The Contributions of the Second Auxiliary Surgical Group to Military Surgery During World War II with Special Reference to Thoracic Surgery

The outstanding scientific and surgical accomplishments of the Second Auxiliary Surgical Group in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and the 7th Army in World War II were not exceeded by any other group in the United States Army Medical Corps. In the final 921-page report to the Surgeon General with 550 tables, 8801 severely wounded casualties out of a total of 22,000 treated were reviewed. In addition, the major portion of three books on war surgery and over 60 scientific articles were written by this group. The contributions in thoracic surgery that focused attention on physiologic principles and limited the indications for thoracotomy have stood the test of time. The author made the original description of the reaction of the lung to severe trauma of the brain, abdomen, and extremities by the development of "the wet lung of trauma" (RDS), while his introduction of a hand-operated, intermittent positive pressure oxygen respirator to treat the advanced form of this syndrome (pulmonary edema) ushered in a new form of treatment. Long-term, follow-up studies by the author confirm the validity of the physiologic approach to the treatment of thoracic trauma.