'Through and Through' History: The Management of Gunshot Wounds From the 14th Century to the Present

Justin Barr; Walton O Schalick 3rd; Christopher B Horn; W Sanders Marble; Shauna Devine; Dale C Smith

doi:10.1097/AS9.0000000000000299

'Through and Through' History: The Management of Gunshot Wounds From the 14th Century to the Present

Ann Surg Open. 2023 Jul 17;4(3):e299. doi: 10.1097/AS9.0000000000000299. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Justin Barr¹, Walton O Schalick 3rd², Christopher B Horn³, W Sanders Marble⁴, Shauna Devine⁵, Dale C Smith⁶

Affiliations

¹ From the Division of Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Department of Surgery, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, Disability Studies, and Medieval Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
³ University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.
⁴ U.S. Army Office of Medical History, San Antonio, TX.
⁵ Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
⁶ Professor Emeritus of Military Medicine and History, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD.

Abstract

Gun violence killed over 46,000 Americans in 2021; almost 120,000 suffered gunshot wounds. This epidemic has attracted national attention and increasing concern from medical and surgical organizations, as evident in this special issue. 'Through and Through History' explores the surgical management of gunshot wounds from their earliest appearance in 14th-century Europe to the present. Interweaving the civilian and military experience, it details not only the evolution of care directly applied to patients but also the social, political, and scientific milieu that shaped decisions made and actions performed both in and out of the operating room. The article describes how surgeons have pushed the boundaries of medicine and science in each era, developing new therapies for their patients, a historical trend that persists today when such care has the potential to save tens of thousands of lives each year.

Keywords: GSW; amputation; gunshot wound; history; trauma.