By Petty Officer 1st Class Andrew McCord
USS Wasp Public Affairs
USS WASP, Atlantic Ocean – Limited shore facility appointment availability, an intense underway schedule, an aversion to medical procedures: these are only three of the many reasons that Sailors onboard the Amphibious Assault Ship USS Wasp sometimes don’t get the necessary – or wanted – medical procedures that perhaps they should.
Sailors now have an opportunity to undergo elective medical procedures as Wasp has a surgeon onboard who is seeing patients specifically to look at, and if necessary remove, skin lesions and lumps, and also to perform vasectomies for those interested.
Lt. Cmdr. Jason Longwell, flight surgeon attached to the Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28 “Sea Knights,” is on board as part of the Search and Rescue detachment, and he is open for business.
“When I got on board, [the Senior Medical Officer] asked if I would be willing to do these sorts of surgeries,” said Longwell. “I do vasectomies in Portsmouth, and they’re in pretty high demand with a nine- to ten-month waiting list. I have operating room space here, I have time, so I thought I’d do it.”
Despite the daunting sound and legend of the vasectomy, Longwell says that it’s not nearly what it’s built up to be. He also noted that while theoretically a vasectomy should render the recipient sterile, that this isn’t always the case.
“It takes 20 or 30 minutes – it’s a minor surgical procedure,” he said. “We just take out a piece of the vas deferens that conducts sperm to the ejaculatory duct. Is it 100 percent effective? It’s based on the hands of the surgeons. However, I haven’t had any failures in over 400 cases”
Patients who undergo a vasectomy can expect to be Sick In Quarters for 48 hours, and to be on light-limited duty for two weeks, not necessarily because of the pain, but because lifting or excessive movement could upset or undo some of the surgery.
“I was a little nervous when I went in, but the staff really worked to relax me – they did a great job,” said Wasp Petty Officer 1st Class Willie Mitchell, an indoctrination coordinator cryptologic technician (collection) who underwent the procedure Saturday morning. “It was the right time, and I’d been discussing it with my wife, so when I saw that there were clinics, I signed up. And there haven’t been any setbacks. I’d tell anyone to go for it if that’s what they wanted to do.”
Along with the vasectomies, Longwell is also removing skin lesions such as lipomas (non-cancerous fatty tumors), cysts and moles.
“It’s basically a ‘lumps and bumps clinic,’” said Longwell. “It’s mostly cosmetic for bumps that are getting in the way, like if it’s bothering someone with the equipment they wear, or if it’s getting in the way of their shaving. We send [the excised lesions] to pathology regardless to make sure that they’re not malignant. Sometimes it’s peace of mind, or cosmetic, or just because [the bump] is an annoyance.”
Longwell expressed confidence in the clinic thus far, and commended the Wasp support staff for their professionalism and capability during the procedures performed to this point.
“We’ve got a good support staff – great corpsman,” said Longwell. “They’re adapting. It’s good training for them, and they’re exercising skill sets they don’t normally get to use.”
Petty Officer 3rd Class Julio Guardadorubio, a hospital corpsman who holds the Navy Enlisted Classification for surgical technician, echoed Longwell and noted that patient comfort was equally important as surgical success.
“We want the patient to feel as comfortable as possible, so we take our time and dedicate it to the patient’s comfort,” Guardadorubio explained. “When people come in for surgeries, you can see it in their eyes that they’re concerned, and you have to try to calm them down. So we give them a safe, comfortable environment. It’s me and the surgeon. We’ve got it. They can just lay back and relax.”