Entire Surgical Units Can be Moved Onto Front Line
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: One of the golden rules in the U.S. military is to take care and protect their own, and nowhere is that more clear than a new technique the military may employ if indeed they go to war. Let's take a "House Call" right now with Dr. Sanjay Gupta here in Kuwait City to talk a bit more about that.</s>DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's really interesting. In medicine and surgery, there's something known as the golden hour. That's the time between an injury and getting definitive care. The shorter, the better. In battle, as you mentioned, sometimes that is hard. But there is a new technique, a new system really, out there that's going to be employed if necessary for the first time in the potential conflict coming up. What is it? Well, we decided to go take a look.</s>GUPTA (voice-over): This is a typical operating room, an operating table, lights, an instrument tray, off in the corner there's a sink to scrub your hands. And there are surgeons and anesthesiologists and several assistants to perform operations. Even an ultrasound machine to diagnose injuries. Of course, surgeons don't typically wear flap jackets or carry guns. And if the room looks a bit unusual, that's because it's in the middle of the desert, just kilometers from the Iraq border, and it's totally mobile. (on camera): Not like you are back home, is it?</s>CAPT. H.R. BOHMAN, U.S. NAVY DOCTOR: Not at all. However, it does function, and it functions well.</s>GUPTA (voice-over): Captain H.R. Bohman, a general surgeon, helped design it.</s>BOHMAN: What we're really interested in is to have as good a result as the surgeons that Vietnam had. Because of the rapid transport they had and the definitive care that they could provide, we got the best that we've seen in military history.</s>GUPTA: But nowadays as the military moves quickly and the battlefields stretch longer, getting the injured to an operating room takes more time.</s>BOHMAN: During the Gulf War, literally two hours after the war started, your basically evac time back to the surgical capability was well over two hours. And so, that's when we thought we've got to have some way to keep up.</s>GUPTA: And so for the first time, instead of taking the injured to the operating room, this operating room will come to the injured. (on camera): How long does it take to set up?</s>BOHMAN: It takes one hour. It's supposed -- it can be done in 40 to 60 minutes.</s>GUPTA (voice-over): And the surgeons will also be soldiers. (on camera): How do you sort of balance all of that, being a doctor and being a soldier at the same time?</s>BOHMAN: As far as my personal thing, I am a surgeon. My aim is to take care of any patient that comes to us. These are only because the Marine Corps says we have to carry them. They are meant for self- preservation and for protection of our patients and equipment. If it gets to the point that we have to use these, we're in deep trouble.</s>GUPTA (voice-over): But if the Marines move rapidly forward, they can be assured that an operating room will not be far behind.</s>HEMMER: Wow!</s>GUPTA: All of this, again, kilometers from the front line.</s>HEMMER: What were they using before? What was the system in place?</s>GUPTA: Well, they didnt have a system like this in place. You know, during Vietnam, the battlefield was much shorter, so they could get people back to definitive care much more quickly. During the Gulf War, the battlefield spreads out, it takes longer to get places. They didn't have something like this. It took two hours sometimes. It was certainly not falling within the golden hour during the Gulf War to get people back to definitive care.</s>HEMMER: Obviously, they are training and they're practicing on this. Are they confident?</s>GUPTA: Constantly. And these guys are a very impressive bunch, no question. The general surgeons are actually constantly preparing. They were actually doing some training exercises the day we were there. They feel very prepared, very confident.</s>HEMMER: You're a surgeon. Were you impressed?</s>GUPTA: An operating room in the middle of the desert, I was very impressed. They have -- this is sand everywhere, sanitary operating rooms, scrub sinks the whole thing. They can do it.</s>HEMMER: Great story. Thank you, Sanjay.</s>GUPTA: All right.</s>HEMMER: See you a bit later today. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.