Free Republic

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, June 13, 2008 – A new lifesaving standard of care has garnered the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research here a prestigious recognition: invention of the year. The innovation, called Damage Control Resuscitation of Severely Injured Soldiers, was named one of the Army’s “Top Ten Greatest Inventions of 2007.” “The American Association for Trauma Surgeons calls this one of the biggest improvements to trauma care in the last 10 years,” said Michael Dubick, senior research pharmacologist for the Institute of Surgical Research. The invention is aimed at saving severely injured soldiers with internal injuries that...

When David Bloom, 39, went to Iraq in 2003 to cover the war for NBC News, his wife, Melanie, naturally feared for his safety. Would a bullet or a bomb claim him? A land mine? An ambush? Instead it was a blood clot lodged in his lungs that ended his life. Ms. Bloom subsequently learned that her husband carried a genetic abnormality, factor V Leiden, that greatly increased his risk for developing blood clots. Mr. Bloom had three other risk factors for clots: a long plane ride to Iraq, erratic eating habits that could have caused dehydration, and cramped sleeping...