title: Humanitarian Surgical Care Provided by a French Forward Surgical Team: Ten Years of Providing Medical Support to the Population of the Ivory Coast.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aims of this study were as follows: first to quantify and review the types of surgical procedures performed by military surgeons assigned to a Forward Surgical Team (FST) providing medical support to the population (MSP) in the Ivory Coast (IC), and second to analyze how this MSP was achieved.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 2002 and 2012, all of the local nationals operated on by the different FSTs deployed in the IC were included in the study. The surgical activity was analyzed and divided into surgical specialties, war wounds, nonwar emergency trauma, nontrauma emergencies, and elective surgery. Demographics, circumstances of health care management, wounded organs, and types of surgical procedures were described.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over this period, surgeons operated on 2,315 patients and performed 2,556 procedures. Elective surgery accounted for 78.7% of the surgical activity, nontrauma emergencies accounted for 12.7%, nonwar emergency trauma accounted for 8%, and war wounds accounted for 0.6%. The main surgical activities were visceral (43.8%) and orthopedic (including soft tissues) surgeries (38.5%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The FSTs contributed widely to MSP in the IC. This MSP required limited resources, standardization of the procedures and specific skills beyond the original surgical specialties of military surgeons to fulfill the needs of the local population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Digestive Surgery, Percy Military Teaching Hospital, 101 Avenue Henri Barbusse, BP 406, 92141 Clamart Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonnet
authors.affiliation: Department of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Desgenettes Military Teaching Hospital, 108 Boulevard Pinel, 69003 Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bertani
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Sainte-Anne Teaching Hospital, BP 20545, 83041 Toulon Cedex 09, France.
authors.forename: Pierre-Henri
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Savoie
authors.affiliation: Department of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Percy Military Teaching Hospital, 101 Avenue Henri Barbusse, BP 406, 92141 Clamart Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mathieu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Vascular Surgery Percy Military Teaching Hospital, 101 Avenue Henri Barbusse, BP 406, 92141 Clamart Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Boddaert
authors.affiliation: Department of Digestive Surgery, Percy Military Teaching Hospital, 101 Avenue Henri Barbusse, BP 406, 92141 Clamart Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: Department of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Loire Vendée Océan Hospital, Boulevard Guérin, 85300 Challans, France.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poichotte
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Val de Grâce Military Teaching Hospital, 74, Boulevard de Port Royal, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Durand
authors.affiliation: Department of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Desgenettes Military Teaching Hospital, 108 Boulevard Pinel, 69003 Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rongiéras
authors.affiliation: Department of Digestive Surgery, Sainte-Anne Teaching Hospital, BP 20545, 83041 Toulon Cedex 09, France.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Balandraud
authors.affiliation: French Military Health Service Academy (Ecole du Val-de-Grâce) 1, Place Alphonse Laveran, 75230 Paris Cedex 05, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pons
authors.affiliation: Department of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Percy Military Teaching Hospital, 101 Avenue Henri Barbusse, BP 406, 92141 Clamart Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Sylvain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rigal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire; D005260:Female; D006772:Hospitals, Military / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008493:Medical Missions / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013531:Surgicenters / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult