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THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MISSION TO GAZA (AMMG) AIMS TO REPORT THE HUMANITARIAN AND MEDICAL OBSERVATIONS OF AMERICAN DOCTORS TRAVELING TO THE GAZA STRIP. THE AMMG DOES NOT ADVOCATE POLITICAL ACTION OR ESPOUSE POLITICAL VIEWS.
Walking down the halls of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the American team was flagged down by a man desperately requesting help for his wife. Rana Khalil had suffered shrapnel wounds to her left lower extremity, which tore off the flesh from her heel to the midfoot. She also broke a part of bone off from the heel. 
A patient in Al-Shifa for 27 days, Khalil had no treatment plan for her wounds other than bandage and dressing changes. Dr. Ismail Mehr surveyed her x-rays, and consulted with vascular surgeon Dr. Shariq Sayeed, as well as Dr. Irfan Galaria. Galaria, a Salt Lake City-based plastic surgeon believed he could use a skin graft to successfully heal the foot. The fact, however is that Al-Shifa does not have the ability to maintain the graft after the procedure and it would be unlikely to succeed. Additionally, there is no opportunity to perform a bone graft to repair her heel. Her likely fate is a below-the-knee amputation by Dr. Sayeed.
As Internventional Radiologists Dr. Labib Syed and Dr. Imran Qureshi made rounds at the Al-Shifa dialysis center, they ran across Nafiz. Nafiz complained of of fluid building up in the abdomen--a condition known as ascites. 
The cause for his ascites is unknown as the doctors at Al-Shifa lack the proper resources and technology to make the diagnosis. The two physicians decide that he will most likely need a catheter to drain the fluid in his belly, and possibly a shunt in his liver. 
Dr. Rick Colwell and Dr. Kanwal Chaudhry returned to the Institute of Hope for the Orphans to perform about 150 well-child exams. Basic doctor visits, that many of these kids have never had. What they discovered was that most children suffered from eczema, a condition related to dry skin, and poor dental hygiene; whi
le many also suffered from poor nutrition and vitamin deficiencies. The team plans to purchase and donate whatever supplies they can find locally in the form of toothpaste, multivitamins, lotion, and hydrocortizone cream. The doctors also diagnosed a hernia, 3 hearrt murmurs, and several children suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The IMANA team has arranged for the children with psychological disorders to be seen by 2 clinical psychologists who are a part of a large South African medical contingent, for further treatment.
A patient in Al-Shifa for 27 days, Khalil had no treatment plan for her wounds other than bandage and dressing changes. Dr. Ismail Mehr surveyed her x-rays, and consulted with vascular surgeon Dr. Shariq Sayeed, as well as Dr. Irfan Galaria. Galaria, a Salt Lake City-based plastic surgeon believed he could use a skin graft to successfully heal the foot. The fact, however is that Al-Shifa does not have the ability to maintain the graft after the procedure and it would be unlikely to succeed. Additionally, there is no opportunity to perform a bone graft to repair her heel. Her likely fate is a below-the-knee amputation by Dr. Sayeed.
As Internventional Radiologists Dr. Labib Syed and Dr. Imran Qureshi made rounds at the Al-Shifa dialysis center, they ran across Nafiz. Nafiz complained of of fluid building up in the abdomen--a condition known as ascites. 
The cause for his ascites is unknown as the doctors at Al-Shifa lack the proper resources and technology to make the diagnosis. The two physicians decide that he will most likely need a catheter to drain the fluid in his belly, and possibly a shunt in his liver. 
Dr. Rick Colwell and Dr. Kanwal Chaudhry returned to the Institute of Hope for the Orphans to perform about 150 well-child exams. Basic doctor visits, that many of these kids have never had. What they discovered was that most children suffered from eczema, a condition related to dry skin, and poor dental hygiene; whi
le many also suffered from poor nutrition and vitamin deficiencies. The team plans to purchase and donate whatever supplies they can find locally in the form of toothpaste, multivitamins, lotion, and hydrocortizone cream. The doctors also diagnosed a hernia, 3 hearrt murmurs, and several children suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The IMANA team has arranged for the children with psychological disorders to be seen by 2 clinical psychologists who are a part of a large South African medical contingent, for further treatment.
