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Surgery

MSF in Haiti: Two Years on

11 January 2012
MSF teams treating cholera patients in Saint-Marc, Artibonite region in Haiti.
MSF teams treating cholera patients in Saint-Marc, Artibonite region, Haiti.
Two years after the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, nearly 500,000 displaced Haitians are still living in extremely precarious conditions. MSF is still working to contain the cholera epidemic and to provide emergency medical care. Access to free care in Haiti remains indeed virtually non-existent for people who live in precarious conditions, those who are far from urban centers or those who can not afford health care in the private facilities that exist in Haiti. In the aftermath of the earthquake of January 2010, MSF launched the largest emergency response in its history, providing care for 358,000 people, making 16,570 surgical operations and making 15,100 deliveries over a 10-months period. During the cholera...
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Afghanistan: MSF Treats Victims of Bomb Blast in Central Kunduz

10 December 2011
Kunduz, conflict, hospital, surgery, MSF
12 year old Ahmed(name changed) is being treated for a gunshot wound in the MSF surgical hospital in Kunduz © Olof Blomqvist/MSF
Following a bomb blast in the capital of Kunduz province in northern Afghanistan today, MSF treated fourteen patients in the organization’s surgical hospital. The explosion occurred close to a market in central Kunduz around noon today. MSF teams treated patients with blast-related injuries, including severe internal wounds, bleeding and burns. “Patients started arriving at our hospital within five minutes of the blast. Two people were severely injured and needed immediate surgery, the rest of the patients were stabilised,” said Erwin Guillergan, MSF coordinator at the Kunduz surgical hospital. Since August 2011, MSF has been running a surgical hospital in Kunduz that provides urgent surgical care and follow-up...
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Libya: Fighting, trauma and health care in Sirte

17 October 2011
Libya: MSF surgeons
MSF is working across Libya. These MSF surgeons are at work in the Abbad Hospital, Misrata.
In this interview conducted on 13th October 2011, Dr Gabriele Rossi, MSF emergency coordinator, describes a very serious situation in Sirte. On the night following the interview, six patients died at Ibn Sina hospital because they could not be operated on. In the north part of town, thousands of civilians remain completely trapped by the fighting. MSF is working across Libya. These MSF surgeons are at work in the Abbad Hospital, Misrata. Photo: Benoit Finck / MSF “We are in Ibn Sina hospital right now, which is the main hospital in Sirte. We have been here for three days. Today we have been hearing more firing and shooting than yesterday – there is lots of noise, and the...
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Pakistan: MSF teams treat wounded from Lower Dir blast

15 September 2011
Following a bomb blast today at a funeral in the Jandol area of Lower Dir in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, dozens of severely injured people have been treated  by Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)  teams and existing medical staff in the Timergara District Hospital emergency room.   Seven people died before arriving to the hospital. Medical teams carried out emergency surgery and stabilised many patients. Eight people with head injuries and open fractures have been referred to Peshawar for further treatment.   “Most of the patients are severely injured, with open fractures and limb, chest, and abdominal injuries,” said Dr. Zaheer, assistant medical officer for MSF in...
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Tripoli, Libya: “Almost all of the hospitals around the city are receiving wounded”

25 August 2011
Jonathan Whittall
Jonathan Whittall
Voice from the Field: Tripoli, Libya   A three-person Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) team is currently in Tripoli with supplies and is starting to support facilities that are already overwhelmed with patients wounded in the fighting currently taking place in the Libyan capital. MSF has also dispatched teams to Zlitan, east of Tripoli, and Al Zawiyah, to the west, to support hospitals faced with an influx of wounded. Speaking from Tripoli, Jonathan Whittall, MSF Emergency Coordinator, describes the situation on the ground.   Jonathan Whittall. Photo: Zethu Mlobeli/MSF What is the situation like right now?   What we’re dealing with at the moment are...
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MSF to expand medical response in western Libya

23 August 2011
Libya. medical supplies
Libya. The MSF pharmacy has provided much-needed medical supplies to Misrata health structures during peak periods of the conflict.
Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is preparing to expand its medical response in western Libya to meet urgent humanitarian needs.   The MSF pharmacy has provided much-needed medical supplies to Misrata health structures during peak periods of the conflict.Photo: Eddy McCall / MSF Due to an increase in wounded admissions to the MSF-supported hospital in nearby Yefren, MSF has sent medical teams to assess the frontline area south of Zawiyah. Today, MSF has sent another team inside Zawiyah town to support the general hospital which has also seen an influx of newly wounded and to assess conditions in the town.   ‘Health structures in the area have been...
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Unique Cooperation leads to Successful Eye Surgery Camp

12 August 2011
Following months of planning, a unique cooperation between MSF and German NGO, Christian Blind Mission (CBM) led to a successful Eye Surgery camp at Boguila hospital, in the remote northwest of Central African Republic.  The treatment was provided completely free of charge to the patients, and over a two-week period, 53 people had their sight restored through surgery.  Scarcity of Ophthalmologists “There hadn’t been anything like this in Boguila in recent years,”explains Project Coordinator, Jane-Ann McKenna.   “There are only five ophthalmologists in the whole country, and they are based in the capital, over 400 kilometres away.  We spoke to the community, the mayor, religious leaders,...
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Libya: Teaching trauma surgery management during Wartime

23 June 2011
Libya: Teaching trauma surgery management during Wartime
Libya: Teaching trauma surgery management during Wartime
In the rebel-controlled city of Misrata, in Libya, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is running a surgery program in two facilities—Abbad Hospital and Kasr Ahmed Hospital. Between March and May 2011, the city was a battleground between forces loyal to ruler Muammar Gaddafi and anti-Gaddafi rebels. MSF surgeon David Nott was there and he described his experience. What was specific about your mission in Misrata? Dr. David Nott leads a surgical operation at MSF-supported Abbad Hospital in Misrata. Photo: MSF It was very much a teaching mission—it was the first time I did this sort of teaching. In any other mission, you do the job on your own, but in...
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Libya: Surgical Care in Misrata

20 June 2011
Libya: Surgical Care in Misrata
Libya: Surgical Care in Misrata
MSF surgical team at work in Abbad hospital in Misrata. Photo: MSF A semblance of normalcy has returned to the port city of Misrata in western Libya. Since the anti-government rebels retook the city, boats have been bringing supplies regularly from the eastern city of Benghazi, the rebellion’s putative capital, and stores have reopened their doors. After a nearly three-month long siege, fighting has ended in the center of Misrata. The front line has pulled back to outside the city. However, while the situation has changed since the first Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team arrived on April 18, bombing continues nearby, producing scores of victims. On June...
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In post-earthquake Haiti, medical needs are still great

20 June 2011
The needs are for surgery, post-operative care, and obstetric care.
The needs are for surgery, post-operative care, and obstetric care.
The earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010 reportedly left 300,000 wounded, and 1.5 million homeless. Soon afterwards, a cholera epidemic swept the country, killing more than 5,000. Photo: Yann Libessart/MSF Although the situation is no longer covered as extensively as it was in 2010, huge health needs remain in Haiti. Photo: Yann Libessart/MSF The needs are for surgery, post-operative care, and obstetric care. Photo: Yann Libessart/MSF Cholera is still a concern. In Port-au-Prince, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) treatment centers have seen an increase in cases since mid-May. Photo:...
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by Dr. Radut.