E-Mail Query Helps Stavropol Physicians Treat Torn Artery

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When a 16-year-old boy who had sustained a knife wound to the abdomen was brought to Stavropol Krai Hospital in Russia, information coordinator Lev Dubovoy, MD, turned to the Internet for help. The patient's hepatica artery (leading to his liver) was badly torn, and doctors in Stavropol wanted advice on how best to repair and treat the injury.

Dubovoy queried Surginet, an on-line mailing list, to solicit assistance. He received more than 20 responses from around the world, as well as a manual on ruptured vessels from the Boston University Medical Center. As a result of the e-mail correspondence, doctors were able to prescribe the correct antibiotics following surgery, and the patient made a full recovery.

"Doctors responded from Australia, Israel and the US," said Dubovoy. "They sent us their thoughts and advice--not scientific information, but practical information."

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