Foreword

Article Outline

• Copyright

The increasing number of terrorist attacks, occurring throughout the world, has made it abundantly clear that civilians are highly vulnerable to pre-meditated acts of violence, once thought to occur only to wartime military personnel. The September 11, 2001, airplane crashes into the World Trade Center in New York City, forever changed our lives in a number of ways. In this issue of “Current Problems in Surgery,” Dr. Donald E. Fry, Professor of Surgery at the University of New Mexico and a recognized expert in trauma surgery, has written a highly informative monograph, entitled “Disaster Planning for Uncoventional Acts of Civilian Terrorism.” In his monograph, Dr. Fry provides an overview of the characteristics of certain agents (biological, chemical or ionizing radiation), which might be used in terrorist attacks. He devotes a substantial part of his text to the topic of disaster planning. Dr. Fry is highly qualified to write on this topic, which provides useful and important information to surgeons of all specialties who will be called upon to play a central role in patient management when these man-made disasters occur.