Team brings medical aid to Sri Lanka

  • Published
  • By Maj. Kris Meyle
  • 36th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
JAFFNA, Sri Lanka (AFPN) --  A decades-long war has claimed tens of thousands of Sri Lankan lives, and land mines continue to maim an untold number of civilians caught up in the aftermath of the war.

A team of 20 military medical specialists began a weeklong humanitarian surgical training mission here known as blast, resuscitation and victim assistance, or BRAVA, April 27 to try to help those most in need. The mission is a Department of Defense humanitarian program allowing DOD medics to travel to countries affected by land mines and provide surgical services to assist land-mine victims.

An advance team arrived nearly a week earlier to coordinate equipment, supplies and facilities and to screen prospective patients. The majority of the medical team -- consisting of Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen -- arrived April 26.

They are here to conduct “a two-way exchange,” said Maj. Lisa Nesselroad, mission commander and the 13th Air Force international health division chief from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

The exchange, she said, is that the mission “gives [the team] an opportunity to provide the services, and at the same time learn from local surgeons who have vast experience dealing with these kinds of [war-related] injuries.”

The mission provides a valuable forum for military doctors, said Army Maj. (Dr.) John Tis, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon with the 135th Field Surgical Team at Yongsan Army Garrison, South Korea.

“We can learn from (our Sri Lankan medical counterparts’) backgrounds, techniques and training, and maybe they can also learn a little something from (our) American training,” Dr. Tis said. “We can see some of (the) injuries we might see in wartime. I don’t ordinarily practice (war-trauma surgical) skills.”

The pediatric orthopedist said he was particularly concerned about the alarming number of Sri Lankan children who were blast victims, because of their tendency to innocently wander into the country’s minefields.

While a sensitive cease fire -- brokered in December 2001 -- carries on, so does the continued presence of land mines. These minefields are a byproduct of the nation’s civil conflicts, which recently ravaged the northern peninsula of the country called “the jewel of the orient.” Several large maps posted at public places here warn the public about general minefield locations.

“So far, these have been the kindest, most hospitable people I’ve ever met,” said Maj. Troy Osborn, 374th medical group anesthesia department medical director from Yokota Air Base, Japan. He said it was terribly sad that fighting had been going on in Sri Lanka that led to the mine-blast injuries.

However, he said, “It’s a great experience to be able to work with our sister services, as well as with the Sri Lankans, and have the opportunity to help some victims of war.”

For Army Maj. (Dr.) Ryan Moon, a general surgeon and commander of the 135th FST, this BRAVA mission is unique because it has given the Army teams from Korea some critical trauma training, as well as a chance to practice field deployments.

Rather than simply using a host nation’s hospital resources, the team brought in, set up and used the same equipment they would have used in the field if they were accompanying a deploying combat unit.

The mission offers “a good chance to train on the equipment you’d use if you ever got deployed,” said Army Spc. Christopher Gomez, an operating room technician from the 135th FST.

The deployed equipment represents the cutting edge of highly mobile medical technology, providing fully functional modern operating rooms in a palletized package, officials said.

“I hope to see how (the Sri Lankan doctors) do some of their trauma work -- how they function with a lot less technology,” Major Osborn said.

Unfortunately, the short duration of the mission means that certain individuals who need and deserve surgical care would not be treated this time, said Army Maj. (Dr.) Philip Woodworth, a general surgeon with the 127th FST at Yongsan. He is also a member of the advance team that screened more than 100 patients before the main team’s arrival.

The two operating rooms that were set up can handle about 10 patients per day with a full schedule, Dr. Woodworth said. Mission planners were considering extending hours to maximize the number of patients.

This was not only a great training opportunity, but a chance to greatly improve the quality of life for some of the people here who may not otherwise have had access to special surgery services, Major Nesselroad said.

Since the mission does not just deal with blast injuries, potential surgery includes assistance such as healing cleft palates, a 45-minute repair that will change the quality of a person’s life, Major Nesselroad said.

For the people the team would have time to help, the effort is definitely worth it, said Army Maj. Donna Moore, 127th FST certified registered nurse anesthetist.

“Doing humanitarian missions is the coolest thing in the world,” she said. (Courtesy of Pacific Air Forces News Service)