ICRC manual on military field surgery published in Armenian for first time

In a country at war, doctors must have excellent skills in military field surgery. Meanwhile, the 44-day war revealed a number of problems in the organization of medical care for the wounded and injured, the rapid recovery and return to active duty of the wounded, rehabilitation medicine, etc, the head of "Advanced Medicine" NGO Aramayis Galumyan said while presenting the first volume of the "Military Field Surgery" manual in Armenian language.

"We realized that we were not prepared for this development and a lot of things were done spontaneously. In order not to repeat the same mistakes in the future we have to prepare competently, taking into account both our and international experience in conflict medicine," he said.

Based on that, a year ago "Advanced Medicine" NGO initiated the translation into Armenian and publication of a special two-volume manual of the International Committee of the Red Cross "Military Field Surgery".

According to Aramayis Galumyan, this manual has been published by the ICRC since 1988 and is constantly being updated. An English version of the book, updated in 2019, has been translated into Armenian. He explained that the ICRC currently publishes the book in English, French, Russian and Spanish, and on its own initiative it has been translated into Chinese, Arabic, Japanese and Turkish. "And now Armenian has risen among the world's languages, and the literature we need will serve to replenish surgeons' knowledge," he said.

Atom Ter-Grigoryan, a surgeon from Russia who worked in Stepanakert during the 44-day war, assessing the significance of the work done, recounted an incident that occurred in those days. The surgeons in Stepanakert were in constant contact with the doctors on the front lines, and one of the young doctors, a medical university student, when asked what help he needed, said: "Nothing but books."

The head of the "Association of Armenian Physicians-Writers" David Abrahamyan, whose members are working on translating the book, noted that not only doctors, but also soldiers and officers need it to practice their first aid skills.  

 
In a conversation with NEWS.am Medicine correspondent, Galumyan noted the high demand for professional books on military medicine in our country, which is in a state of conflict. According to him, during the wartime, almost all medics become military doctors and everyone needs knowledge in this field - from students of the medical university to doctors of hospitals and civil hospitals. He mentioned that many doctors in Armenia have the opportunity to get acquainted with professional literature in foreign languages as well, but from the point of view of universal education of physicians, it is very important to have it in Armenian.

The first volume of the ICRC manual "Military Field Surgery" was published in 500 copies under the sponsorship of "Liqvor" pharmaceutical company and "Matevosyan" foundation. It will be distributed free of charge to medical institutions of Artsakh and Armenia. The initiative was also supported by the Fund For Armenian Relief, Martin Star LLC, Antares Media Holding, the Hovnanyan Foundation, and physician Gevorg Yaghjyan. An electronic version of the book is also available.

The second volume of the publication is in the process of translation, and the organizers hope that it will be published in the first quarter of 2023.

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