Beyond the call of duty

A bravo for BRAVA

A group of specialist doctors from the USA are here helping the wounded. Shelani de Silva reports

"Operation BRAVA" came into force last week at the National Hospital in Colombo. Though this might sound like a military operation, it was a mercy mission.

"BRAVA" stands for Blast Recitation And Victim Assistance provided by doctors from the US Navy, Army and Air Force.

The team consists of Orthopaedic Surgeons, General Surgeons, an anaesthetist and physiotherapists specialised in caring for victims of land mines and artillery fire.

The visit, the first its kind is funded by the United States government. The US Congress has decided to make this a regular mission where four groups of doctors will visit Sri Lanka annually. The team will be in the country for a month.

Captain Dana Covey, Medical Corps, US Navy, an Orthopaedic Surgeon and the head of the group is an experienced surgeon who has served in trouble -spots like Bosnia, Haiti and the Gulf during the Gulf War.

The rest of the team comprises Lt. Colonel Steve Janny,US Army, Major Jeff Harpstrite, US Army, Major David Murray, US Air Force, Captain Tracy Smith, US Army and Staff Sergeant Joseph Adams, US Army.

Stationed at the Colombo National Hospital, they have been giving expert advice and performing surgery on soldiers and civilians. The timing of their visit could not have been better, given the recent surge in military casualties. I must say with a war going on, the majority of our patients are soldiers. But I did treat a couple who had suffered injuries due to a grenade attack. The soldiers we have treated have been both the mild cases and the severely wounded."

Since this is the first phase of the project the team has to submit a detailed report on their work as well as the shortcomings faced by the hospital in caring for such patients.

"There is a severe shortage of equipment and supplies.

"This will be our main focus. The shortage may be because of the war. With so many casualties there is a scarcity in supplies all the time. The patients urgently need external Fixators [for the leg] and certain nails used for such injuries.

"Most important is the Physiotherapy," said the doctor.

The group had brought some equipment with them. After examining several of the wounded, they firmly believe that almost all can be cured in Sri Lanka.

"Most of them refuse to get their legs amputated, this is of course understandable. But the physiotherapy must be provided. The soldiers are very co-operative but we have a language barrier since most of them do not speak English. But their facial expressions show that they welcome us. They are very gracious," Dr Covey said.

While working in Bosnia, Dr Covey encountered thousands of landmine victims.

"The type of injury is somewhat similar. But in Bosnia you get many civilians too. Here we have begun our work but we never got a big influx of victims," said Dr Covey who added that they have been given mobile phones so that they can be reached urgently if needed.

Doctor Covey added that they too are in many ways learning through this project.

"Especially on the type of wounds. Back home we get only people injured by hand guns. It is as dangerous but not the same kind of injury," he said.

The group had high regard for the doctors attached to the National Hospital and said that they were professionals in every aspect.

"I think that the young doctors here get the best training especially when they have to treat war victims. This kind of exposure and experience will help them immensely," Dr Covey said.

In fact the team of Doctors had been briefed on the war situation by US military officers at the Headquarters in Hawaii prior to their arrival.

"I read up on Sri Lanka and found it is a beautiful island with a rich culture and famous beaches," said Dr Covey who hopes to travel down South and to Kandy to see the Maligawa.

Director, National Hospital, Dr Hector Weerasinghe said that the visit of these experienced doctors was advantageous.

Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, National Hospital Dr M Wasantha Perera who is working closely with the team said that as most Lankan doctors get their training and exposure in the European countries, having a team from the USA will help them tremendously.

"We have learned much. Technologically they are very advanced," he said.

Dr Covey also expressed a hope of sending Lankan doctors to the US but not immediately.

"At the moment we are concentrating on helping the patients and the health stream with equipment supply and any other shortages," he said.

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