Germany -- The number of troops dying as a result of battlefield injuries in the Iraq war is half of what it was during the Vietnam War, critical care and trauma surgery experts at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center say.

Medically speaking, today's mortality rate among wounded troops is 50 percent less than it was roughly 35 years ago.

The lower mortality rate among today's wounded troops has been achieved not so much by innovations but rather refinements to U.S. military medical care, doctors said.

"I think it's the refinement of techniques that has really changed the outcomes of our multitrauma patients," said Air Force Dr. (Lt. Col.) Guillermo J. Tellez, chief of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center's surgery division. "It's everybody putting their lessons learned toward refining techniques."

I find it a bit remarkable at how just a few years and some simple changes in the way things are done improve the survival rate of wounded soldiers (and probably applied to trauma patients elsewhere as well). Having had knee surgery before the article kind of hurt a bit to read, but it's a very interesting article.


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