Use of REBOA in the universe of magical realism: a real-world review

While reading the novella “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” by the Colombian Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, we were surprised to realize that the injuries sustained by the main character could have been successfully treated had he received modern trauma care in which REBOA may have been considered. This is a discussion of Mr. Nasar's murder to explore whether he could have been saved by deploying REBOA as a surgical adjunct to bleeding control and resuscitation. In reading Garcia-Marquez's novel we noted the events that unfolded at the time of Santiago Nasar's murder. To contextualize the claim that Mr. Nasar could have survived, had his injuries been treated with REBOA, we explored and illustrated what could have done differently and why. On the day of his death, Mr. Nasar sustained multiple penetrating stab wounds. Although he received multiple stab wounds to his torso, the book describes seven potentially fatal injuries, resulting in hollow viscus, solid viscus, and major vascular injuries. We provided a practical description of the clinical and surgical management algorithm we would have followed in Mr. Nasar's case. This algorithm included the REBOA deployment for hemorrhage control and resuscitation. The use of REBOA as part of the surgical procedures performed could have saved Mr. Nasar's life. Based on our current knowledge about REBOA in trauma surgery, we claim that its use, coupled with appropriate surgical care for hemorrhage control, could have saved Santiago Nasar's life, and thus prevent a death foretold.