Vascular surgeon David Nott performed an amputation on a boy while volunteering his medical expertise in the Congo by following instructions texted to his mobile phone from a colleague. A 16-year-old boy arrived in Nott's care after a bombing left his arm severely injured and infected. The boy's limb had become severely gangrenous and would have likely proven fatal within if not removed.

Nott had never performed the complex forequarter amputation operation before, a surgery which is a challenge to even many experienced surgeons. Nott performed the surgery by following instructions which were sent via text messages from a colleague of his whom he had performed surgeries with in the past. Following the surgery, the boy was expected to make a full recovery.