Page 12 - Delaware Medical Journal - May/June 2019

Physician Emeritus Lecture Series:
‘Good Morning, Vietnam!’
The Medical Society of Delaware’s Physician Emeritus Section kicked off its 2019 lecture series on April
9 with a presentation by Allen L. Davies, MD, retired thoracic cardiovascular surgeon. “Applications of Modern Surgery During the Vietnam War: Testing Skills Dr. Davies to begin chronicling his time spent as a surgeon in Vietnam. Those present provided positive feedback on the content.
Dr. Davies spoke on what it was like to be in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, a turning point in the Vietnam War that played a role in weakening U.S. public support for the war. Fighting at the time of the Tet Offensive was the heaviest and most sustained of
the war. After returning home from his

Army, he re-enlisted with the Marines as a Lieutenant Colonel and returned to Vietnam in 1969. Sure, surgeons were desperately needed, but the political and social unrest in the States towards the Vietnam War made surgical work in a war-torn country slightly more appealing.
Wearing his green jungle fatigues, Dr. Davies painted a picture of what life
was like at the 2nd and 27th Surgical Hospitals in Chu Lai, where he served. He spoke of not only what it was like
for him and other medical personnel,
but also about the Vietnamese who interacted with the military and medical personnel to achieve common goals.
The 27th Surgical Hospital was located just south of Da Nang, strategically situated between the Chu Lai airstrip and Route 1. On the other side of Route 1 was the territory controlled by the Viet Cong. The 27th Surgical Hospital was
S. Barry Diznoff, MD; Allen L. Davies, MD; and Michael J. Axe, MD share a laugh.
the buffer for the airstrip targeted by
the Viet Cong. Dr. Davies humorously referred to his barracks as the “Chu Lai Hilton.” Along with daily living, Dr. Davies talked about wounds he treated and how new surgical techniques at the time were being applied. Vein grafts started to become commonly used in cardiac surgery in the U.S. and were then employed by the surgeons in Vietnam. They implemented the use of elective liver resection technique, used in the treatment of cancer, to stop bleeding caused by trauma. In the early stages of both the Korean and Vietnam wars, 90% of chest wounds were operated on, with 50% mortality. In both wars, surgeons changed their approach and conservative non-operative treatment was instituted, resulting in better outcomes. As the surgeons gained experience, they were able to turn disasters into wins. Success rates improved dramatically.
Areas of surgery that changed in the

vascular surgical techniques, especially in extremity injuries; formal liver resection, either lobectomy or segmentectomy, to
for thoracotomy in penetrating wounds of the chest; aggressive approach to heart wounds; and volume respirators for traumatically injured lungs.
Dr. Davies paid homage to those who worked on the Contemporary Veterans Project, which was the impetus for his presentation. The presentation was also videotaped to document his story. The brainchild of William Duncan, MD, the Contemporary Veterans Project was an attempt to capture as much information as possible about Delaware physicians who served in the military from post- World War II to the present, and to record the information for future generations.
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Del Med J | May/June 2019 | Vol. 91 | No. 3