Medics treat more than 620 in Cambodia

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Adam Johnston
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
U.S. military medics have treated more than 620 patients and have scheduled 100 surgeries in a small hospital complex in Cambodia since May 17.

“Ten hours after the mission started, the surgery schedule was fully booked with 100 cases,” said Lt. Col. Diep Duong, team leader for a 20-member blast resuscitation and victim assistance mission that has been in Cambodia for a week.

“We’re seeing about 150 patients a day, and we’re doing about nine surgeries a day,” Colonel Duong said.

The colonel said the majority of the patients the team has seen are people with burn injuries, thyroid problems and hernias.

“The majority of surgeries happening here are procedures to restore functions in limbs or to relieve pain,” she said. Surgeons are also fixing cleft palates and lips to help children eat and swallow normally.

One woman the team is treating suffers from burns to more than 40 percent of her body. She received the burns in a propane gas explosion about a month ago.

“If we weren’t here she would’ve died,” said Lt. Col. (Dr.) Jim Walter, an emergency medicine physician with the Virginia Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Squadron in Sandston, Va. “There was nothing available for her. She has no money and she can’t travel. If we would have arrived a week later she wouldn’t be here.”

Capt. (Dr.) Jason Rosenberg, a reconstructive plastic surgeon, said the burned woman will have scarring and some loss of function with her hand but he is sure she will live through it.

“If she had the therapy we have in the states she certainly would do a lot better,” Dr. Rosenberg said.

Working in Cambodia is refreshing for both doctors.

“I feel really fortunate to be able to have the opportunity to help folks because it makes me appreciate where we are and where we live,” Dr. Rosenberg said.

Dr. Walter said the work he is doing is why he became a doctor.

“This is true medicine,” he said. “Although you stay here for 16 hours a day, the work is tiring, but it makes you realize why you became a doctor. That’s something you sometimes forget in the states.”

In Cambodia, Dr. Walter is also pulling double-duty.

Not only is he treating patients in a small corner office in the compound, he is also responsible for ensuring the team stays healthy. One team member has a foot infection but the rest of the team has remained healthy, he said.

“That’s huge,” Dr. Walter said. “It’s not uncommon for a significant number of the medical team members to get sick from diarrhea type illnesses, but everybody is taking their medicines and watching what they eat. So, we’ve been very lucky.”