I came across an amazing story today! A surgeon in the Democratic Republic of Congo requested and received instructions via SMS on a surgery he had never performed before, from a fellow surgeon in London. The task was to perform a life-saving arm amputation, for a young teenager in Congo, who had reportedly been bitten by a hippo while fishing, while it was later reported that his wounds were caused by fighting between Congolese government troops and the National Congress for the Defence of the People rebels.

The doctor was confident the surgery had to be performed, in order to save the boy's life. With little to no alternative options, the doctor decided to request the help of his colleague, Professor Meirion Thomas. The only reason this was feasible, however was via SMS, as it was the only communication option at the time.

The other doctor then replied with an SMS 10-step guide of things to watch out for and check, during the procedure. (Professor Meirion Thomas, is apparently one of the few surgeons in Britain experienced in such procedures.) It's important to note here that the two doctors were already well acquainted, and had in fact worked a number of times in surgery together, making an otherwise impossible task, such as that of communicating surgery information, now possible.

There are a few ideas that also come to mind regarding the amount of medicine-related sms marketing services that can really change the life of patients, especially in developing countries. Regardless of the outcome of this surgery, just think how much easier the operation could have been and how much video (for example) could augment such a task!

Here's some quotes from the doctor / hero himself, taken from the original news announcement I came across:

"I knew the procedure that was right for him was to have a forequarter operation, which is an enormous operation," he told BBC radio of the procedure he carried out in October.

"In the UK you'd need an intensive care unit to do it. It was a huge undertaking. He texted back step-by-step instructions on how to do it," Nott said.

"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.

"I knew exactly what my colleague meant because we have operated together many times.

"It was just luck that I was there and could do it.

"That is why I volunteer myself so often, I love being able to save someone's life."

An amazing success story that just goes to show us the potential of SMS, and its power, and how much we rely, more and more on the ability to communicate anytime / everywhere.

My best of wishes for recovery to the victim!