PP18 conducts microsurgery on patient in Vietnam

Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Harley Sarmiento | 180522-N-NH199-0553 NHA TRANG, Sri Lanka (May 22, 2018) Cmdr. Eamon O’Reilly and Capt. Peter Shumaker, currently assigned to Military Sealift Command USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) for Pacific Partnership 2018 (PP18), observe as local Vietnamese surgeons use microsurgical techniques during restorative burn surgery on a patient’s neck Khanh Hoa General Hospital. PP18’s mission is to work collectively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase stability and security in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships across the Indo-Pacific Region. Pacific Partnership, now in its 13th iteration, is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Harley K. Sarmiento)  

NHA TRANG, VIETNAM

05.22.2018

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kelsey Adams 

Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific

Medical professionals participating in Pacific Partnership 2018 (PP18) collaborated using advanced microsurgical techniques in a multidisciplinary, multinational effort at Khanh Hoa General Hospital in Vietnam May 22.

Surgeons assigned to Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), the National Institute of Burns in Hanoi, and Khanh Hoa General Hospital worked side by side to conduct a procedure where they successfully transferred tissue from a patient’s leg to cover exposed bone on the scalp. Plastic Surgeons Capt. Robert Howard and Cmdr. Eamon O’Reilly along with partner surgeons from Singapore, Australia, and Vietnam utilized an operating microscope and specialized surgical instruments and techniques to assist in connecting the transferred tissue to the blood supply in its new home.

“To my knowledge, this was the first ever microsurgical procedure performed during a Pacific Partnership mission,” said Capt. Peter Shumaker, team lead for the restorative care and burns scar treatment exchange in Vietnam since 2012. “Microsurgery is a high level surgery and is extremely detail-oriented, so it takes a team of highly skilled doctors who are used to working together to pull it off. This team of doctors have performed hundreds of surgeries together since 2012, and I believe that is what made us so successful today.”

According to Shumaker, the restorative care and burn scar treatment exchange in Vietnam is distinct from the other lines of effort. It promotes continued high-level engagement with the same host nation physicians from year to year, often allowing multiple treatments on the same patients.

“It has proven to be a durable and successful model for a long term exchange between our countries, because the same doctors get to see and treat the same patients from first patient screening to the final surgery,” said Shumaker. “This visit to Vietnam marks the seventh time that we have worked alongside one another since 2012. The Vietnamese surgeons are highly skilled and we are fortunate in this exchange that we are not only exchanging ideas and theories on a PowerPoint, but we are conducting practical and impactful care on a large scale to dozens of patients each visit.”

During this visit to Vietnam, the restorative care and burn scar treatment line of effort is scheduled to offer life-changing treatment to more than 60 patients over the next two weeks, according to Shumaker.

“The exchange at Khanh Hoa General Hospital consists of didactics in both small and large groups, and clinical exchanges in the operating room for scar revision,” said Shumaker. “Our team consists of specialists from multiple countries and multiple disciplines such as dermatology, plastic surgery, orthopedic hand surgery and rehabilitation. Our goal is to work alongside one another to promote the military center of excellence model to ensure the highest level of function for all patients.”

Alongside the restorative care burns and scars line of effort, medical professionals assigned to the Mercy for PP18 are scheduled to conduct multiple subject matter exchanges with Vietnamese medical professionals in multiple hospitals in the Nha Trang area.

Mercy, along with Military Sealift Command expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Brunswick (T-EPF 6), are participating in PP18, the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. PP18’s objective is to enhance regional coordination in areas such as medical readiness and preparedness for man-made and natural disasters.

PP18 consists of more than 800 U.S., partner and host nation personnel working side-by-side to better prepare for potential humanitarian aid and disaster response situations.

For more news about USNS Mercy or PP18 Visit the Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/pages/PacificPartnership/

• Date Taken: 05.22.2018
• Date Posted: 05.28.2018 05:19
• Story ID: 278600
• Location: NHA TRANG, VN