Photo By Cpl. Tyler Barstow | Lt. Cmdr. John A. Lynott, senior orthopedic surgeon with Camp Taqaddum Surgical, 1st...... read more read more
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By Cpl. Tyler B. Barstow
1st Marine Logistics Group
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq – Iraqis are no longer just patients in operating rooms, now they are scrubbing-in alongside their U.S. counterparts to participate in surgeries.
Camp Taqaddum Surgical, 1st Supply Battalion (-) (Reinforced), 1st Marine Logistics Group, has partnered with Iraqi medical personnel at Camp Habbaniyah and brought them into the operating room for the first time Aug. 21, 2008.
Lt. Cmdr. John A. Lynott, senior orthopedic surgeon with TQ Surgical, worked with Iraqi army Maj. Tahseen Muallah, medical officer from Camp Habbaniyah, to remove fragmentation from the leg of an Iraqi policeman.
Mohammed Ali, the 33-year-old IP, was injured from an improvised explosive device in 2006. Since then, his injuries have prevented him from being a policeman and keep him up at night.
With the help of a portable X-ray machine, the two surgeons worked together to remove the fragments and get him back in the fight. Even with the X-ray machine, the process is still very similar to searching for a needle in a haystack.
"The body recognizes the foreign objects so it wraps around them, making it hard to dig out," said Lt. Rich O'Kane, a 35-year-old orthopedic physician's assistant from Watkins Glen, N.Y., with TQ Surgical.
This didn't stop the two surgeons who had made a commitment to their patient.
"I told him I'd get (the fragmentation) out but I wouldn't take half his leg to find it," said Lynott, 39, from Scranton, Pa.
Less than two hours later, the fragmentation was removed and Ali was recovering from the surgery.
"It's the first time we've scrubbed in with any Iraqis," said Lynott, who felt confident in Muallah's abilities and noticed how well-trained he was in the operating room.
With progress like this, it's only a matter of time before the new medical facility at Habbaniyah is up and running, staffed with well trained and experienced Iraqi surgeons.
"The idea is to someday get to the point where we can (help them with surgeries) in their space," said Capt. Ted P. Briski, the commanding officer of TQ Surgical.
Once that is accomplished, the Iraqis will soon be able to handle everything on their own.
"The goal is to eventually step even further back into the background," said the 48-year-old from Milwaukee.
Both sides see the benefits as the relationship continues between the two forces.
"Anything we do to help build their medical capacity is a good use of our time and facilities," said Brig. Gen. Robert R. Ruark, commanding general of 1st Marine Logistics Group.
Given a little more time and some experience with the facilities here, the Iraqis will soon be treating their own, thanks to this partnership.
| Date Taken: | 08.21.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 08.25.2008 04:03 |
| Story ID: | 22831 |
| Location: | AL TAQADDUM, IQ |
| Web Views: | 191 |
| Downloads: | 159 |
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