U.S. military’s surgical team helps Kunar civilians

KUNAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

03.31.2011

Story by Capt. Peter Shinn 

Combined Joint Task Force 101

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Medical professionals with the 102nd Forward Surgical Team at Forward Operating Base Wright, Afghanistan, performed outpatient surgery March 31 on a 5-year-old Afghan boy brought to the FST by his worried father.

Rahmad Gul, a carpenter from the nearby town of Nawabad, explained he did not know what to do when his wife told him the testicles of their youngest son, Basid, had not descended.

“This was a big problem, so I talked it over with the other men of my village,” Gul said. “One of them worked here [at FOB Wright], and he told me the doctors here would help my son.”

Basid’s case is only the most recent example of the FST’s efforts to heal Afghan civilians. Since the 102nd arrived at FOB Wright in January, the FST treated 165 local Afghans for a variety of ailments and injuries, a figure which includes 56 surgical interventions, according to U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ramon Guel of Portland, Ore., the FST’s executive officer.

“We know medical services are an important way we can show the civilian population that the U.S. is here to help them,” Guel said. “I would say our work with the local Afghans has impacted this area immensely.”

U.S. Army Maj. Mike Kilbourne of Richmond Hill, Ga., a general surgeon with the FST, performed the procedure to correct Basid’s testicles. Kilbourne acknowledged there is a hospital nearby in Asadabad, the provincial capital, but said that hospital is ill equipped to provide treatments the FST can readily accommodate.

“They lack diagnostic support, anaesthesia support, imaging support, all things we have here at the FST,” Kilbourne said. “While the doctors there are trained, because of their support limitations, they’re reluctant to take on cases involving children, burn victims, amputation or anything to do with the face.”

The FST helps fill that void by performing surgery for everything from the correction of cleft palates in Afghan children to treating Afghan adults involved in traffic accidents, Kilbourne added.

Gul expressed profound gratitude for Kilbourne’s treatment of Basid, who is the 12th and youngest of Gul’s seven daughters and five sons.

“I thank him very, very much,” Gul said. “Who would have helped my son if not for this hospital?”

• Date Taken: 03.31.2011
• Date Posted: 04.10.2011 14:53
• Story ID: 68534
• Location: KUNAR PROVINCE, AF