Courtesy Photo | Royal Australian Air Force Flight Lt. Helen Webb, a pathologist, checks the blood of...... read more read more
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Story by Australian Army Capt. Jesse Platz
TARIN KOT, AFGHANISTAN - A coalition team of United States and Australian medical specialists are saving lives every day in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.
Thirty nine personnel from the US Navy, US Air Force, Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force are working together to provide medical care to military and civilian casualties, including coalition and Afghan soldiers, policemen, local residents and insurgents wounded in battle.
In late February, the Tarin Kot Role 2 Hospital staff performed life saving treatment on an Afghan National Army soldier who sustained extreme facial injuries from an insurgent-laid improvised explosive device.
U.S. Navy Cmdr. Michael Lavor, Officer Commanding of the Role 2, said the wounds were possibly fatal.
“It was classified as a Category Alpha (CAT A), which is the most severe type of injury. The patient arrived via helicopter; he was picked up by our ambulance and then rushed into our trauma bay.
“In this case there was a major laceration and fracture in the jaw, caused by a bullet lodged in the left lower area. The patient was incubated to protect the airway, the wounds were irrigated, inspected manually and the bullet was removed before the lacerations were sewn up,” Cmdr. Lavor said.
The patient was then taken from the operating room to the intensive care unit for stabilization and subsequent aero medical evacuation to the Afghan government operated Kandahar Regional Medical Hospital (KRMH).
“The patient will receive further surgical treatment in Kandahar where Afghan physicians will wire his fractured jaw. The chance for recovery is 100 percent for him,” Cmdr. Lavor said.
The mortality rate of casualties is highest from the time of injury to the time of medical evacuation, but if a casualty is brought to the Role 2 or the KRMH, their chance of survival is 98%.
“Once a patient comes through our door, it makes no difference if they are Afghan National Army, special forces, regular army, or even an insurgent; they will receive the same level of medical care and survival rate. It’s been an honor to work with this team,” Cmdr. Lavor said.
The purpose of the Role 2 is to receive, stabilize and control major injuries before preparation and transportation to tertiary facilities. The team includes surgeons, medics, pathologists, nursing officers, physiotherapists and x-ray specialists.
U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Black, said the team is incredibly skilled and experienced.
“Whenever a patient comes in, we have a systematic approach that we go through to try and locate any injuries that are going to be the most likely things to kill them quickly and then we intervene in those processes.
“Once this particular patient came in, we checked for any life threatening injuries, we examined his body from head to toe, cleaned up the wounds on his face and removed the foreign bodies due to the blast,” Lt. Cmdr. Black said.
Royal Australian Air Force Pathologist Flight Lt. Helen Webb, said all areas of medical expertise assist in the survival of each patient.
“We are working very well together, when this particular patient came in we ran a trauma panel, we did blood typing in case he needed a transfusion, we did blood gases and basic coagulation pathology.
“We all do as much as we can for the patient,” Flight Lt. Webb said.
| Date Taken: | 02.20.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 03.06.2013 09:44 |
| Story ID: | 102981 |
| Location: | TIRINKOT, AF |
| Web Views: | 337 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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