US Army surgical experiences during the NATO peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1995 to 1999: Lessons learned

Member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) initiated a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina in December 1995. The U.S. Army has deployed field surgical hospitals to the region to provide ongoing medical and surgical care since December 1995. All surgical cases performed at U.S. Army field surgical hospitals in support of the NATO peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina were reviewed to determine the nature of care delivered. Field surgical hospital operative logs served as primary data sources. U.S. Army field surgical hospitals were established in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Hungary. A total of 676 major operations were performed between December 1995 and September 1999. The mean number of operations performed per surgeon per month during this period was 2.13. Surgical procedures performed during this peacekeeping mission reflect procedures commonly performed in garrison. Other lessons include the need to customize field inventories for peacetime care and the fact that the majority of operations were general surgical or orthopedic.