Medical support for northern Iraq

I had a chance to visit northern Iraq, as a member of a medical support program for Sulaimany Teaching Hospital in northern Iraq. Medical equipment and supply to the hospital had improved, comparing to the condition ten years before just after the Gulf War. What Iraqi doctors need now is to obtain new medical information or technique, which they could not absorb during the last ten years under economic sanctions. In anesthetic field, my activity was mainly to teach regional anesthesia or regional block, because Iraqi anesthetists have enough knowledge in anesthesiology. Similar support is necessary for all of Iraq.     

Paediatric trauma in northern Iraq: the Kurdish refugee crisis.

In May 1991 a team of five doctors and two nurses from Edinburgh hospitals were flown to Northern Iraq to assist in the Kurdish refugee relief effort. The two surgical members of the team helped to re-establish surgical services in a small hospital in the Iraqi town of Zakho. During an 8-day stay in the hospital, frequently in extremely difficult circumstances, the surgical team undertook 19 major and 15 minor surgical procedures in 25 patients; 11 major and eight minor procedures were undertaken in 15 children under the age of 16 years. The largest group of children treated had suffered bomb-blast injuries from unexploded ordinance; injuries sustained were primarily to the hands, face and upper trunk. Road traffic accidents and burns were also common. Two children requiring postoperative intensive care were evacuated by military helicopter at night to hospital facilities in Turkey.     

Orthopedic experience in a MASH unit in postwar Iraq.

The orthopedic experience of a U.S. Army MASH unit deployed in southern Iraq is discussed. Seventy major casualties were surgically treated in a short time span. A high percentage of extremity trauma was observed (69%). Many patients had multiple extremity involvement. The emergency wartime surgical treatment of four specific types of trauma is explored. A new algorithm is presented for the rapid evaluation of penetrating joint injuries. We summarize the current concepts of war surgery as they apply to orthopedic injuries, and add specific observations from this experience.     

Burn mortality in Iraq

Mortality rates are important outcome parameters after burn, and can serve as objective end points for quality control. Causes of death after severe burn have changed over time. In a prospective study, eight hundred and eighty-four burn patients were admitted to the Burns and Plastic surgery Hospital in Sulaimani-Kurdistan region of Iraq in 2009. Age, gender, nationality, cause of burn, extent of injury, cause of death and mortality rate were tabulated and analyzed, 338 (38.2%) were male and 546 (61.8%) were female. The highest number of cases occurred in January, with the highest short period incidence occurring in April. Out of 884 cases, 260 persons died. Burn injuries were more frequent and larger with higher mortality in females than in males. Flame was the major cause of burns. Self-inflicted burns were noted mainly in young women. A large number of burns which affect children and females, occur in the domestic setting and could have been prevented. Therefore, it is necessary to implement programs for health education relating to prevention of burn injuries focusing on the domestic setting.