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Doctor Performs Amputation By Text Message

Peace Corps Online writes "Vascular surgeon David Nott performed a life-saving amputation on a boy in DR Congo following instructions sent by text message from a colleague in London. The boy's left arm had been ripped off and was badly infected and gangrenous; there were just 6in (15cm) of the boy's arm remaining, much of the surrounding muscle had died and there was little skin to fold over the wound. 'He had about two or three days to live when I saw him,' Nott said. Nott, volunteering with the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, knew he needed to perform a forequarter amputation requiring removal of the collar bone and shoulder blade and contacted Professor Meirion Thomas at London's Royal Marsden Hospital, who had performed the operation before. 'I texted him and he texted back step by step instructions on how to do it,' Nott said."

36 of 242 comments (clear)

  1. Costly by mmxsaro · · Score: 4, Funny

    Must have been an expensive operation considering the price of text messaging today.

    1. Re:Costly by Goldberg's+Pants · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes, and his words most have been really cutting.

    2. Re:Costly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yes if you remember the cost of retrieving data from the Hubble Space Telescope vs. the cost of sending a text message you'll see that it costs an arm.

  2. However, it should be noted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    He intended to do a prostate exam, so it's not quite as good as it sounds.

  3. How do you fit complex instructions in text? by GrpA · · Score: 5, Funny

    Taken from the text logs:

    MK UR FST CT ALNG CLR BON WTH STRLZD RZR K?

    Things got a little dangerous when another text message came in from his wife mid operation.

    U WANT LEG OR SHOLDER CUT FOR DINR?

    Heh, but still some great work. It's tragic though that there's still a dearth of medical facilities in some countries and life-saving make-do operations like this are common. Kudos to Medicines Sans Frontiers for doing what our own governments should be doing.

    GrpA

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    1. Re:How do you fit complex instructions in text? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      --->8---CUT HERE--->8---

  4. Soo... by Chairboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    What exactly _is_ the emoticon for 'cut off limb X'?

    1. Re:Soo... by mathx314 · · Score: 5, Funny

      :->-<
      ..^..
      this
      one

      It's quite simple, really.

    2. Re:Soo... by mcpkaaos · · Score: 2, Funny

      I believe this one is clearer for the amputation of an arm:

      8-@!-<

      Or a Prince Albert gone horribly wrong.

      --
      It goes from God, to Jerry, to me.
    3. Re:Soo... by mikael · · Score: 5, Funny

      o|-< + 8< 8< -> o,-<

      --
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    4. Re:Soo... by gregbot9000 · · Score: 2, Funny

      3=/= for arm, 0=/= for foot. As a side note, )S) is the emoticon for a tape worm.

    5. Re:Soo... by torsmo · · Score: 2, Funny

      WAAH!! "Caller" bone!

  5. Amputation by text message? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    See? That's why I don't want a cell phone.

    1. Re:Amputation by text message? by rhyder128k · · Score: 2, Funny

      Now we need this innovation to come full circle so that we can surgically remove cell phones with txting capability from British teenagers.

      --
      Michael Reed, freelance tech writer.
  6. Re:interestingly the text message device could be by Hatta · · Score: 5, Funny

    Text message will ensure that all the details get there

    But none of the vowels.

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  7. I wonder what it sounded like... by Laser_iCE · · Score: 5, Funny

    DN: hai r u awake?? im wrkn, ths guys missn heaps of his arm, wwyd?
    MT: lol sup? tru tru... kk well ur guna need 2 do a 4 1/4 amp. req rm of the cola bone n shlda blde.
    DN: yea nm nm...... ok so txt me how
    MT: ok is he there now?
    DN: no im at home
    MT: txt me wen u get there k?

    1. Re:I wonder what it sounded like... by sdpuppy · · Score: 5, Funny

      LOL! wrong arm!

  8. whole story by The+Clockwork+Troll · · Score: 5, Funny

    I heard the doctor actually texted full instructions on how to reattach the arm but after 151 characters it got cut off.

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  9. Old News by nEoN+nOoDlE · · Score: 5, Funny

    Verizon takes an arm and leg for text messages every month, so amputation by text message isn't anything new.

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  10. Re:interestingly the text message device could be by Malevolyn · · Score: 3, Funny

    idk my bff jill?

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  11. This reminds me of the commercial... by MsGeek · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...where this guy's doctor was talking him through doing an appendectomy. "It's very straightforward."

    --
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  12. Re:interestingly the text message device could be by Hurricane78 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I don't know where you're from, but I (in Germany) get a text message at the price of a minute of voice, and the first 50 in every month are included in the plan price.

    In other countries it's much cheaper.

    .
    .
    .
    Yeah. Other counties! Haven't you heard of them? ;)
    .
    .
    .
    Are you French or American? ;)

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
  13. Re:interestingly the text message device could be by ShakaUVM · · Score: 5, Funny

    >>I long ago discovered my text-messaging device allows me to talk directly to another person through his or her text-messaging device. Amazing!

    You mean those wireless devices which replaced the devices which ran over wires which were originally built to text messages to each other in morse?

  14. Man... by gparent · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm kinda glad we have to pay for incoming text messages now. At least that guy who wants to ampute me will have to think twice before pressing send!

  15. Re:You want all the instructions before starting. by dotancohen · · Score: 5, Funny

    WASSUP CUT ARM STCH SKN ! BL0D. LOL

    a b c d e f g
    slashdot filter

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  16. Re:interestingly the text message device could be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    In other countries it's much cheaper.

    .
    .
    .
    Yeah. Other counties! Haven't you heard of them? ;)
    .
    .
    .
    Are you French or American? ;)

    I don't know about France, but here in America we celebrate a diverse selection of counties.

  17. Re:Haha, I. R. Funny! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    lol. Mint condition.

  18. Re:interestingly the text message device could be by Hal_Porter · · Score: 4, Funny

    cracka stole my arm.

    --
    echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
  19. Re:interestingly the text message device could be by Hal_Porter · · Score: 4, Funny

    vwlls r vl. thts why thr r n vwlls n hbrw.

    --
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  20. Re:interestingly the text message device could be by lysergic.acid · · Score: 3, Funny

    he must be using one of those analog texting services.

  21. Re:interestingly the text message device could be by gaderael · · Score: 5, Funny

    What the article fails to mention is that all the plane's electrical systems failed because the pilot was using his cell phone.

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  22. Re:interestingly the text message device could be by stonedcat · · Score: 2, Funny

    Butt Fuck Friday?

    --
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  23. Re:interestingly the text message device could be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    "rite nw u slice of da 3rd tndn"

    "wtch 4 da musl"

  24. Re:interestingly the text message device could be by TeknoHog · · Score: 2, Funny

    Vowels, bowels, what's the difference?

    --
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  25. Re:interestingly the text message device could be by iwan-nl · · Score: 2, Funny

    Biblically Forbidden Fornication?

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  26. Re:You want all the instructions before starting. by LrdDimwit · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never -- my arm!!!