External fixator frames as interim damage control for limb injuries: experience in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Background: An earthquake occurred in Haiti on January 12, 2010. The center of earthquake and the most extensive damage occurred near the capital Port-au-Prince. There were an estimated 230,000 deaths with more than 250,000 others injured.

Hard times call for creative solutions: medical improvisations at the Israel Defense Forces Field Hospital in Haiti.

Mass disaster medicine is characterized by the need to manage limited resources that are far inadequate to meet the population's demands. Under these hectic conditions, lack of specific medical equipment is expected and requires improvisation using available items. We describe the innovative use of medical improvisations at the Israel Defense Forces field hospital, working in the earthquake zone, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 2010.