Humanitarian Mission Shows Iraqis' Prosthetics Needs (July 2004)

July 2004
Humanitarian Mission Shows Iraqis' Prosthetics Needs - Sandra Basu
http://www.usmedicine.com/article.cfm?articleID=888&issueID=64


U.S. soldier Lucas Wilson (l) and
Iraqi amputee Basim Ameer
WASHINGTON-Seven Iraqis who were fitted with prosthetic hands in the United States in April to replace limbs that had been chopped off at orders by Saddam Hussein, represent only the tip of a massive medical problem in Iraq, according to physicians.

Dr. Sabah al-Rubayi, the director of medical services for the handicapped for the Baghdad Ministry of Health who accompanied the Iraqis to the U.S. for the surgeries, says that there is a multitude of Iraqis with severed limbs. He knows that it is not possible for every Iraqi to come to the U.S. to be fitted with prosthetics, like these seven, but he is hoping that Iraq will have the medical capability of its own to help Iraqis who are in need of prosthetic limbs.

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