Mortar attack victim flown in for specialised care in Dubai

Dubai: A mortar attack victim from Baghdad was airlifted here as a shrapnel wound was getting worse and he could lose his leg, a plastic surgeon said.

S.K., an American citizen, who preferred not to give his full name, told Gulf News that the hospital staff here did a great job and he should be back on his job within a month. He did not provide details about where in Baghdad he got his injury. The 46 year-old got his shrapnel injury on March 28.

Dr Yasser Khattab, a specialist plastic surgeon with City Hospital in Dubai Healthcare City, said a number of war victims are being flown to Dubai for treatment regularly because of the excellent health care facilities here.

Thorough check-up

After an initial surgery, the patient was flown here and was given a thorough check-up. "It is easy to miss out some war injuries, in the abdomen, or tiny fractures," he said.

The surgeon said a new technique using a machine called the VAC (vacuum assisted closure) was used. "It helps reduce the swelling and absorbs any dirt in the wound," said Dr Khattab. The machine is new in Dubai and only a few hospitals have started using it in the past year, he said.

S.K. lay in bed with one side of his leg showing the spot where a piece of skin was taken and grafted over the wound.

"The skin is first run through a ‘mesh' which increases its surface area," the surgeon said. The patient's wound is completely healed but he will have to do some exercises at home. He will be flying to the United States today. The surgeon said another patient from Kabul, Afghanistan, was also flown here and he would undergo reconstructive surgery soon.

Also an American patient, he is a victim of a suicide bombing and has lost his hearing. He was at a meeting with local Afghans when the bomber walked in and blew himself up, he told the doctor. He said the person sitting next to him died.

"The suicide bomber's body split in half," he said.

The surgeon has so far treated 10 patients from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"That's just the number I have personally treated, other specialists have had their own patients," he said.