Efficacy of Medical Operations and Layout Planning Onboard Nontraditional US Navy Vessels at High Seas.

Introduction: Attempting to expedite delivery of care to wounded war fighters, this study aimed to quantify the ability of medical and surgical teams to perform lifesaving damage control and resuscitation procedures aboard nontraditional US Navy Vessels on high seas. Specifically, it looked at the ability of the teams to perform procedures in shipboard operating and emergency rooms by analyzing motion of personnel during the procedures.

Methods: One hundred and twelve damage control and resuscitation procedures were performed during a voyage of the US Naval Ship Brunswick in transit from Norfolk, Virginia, to San Diego, California.

Surgery at Sea: The Effect of Simulated High Sea States on Surgical Performance.

Background: The US Navy initiated design concepts for a Medical Mission Module Support Container (M3SC), a mobile operating room capable of rapid installation aboard maneuverable ships within proximity of active combat units. The M3SC provides an alternative echelon of care in the current trauma system by decreasing the time between point of injury, arrival, and surgical intervention. The mobile ships used as M3SC platforms, however, are more susceptible to oceanic conditions that can induce detrimental physiologic motion sickness in medical personnel and patients aboard the vessels.