Gunshot Wound

[wsanto]

I've often wondered if the doctors had drilled a hole in Lincoln's head to relieve the pressure, would that have made a difference?

I believe the most well-known doctor to make a case for Lincoln's (present-day) survival is Dr. Thomas Scalea.

Thanks for the article Roger. I fully agree that he would have survived if taken to a modern trauma hospital.

A great point in the article is the fact that Lincoln did survive for so long thanks to his abundent stregnth and the great care he received from Dr. Leale and others. That's the best evidence that he would have survived long-term with modern day decompressive strategies, as described in the article.

We have a modern day example with Rep. Gabby Giffords. Her wound was similar to Lincoln's as it did not cross the midline which is uniformly fatal. She has survived and is in rehabilitation and doing quite well. She even addressed Congress since the shooting.