Iraqi Army Maj. Tahseen Muallah, medical officer from Camp Habbaniyah, oversees the preparatory work done on an Iraqi Policeman who is going in for surgery to remove fragmentation. Muallah worked with Lt. Cmdr. John A. Lynott, senior orthopedic surgeon with Camp Taqaddum Surgical, 1st Supply Battalion (-) (Reinforced), 1st Marine Logistics Group, and the staff at TQ Surgical to understand their operating procedures. The two groups have been working together throughout the year, sharing their expertise in the medical field. The end goal is to get the Iraqis trained so they can operate their own medical facilities efficiently and effectively. Photo by Cpl. Tyler B. Barstow, U.S.M.C.
CAMP TAQADDUM — Iraqis are no longer just patients in operating rooms, now they are scrubbing-in alongside their U.S. counterparts to participate in surgeries. Camp Taqaddum Surgical, 1st Supply Battalion (Reinforced), 1st Marine Logistics Group, has partnered with Iraqi medical personnel at Camp Habbaniyah, bringing them into the operating room for the first time here, Aug. 21.
Lt. Cmdr. John A. Lynott, senior orthopedic surgeon with TQ Surgical, worked with Iraqi Army Maj. Tahseen Muallah, a medical officer from Camp Habbaniyah, to remove fragmentation from the leg of an Iraqi Policeman (IP). Mohammed Ali, the 33-year-old IP, was injured from an improvised explosive device in 2006. Since then, his injuries have prevented him from working and keep him up at night.
Less than two hours later, the fragmentation was removed and Ali was recovering from the surgery.
“It’s the first time we’ve scrubbed in with any Iraqis,” said Lynott, who felt confident in Muallah’s abilities and noticed how well-trained he was in the operating room.
CAMP TAQADDUM — Iraqis are no longer just patients in operating rooms, now they are scrubbing-in alongside their U.S. counterparts to participate in surgeries. Camp Taqaddum Surgical, 1st Supply Battalion (Reinforced), 1st Marine Logistics Group, has partnered with Iraqi medical personnel at Camp Habbaniyah, bringing them into the operating room for the first time here, Aug. 21.
Lt. Cmdr. John A. Lynott, senior orthopedic surgeon with TQ Surgical, worked with Iraqi Army Maj. Tahseen Muallah, a medical officer from Camp Habbaniyah, to remove fragmentation from the leg of an Iraqi Policeman (IP). Mohammed Ali, the 33-year-old IP, was injured from an improvised explosive device in 2006. Since then, his injuries have prevented him from working and keep him up at night.
Less than two hours later, the fragmentation was removed and Ali was recovering from the surgery.
“It’s the first time we’ve scrubbed in with any Iraqis,” said Lynott, who felt confident in Muallah’s abilities and noticed how well-trained he was in the operating room.
With progress like this, it’s only a matter of time before the new medical facility at Habbaniyah is up and running, staffed with well trained and experienced Iraqi surgeons.
“Anything we do to help build their medical capacity is a good use of our time and facilities,” said Brig. Gen. Robert R. Ruark, commanding general of 1st Marine Logistics Group.
With a little more time and experience with the new facilities here, leaders are confident the Iraqi surgeons will soon be treating their own, thanks to this partnership.