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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Surgeon saves boy's life by text | Surgeon saves boy's life by text |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A British doctor volunteering in DR Congo used text message instructions from a colleague to perform a life-saving amputation on a boy. | A British doctor volunteering in DR Congo used text message instructions from a colleague to perform a life-saving amputation on a boy. |
| Vascular surgeon David Nott helped the 16-year-old while working 24-hour shifts with medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Rutshuru. | Vascular surgeon David Nott helped the 16-year-old while working 24-hour shifts with medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Rutshuru. |
| The boy's left arm had been ripped off and was badly infected and gangrenous. | The boy's left arm had been ripped off and was badly infected and gangrenous. |
| Mr Nott, 52, had never performed the operation but followed instructions from a colleague who had. | Mr Nott, 52, had never performed the operation but followed instructions from a colleague who had. |
| The surgeon, who is based at Charing Cross Hospital in west London, said: "He was dying. He had about two or three days to live when I saw him." | The surgeon, who is based at Charing Cross Hospital in west London, said: "He was dying. He had about two or three days to live when I saw him." |
| Careful instructions | Careful instructions |
| The boy had been bitten by a hippo, the Daily Mail reports. | The boy had been bitten by a hippo, the Daily Mail reports. |
| Mr Nott knew he needed to perform a forequarter amputation, which requires the surgeon to remove the collar bone and shoulder blade. | Mr Nott knew he needed to perform a forequarter amputation, which requires the surgeon to remove the collar bone and shoulder blade. |
| He contacted a colleague who had performed the operation before. | He contacted a colleague who had performed the operation before. |
| "I texted him and he texted back step by step instructions on how to do it," he said. | "I texted him and he texted back step by step instructions on how to do it," he said. |
| It was just luck that I was there and could do it David Nott | It was just luck that I was there and could do it David Nott |
| "Even then I had to think long and hard about whether it was right to leave a young boy with only one arm in the middle of this fighting. | "Even then I had to think long and hard about whether it was right to leave a young boy with only one arm in the middle of this fighting. |
| "But in the end he would have died without it so I took a deep breath and followed the instructions to the letter. | "But in the end he would have died without it so I took a deep breath and followed the instructions to the letter. |
| "I knew exactly what my colleague meant because we have operated together many times." | "I knew exactly what my colleague meant because we have operated together many times." |
| FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme | |
| The surgeon had just one pint of blood and an elementary operating theatre, but the operation, performed in October, was a success and the teenager made a full recovery. | The surgeon had just one pint of blood and an elementary operating theatre, but the operation, performed in October, was a success and the teenager made a full recovery. |
| Mr Nott, who volunteers with MSF for a month every year, said: "It was just luck that I was there and could do it. | Mr Nott, who volunteers with MSF for a month every year, said: "It was just luck that I was there and could do it. |
| "I don't think that someone that wasn't a vascular surgeon would have been able to deal with the large blood vessels involved. That is why I volunteer myself so often, I love being able to save someone's life." | "I don't think that someone that wasn't a vascular surgeon would have been able to deal with the large blood vessels involved. That is why I volunteer myself so often, I love being able to save someone's life." |