deployment experience, the objective of this article is to highlight some of the challenges a battalion surgeon may encounter before, during, and following deployment.

Herbert Spiegel, MD, A Man for All Seasons: Early Personal and Professional Development, 1914–1946

Herbert Spiegel, MD, was a pioneer in American psychiatry and the field of hypnosis, which he first started using as an army psychiatrist posted at Fort Meade, Maryland. He served as a battalion surgeon during the invasion of North Africa and later in the Tunisian campaign. On the battlefield, Spiegel used hypnosis for quick symptom resolution and pain control. He was wounded in action on May 7, 1943, and was awarded a Purple Heart for his courage and bravery. When Spiegel was evacuated back to America, he began writing about short-term treatment strategies based on cognitive restructuring, hypnosis, and other clinical techniques. This article details his early life and career.

Don Fawcett (1917–2009): Unlocking Nature's Closely Guarded Secrets

Don Fawcett (1917–2009): Unlocking Nature's Closely Guarded Secrets

The Comarr Memorial Award for Distinguished Clinical Service: The Legacy of A. Estin Comarr, MD

Since 1993, the American Paraplegia Society has acknowledged exceptional dedication and achievement in the clinical care of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) with the A. Estin Comarr Memorial Award for Distinguished Clinical Service. A pioneer in medical care, education, and clinical research in our field, Dr Comarr's legacy honors all of you who have dedicated your careers to improving the lives of people with SCI. Born in Chicago in 1915, Comarr attended the University of Southern California and Chicago Medical School. He trained in Cleveland hospitals, specializing in urology. In 1945, after serving as a battalion surgeon in the Third Armored Division in World War II, he joined the staff of Birmingham General Hospital in Van Nuys, California (now the Long Beach VA Hospital) (1,2). There began his long and fruitful collaboration with neurourologist Ernest Bors, MD, another pioneer in the care of veterans paralyzed by SCI (2–5). Dr Comarr (photo) contributed to the formation of paraplegia centers, which provided specialty care for veterans disabled by SCIs sustained in World War II. With the founding of these centers, the Veterans Administration “actually lit the torch for research and comprehensive care of these patients,” Dr Comarr emphasized. Before the VA's commitment, people with SCIs were “condemned to death from various complications…” (6). Post-World War I, 60% of these individuals died within 3 years of their injury (6), noted Comarr and Eltorai, while others were left to cope with serious complications with little hope for improvement. It was not until the mid-1930s that neurosurgeon Donald Munro, MD, inspired others by organizing the first ward dedicated to the holistic care of patients with SCI at Boston City Hospital, showing the medical establishment that with attentive care and targeted research, people with SCI could live longer lives of better quality (2). In addition to caring for patients with complex medical issues, Dr Comarr was dedicated to research and professional education. He authored or co-authored textbooks, chapters, and more than 120 articles in the field of spinal cord medicine. His seminal text, co-authored with Dr Bors more than 35 years ago, “Neurological Urology, Physiology of Micturition, its Neurological Disorders and Sequelae”, remains a standard today (7). He also lectured widely on the management of medical complications, especially urological. A founding member of APS, Dr Comarr was the society's first president (1954) and first honorary member. He also served as president in 1955 and 1967. Fittingly, in 1983, Dr Comarr delivered the first Donald Munro Memorial Lecture, which was established by APS to recognize Dr Munro's fundamental contributions to the modern model of SCI care (8). Today, we continue to recognize Dr Comarr's contributions to spinal cord medicine with this eponymous award while acknowledging the professionals who carry his legacy into a future now bright with promise and hope. I can think of no better closing than the words of Dr Comarr's widow, Ruth, on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of APS (2): “I hope my husband's legacy will find continuance in all your combined efforts. With the advent of new medicines and the like, which did not exist in Estin's time, I know you will make great strides in the future.”

War burns: the blow and the cure

War burns have been described throughout the past 5,000 years of written human history, and fire was probably utilized as a weapon long before that. The invention of gunpowder and sophisticated explosives turned the battlefield into a burning inferno and changed for the worse the odds against protective measures. The textbook of military medicine1 has analyzed the development of weapons as the cause of the trends of changes in the nature of injuries during war. The majority of casualties in the First and Second World Wars suffered one—or only a few—relatively large, penetrating injuries. The anti-materiel munitions that were introduced during World War II with the American-made Bazooka—a shaped-charge warhead propelled by a rocket as its first representative—changed the nature of injuries to multiple, penetrating wounds and deep burns caused by small particles of burning aluminum. High-kinetic-energy munitions that penetrated armored vehicles, buildings, and fortifications created a spall (a cloud of blown-out fragmentation debris) that caused similar injuries. The introduction of these new munitions added more burns to the casualty case mix. War burns can be classified as those that are caused by incinerating materials (such as fuel-air bombs, napalms, phosphorous munitions, etc.), flash injuries due to exposure to the high temperatures of explosives, flame burns (mostly secondary to burning fuel, vehicles, buildings, or shelters that were ignited by explosives), contact burns from hot objects in the battlefield hostile environment, scalds from steam or hot fluids that were released by a direct hit or damaged machinery, chemical burns from blistering warfare agents or leakage of chemicals used or stored in the immediate environment of the injured, accidental electrical burns or burns that were caused by laser beams, and—last but not least—radiation burns due to exposure to nuclear weapons. Many times these burns are accompanied by blast, blunt, or penetrating injuries and sometimes by drowning or high-altitude sickness, frostbite, dehydration, or hypothermia. Almost all of these injuries are inflicted in the battlefield, far away from advanced medical services, where evacuation to a rear hospital or even a basic medical echelon might be significantly delayed due to battle conditions, while the medical teams work in life-threatening surroundings and under the emotional stress of the fighting zone. The load on the medical system is at the extreme in the mass-casualty situation. All of these characteristics make war burns more extensive, deeper, more complicated, and undertreated compared with the “normal” case mix of accidental burns in our everyday life. This situation could worsen the prognosis of war burn casualties unless this challenge was met by the entire medical system, from the medic and the battalion surgeon in the field to the rear hospital echelon. In the preface to The Treatment of Burns: Oxford War Manuals by A. B. Wallace, published in l94l during the Second World War, the general editor writes: “If any good is to emerge from the evil which confronts us today, it will be salvaged in the form of medical progress accelerated through intensity of experience.”2 Perhaps the only true benefit of war is the higher standards of trauma care it forces us to develop and to pass on to the succeeding generation. Medicine and surgery have always been professions made of a solid mixture of tradition and craftsmanship. The heavy burden of responsibility for life and death forced physicians to rely almost entirely on what they were taught and on what was considered and accepted as dogma. Some theories, policies, and traditions became almost sacred, to the degree that they were incorporated into the moral code of various religions. This can pose a moral problem for the physician, because doing something different that contradicts the great teachers could be considered a sin, by both themselves and society. It is therefore understandable why many times, during the history of medicine, it had to take wars, revolutions, or disasters to change deep-rooted concepts. Only in the apocalyptic atmosphere of a large-scale catastrophe would it be acceptable to question conventions. Only under the overwhelming demands for medical services could the failures of an old method be demonstrated, and surgeons could gain sufficient experience, courage, and conviction to effect a change. It took crises to change—and wars were always available.

World War II's most highly decorated US physician.

To the Editor. —Recent commemoration of the Normandy invasion makes it timely to call attention to John Erbes, MD, who was the most highly decorated US physician in World War II. Dr Erbes, a 1939 graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, was a battalion surgeon in the Second Armored Division and saw front-line duty in French Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, northern France, Belgium, and Germany. His awards include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Bronze Star, as well as two unit awards. The latter include the Presidential Unit Citation, given to his battalion for breaking the Siegfried line near Aachen on October 4, 1944, and the Belgian Fourragere, given for the division's decisive role in turning back the German spearhead at its deepest penetration in the Battle of the Bulge. This was the first time the latter award was

World War II's Most Highly Decorated US Physician

<h3>To the Editor.</h3> —Recent commemoration of the Normandy invasion makes it timely to call attention to John Erbes, MD, who was the most highly decorated US physician in World War II. Dr Erbes, a 1939 graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, was a battalion surgeon in the Second Armored Division and saw front-line duty in French Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, northern France, Belgium, and Germany. His awards include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Bronze Star, as well as two unit awards. The latter include the Presidential Unit Citation, given to his battalion for breaking the Siegfried line near Aachen on October 4, 1944, and the Belgian Fourragere, given for the division's decisive role in turning back the German spearhead at its deepest penetration in the Battle of the Bulge. This was the first time the latter award was

Acceptance of the Role of Battalion Surgeon

Acceptance of the Role of Battalion Surgeon

Medal of Honor

ABSTRACT To the Editor:— I am impelled to make comment on the article by Dr. Roy J. Popkin, Doctors Who Have Been Awarded the Congressional Medal of (JAMA182:1319 [Dec 29] 1962).The author states in his final paragraphs that Although no Honor Medals were won by Physicians in World War II or the Korean Campaign, it is understandable as the opportunities to be at the front lines were limited. Due to the nature of modern warfare, physicians are rarely assigned to frontline units under combat conditions.As a former battalion surgeon with the infantry in World War II throughout the European campaigns, I can assure Dr. Popkin that his information is quite erroneous. My battalion aid station was seldom farther than 1,000 yards and more often around 250 yards behind the combat troops. It must be explained that the concept of a front-line or straight-battle line is not

Initial care of the severely wounded.

Recent reports on the management of mass casualties in civilian disasters, such as the Waco, Texas, Worcester, Mass., and Flint, Mich., tornadoes 1 and the increased interest in civilian defense emphasize the importance of care of the severely wounded by the civilian physician. In preparing for the world of tomorrow, the civilian physician should familiarize himself with techniques of management of large numbers of wounded men. It is believed that the experiences gained from the study of combat casualties in Korea offer lessons that are applicable to civilian injuries as well as to battle wounds. The role of the company aid man may be likened to that of the ambulance attendant and the role of the battalion surgeon to that of the physician who first sees the patient. The type of care in the preoperative section of a forward surgical hospital is similar to that given in the emergency room

Accidental poisoning by Veratrum japonicum: a clinical report.

On May 6, 1953, while serving as a battalion surgeon in Korea, I was contacted by a Korean Service Corps physician to observe and advise treatment to 14 men. During the preceding winter months the diet of the Korean Service Corps had been very deficient in leafy vegetables; on the first appearance of green plants, the cook of a 14-man labor party had selected those he thought were edible and boiled them into a green soup (a common practice among Korean rural dwellers). The soup was eaten at 12:00 noon. At 1:00 p. m. three of these men began to vomit profusely, and two hours later they complained of seeing circles, yellow sheets of flame, and yellow and green spots before the eyes. At 3:00 p. m. six more men became ill and reported to their medical officer. In addition to severe vomiting, prostration, weakness, and the visual disturbances described

An Assistant to the Battalion Surgeon in an Armored Unit

An Assistant to the Battalion Surgeon in an Armored Unit

ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY IN THE ARMY AIR FORCES DURING WORLD WAR II

PSYCHOLOGIC PROBLEMS THROUGHOUT World War II, it was repeatedly urged that all medical officers learn psychiatric principles. Menninger1stated: ... whether a medical officer is a battalion surgeon, or an orthopedist in a hospital, a dispensary physician or an induction board examiner, he will have numerous occasions when he must exercise psychiatric judgment. Probably more truly than in civilian life, every medical officer is faced with personality deviations. Military orthopedic surgeons soon came to realize there was no alternative to learning more about the psychiatric aspect of orthopedic problems. A steady stream of patients presenting psychogenic musculoskeletal symptoms was referred to orthopedic sections. In the beginning, the disability in many of these patients was labeled organic, and they were given long periods of hospitalization and intensive orthopedic therapy, which occasionally included surgical treatment. Gradually the true character of the disability in these patients was discovered. As time passed and experience