AIMING TO HEAL WOUNDS OF WAR
By Courtney Perkes
Orange County Register, CA
Nov 14 2006
Surgeon from Iraq is exposed to new techniques in O.C. on a trip
sponsored by relief agency.
ORANGE – With a metal instrument, Dr. Avadis Muradian holds open the
gaping pink flesh of a knee, where a sophisticated artificial joint
will allow a long-distance cyclist to ride his bike again.
The operating room at St. Joseph Hospital is a world away from
Muradian’s hospital in Basra, Iraq, where he treats children maimed
after grenades explode in their hands.
And unlike what he saw during the knee-replacement surgery last week,
Muradian can’t send his patients home with greater mobility because
prosthetic fingers and hands aren’t available.
The 50-year-old surgeon is visiting Orange County and Los Angeles for
three weeks to see the latest in orthopedic medicine, which brings
him hope for what Iraq may someday offer.
Watching other doctors here, he says, will help him at home, where
he treats overwhelming needs with limited supplies.
On this afternoon, the jet-lagged, affable doctor is amazed by
his first 48 hours outside the Middle East. In medical school,
he studied out of American textbooks. But he said nothing rivals
standing shoulder-to-shoulder with American surgeon Dr. Robert Gorab.
"I’m ashamed to ask what is this equipment," Muradian says after
watching four surgeries. "It’s very advanced. He did an operation
today with the aid of a computer."
>>From the operating room, he steps into the doctors lounge, where
his American counterparts are chatting or working on computers. In
the background, Fox News plays footage of the day’s carnage in Iraq.
Muradian prepares a cup of hot tea and sits down to relax. He plans
to visit relatives he’s never met who live in Los Angeles. He wants
to see Hollywood: "If I can see Tom Cruise, Al Pacino and DeNiro,
I’ll be very grateful."
But mostly he’s thinking about ways to bring more healing to his broken
country. He also would like to show Americans an Iraqi face outside
the news of war. As he has met patients, he notes their surprise when
they hear where he’s from.
"We are not bad people," Muradian said. "We really are not people
that like killing. I want to see a peaceful Iraq – no violence, more
development, more reconstruction, more hospitals. I want every people,
every country to respect Iraqis."
Muradian works at Basra General Hospital, built by the British in
the 1920s. Iraqi police guard the entrance. There are separate wards
for men and women. Without an insurance system, the government pays
doctors’ salaries.
In the early days of the war, Muradian performed all kinds of emergency
surgeries, many outside his specialty. He’s always on call, though
he’s never summoned during the middle of the night. Nobody, he says,
goes out at night.
He remembers after the war started, numerous groups offered aid to
his hospital. In the end, none of the offers panned out except for
a fresh coat of paint for the building.
"We saw nothing," Muradian said. "We don’t want paint. We want
equipment. We need instruments for fractures, prosthesis."
He must be creative to make use of his primitive equipment. He has
made some simple tools himself – a contrast to Dr. Gorab, who consults
with medical-device companies to help design new products.
"If you have no glass to drink water, you use your hand." Muradian
said.
Muradian, whose grandparents moved to Iraq from Armenia, said he
sees another side of Iraq, beyond the casualties and violence. As
a Christian, he said, he lives in harmony with Shiite and Sunni
Muslims. As a doctor or tabib, as he’s called in Arabic, he’s treated
with respect.
His trip is paid for by the nonprofit Buena Park-based Global
Operations and Development and a group of surgeons from the Orthopaedic
Education and Research Institute of Southern California.
As part of an ongoing exchange, more Iraqi doctors will visit in
February.
Juliana Ditty, executive vice president of Global Operations, arranged
for Muradian to stay with local families. Her group has sent 18
40-foot containers of medical supplies to Iraqi hospitals.
Gorab said plans are in the works to send over supplies that Muradian
can use.
"There’s all kinds of equipment in hospitals across the country that
never gets used. It’s sitting in basements," said Dr. Vance Gardner
of the education and research institute. "They’re thirsty for it."