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CNN Live Today

A Doctor's Mission

Aired April 18, 2003 - 10:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Many of the soldiers injured in the war in Iraq are now at the Army's Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington. We wanted to get an update not only on how the recovery process is going, but also an update on some new technology that could actually help soldiers recover faster.
Dr. Stephen Henry is a surgeon. He also happens to be the lieutenant governor of Kentucky. We are pleased he joins us from Washington.

Dr. Henry, thank you for being with us.

You were consulting this past week at Walter Reed, which of course is where not only Private First Class Jessica Lynch is recovering, but many of the war wounded.

I know you can't talk about individual cases, but overall, how are they doing? How are their spirits?

STEPHEN HENRY M.D., LT. GOV. OF KENTUCKY: Well, obviously, you know, Walter Reed is the pinnacle of medical care in the world. That's not why I was here -- I was here because there's a new technology being utilized in combat wounds. And seeing those, it's very helpful to see that as we do with weaponry, you want to see the effects of the outcomes of the new technology, the new protocols that you're using in battle. And it appears that they are doing very, very well. And it's exciting to see. It looks like we are making changes in combat wounds and making a difference for soldiers.

COOPER: This new technique that you talk about, let's talk a little bit more about it in detail. I understand this is something you've developed really over the last several years?

HENRY: Well, David Sellek (ph) was a colleague of mine who did surgery in Vietnam. We tried to move that experience to the point of antibiotics beads, which are beads that have very high levels of concentration of bancomycin (ph) or tobermycin (ph), and if those can be put into the wounds very early and then coverer with a plastic film, it lessens the need for dressing changes. It allows better transport of our soldiers. This is Department of the Navy research, and so we've very proud that it's being used for the first time in combat wounds.

COOPER: In combat wounds, in treating combat wounds, doctors often talk about the golden hour, the time the wound is first received to getting treatment, and so much focuses on what happens in that first hour. So these beads, they would actually be placed on the wound?

HENRY: Well, they're into the wound. If there's a gunshot wound, there's generally a hole in the tissue and the bone, and the beads are placed directly into that hole to sterilize the wound, and then you try to get the soldier as fast as you can to another medical facility. The transport system that we are seeing at this point in time is really getting our soldiers treated much faster than 10 years ago, and much faster than the Vietnam War. So it appears that's one of the reasons that we are seeing fewer and fewer infections.

Our research goes back to the days of the Panama invasion, when the Navy SEALS were caught at the airport, and a lot of those got infected. The Navy came and asked if the technology would be good for our wounded soldiers, and it looks like it's done a great job so far.

COOPER: How did you get involved in this? I know you are an orthopedic surgeon. I had heard you worked on Michael Durant, the soldier wounded in Somalia. Tell us about that.

HENRY: Well, Michael was in Somalia about 10 day with an untreated femur fracture, and when he came into Fort Campbell -- that's in Kentucky -- the beads were requested, and we implanted them, and I talked to Michael every once in a while. I talked to him as recent as about five or six months ago, and he went to a full recovery. That's what doctors want. Our battle is in the wounds. Our enemy is the bacteria. So whatever we can do to really make the wound a better place before it gets to a place like Walter Reed, where they've got all the medical expertise you'd ever want, but we've to get the patient to Walter Reed uninfected. And again, that's a medical symbol of excellence. That's our goal.

COOPER: All right, Dr. Stephen Henry, appreciate you joining us this morning. Thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired April 18, 2003 - 10:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Many of the soldiers injured in the war in Iraq are now at the Army's Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington. We wanted to get an update not only on how the recovery process is going, but also an update on some new technology that could actually help soldiers recover faster.
Dr. Stephen Henry is a surgeon. He also happens to be the lieutenant governor of Kentucky. We are pleased he joins us from Washington.

Dr. Henry, thank you for being with us.

You were consulting this past week at Walter Reed, which of course is where not only Private First Class Jessica Lynch is recovering, but many of the war wounded.

I know you can't talk about individual cases, but overall, how are they doing? How are their spirits?

STEPHEN HENRY M.D., LT. GOV. OF KENTUCKY: Well, obviously, you know, Walter Reed is the pinnacle of medical care in the world. That's not why I was here -- I was here because there's a new technology being utilized in combat wounds. And seeing those, it's very helpful to see that as we do with weaponry, you want to see the effects of the outcomes of the new technology, the new protocols that you're using in battle. And it appears that they are doing very, very well. And it's exciting to see. It looks like we are making changes in combat wounds and making a difference for soldiers.

COOPER: This new technique that you talk about, let's talk a little bit more about it in detail. I understand this is something you've developed really over the last several years?

HENRY: Well, David Sellek (ph) was a colleague of mine who did surgery in Vietnam. We tried to move that experience to the point of antibiotics beads, which are beads that have very high levels of concentration of bancomycin (ph) or tobermycin (ph), and if those can be put into the wounds very early and then coverer with a plastic film, it lessens the need for dressing changes. It allows better transport of our soldiers. This is Department of the Navy research, and so we've very proud that it's being used for the first time in combat wounds.

COOPER: In combat wounds, in treating combat wounds, doctors often talk about the golden hour, the time the wound is first received to getting treatment, and so much focuses on what happens in that first hour. So these beads, they would actually be placed on the wound?

HENRY: Well, they're into the wound. If there's a gunshot wound, there's generally a hole in the tissue and the bone, and the beads are placed directly into that hole to sterilize the wound, and then you try to get the soldier as fast as you can to another medical facility. The transport system that we are seeing at this point in time is really getting our soldiers treated much faster than 10 years ago, and much faster than the Vietnam War. So it appears that's one of the reasons that we are seeing fewer and fewer infections.

Our research goes back to the days of the Panama invasion, when the Navy SEALS were caught at the airport, and a lot of those got infected. The Navy came and asked if the technology would be good for our wounded soldiers, and it looks like it's done a great job so far.

COOPER: How did you get involved in this? I know you are an orthopedic surgeon. I had heard you worked on Michael Durant, the soldier wounded in Somalia. Tell us about that.

HENRY: Well, Michael was in Somalia about 10 day with an untreated femur fracture, and when he came into Fort Campbell -- that's in Kentucky -- the beads were requested, and we implanted them, and I talked to Michael every once in a while. I talked to him as recent as about five or six months ago, and he went to a full recovery. That's what doctors want. Our battle is in the wounds. Our enemy is the bacteria. So whatever we can do to really make the wound a better place before it gets to a place like Walter Reed, where they've got all the medical expertise you'd ever want, but we've to get the patient to Walter Reed uninfected. And again, that's a medical symbol of excellence. That's our goal.

COOPER: All right, Dr. Stephen Henry, appreciate you joining us this morning. Thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com