Beyond Today’s Global Wars of Mass Destruction: Craniofacial Deformities, Traumatic Brain Injuries, and Collateral Damage

Today's global wars are mostly asymmetrical waged in urban areas resulting in mass destruction and a heavy impact on civilian populations. The spectra of war injuries on survivors are extremely wide and may be quite disturbing. While most casualties in earlier wars were caused by bullet wounds, thermal injuries are at present an important feature of armed conflicts since thermobaric small shoulder-launched missiles and improvised explosive devices became the weapons of choice of non-state combatants. Craniofacial and brain traumatic injuries (BTIs) are also serious common injuries; they frequently result in long-term disability and psychological distress. The time is ripe now for us in the medical profession dedicated to saving lives, to act for stopping the madness of civilian targeting, and focus on planning a better future for the next generations with bright prospects of progress and creativity.