• Fortis Hospital Mohali provides two limping ex-members of Iraqi security forces hope of leading a normal life

NewZNew (S A S Nagar) : Foreign nationals from countries torn by war or internal strife, and disabled in action, are increasingly finding succor in Indian hospitals. Two such gentlemen from Basra province of Iraq, former members of its security forces, are looking forward to a much improved quality of life, after their joints, which were ravaged in violence, have been replaced after performing corrective surgery on their heavily damaged limbs at Fortis Hospital, Mohali.

Jawad Mohammed Zaibil (53 years), a former member of the Iraqi armed forces, who says his body was riddled with shrapnel from exploding explosives in the Iran-Iraq war in 1986, today has a smile on his face reclined on his hospital bed in Room No. 161 of the hospital. Aided by the Government of Basra province in Iraq he is looking forward to leading a normal life after successful surgeries and subsequent replacement of his left hip joint and right knee joint.

In the adjoining room his compatriot, and a former Basra policeman Ayad Thabet Thamer (54 years), is elated with the progress he is making after the surgeries on his left knee joint. Though he still walks with support, the progress of his physiotherapy sessions make him believe that he will be able to walk normally in another two months time.

Able to converse with doctors through nurses familiar with their native language specially assigned to them, both the Iraqi nationals are looking forward to their journey back home to be with their families, friends and relatives after their discharge today from the hospital.

Attending doctor Dr Ajay Bhambri, Consultant Orthopaedics & Joint Replacement, Fortis Hospital Mohali, shares that both the patients presented before him with similar condition. They could barely manage to walk a few steps and had difficulty even in going to the washroom. Jawad presented with pain in the left hip joint, pain and deformity in the right knee joint and external injury marks and shrapnel embedded in the tissues around the damaged joints. Portions of the patients own bones were used to reconstruct the damaged limbs to make the joint replacements possible, he said, adding that he is now walking about freely with support but will be back to his normal self in one or two months.

Dr Bhambri said Ayad’s left knee was as stiff as a log and he was literally dragging it while walking. An X-ray showed two dead pieces of bone embedded in his thigh bone and pus discharge from it near the knee. He had to be operated twice – first to remove the dead bone pieces and to take care of the infection. Once the infection was under control he was operated the second time and a procedure of quadriceptoplasty was done thus improving his range of movement at the knee and also enabling him to walk more easily. His physiotherapy sessions are progressing well and he should be walking normally in two months, Dr Bhambri said.