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Surgery on the Front Lines

Aired April 09, 2003 - 13:20   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.


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Our medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has been embedded with U.S. Marines. He's just south of Baghdad right now with the unit called the Devil Docs, navy doctors, surgeons performing surgery and other medical services on wounded -- not only U.S. and British military personnel, but on Iraqis as well. Tell us what's going on now, Sanjay.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf.

Yes, just behind me, we're in an operating room. And just behind me, an operation in progress. Dr. Tumaha (ph), Dr. Ellsner (ph) and Dr. Chan (ph), three surgeons performing an operation.

Wolf, let me just paint a picture for you. First of all, this is an operating room unlike an operating room most people have ever seen. We're inside a tent. This tent has a floor on it. The floor has some has some bulbs, as you can see, in an operating room. If you get a close up shot of that, it looks like any other operating room. But the surroundings certainly different.

Outside the tent, it is completely dark. Completely black, in fact. We're in a blackout situation. Being so close to Baghdad, security remains the concern.

Wolf, it hasn't slowed down really here at all. Over 150 patients now, over the last several days, taken care of by the several surgery companies now in this area. Over the past several days, several of the surgical companies have sort of been piggy-backing, one over the other, as they all arrive at this destination now just on the -- just southeast of Baghdad, as you mentioned.

Sort of a mood of optimism, earlier today, like many others. The Devil Docs here watched the statue come down in the central part of Baghdad. They also watched the CENTCOM briefing. A mood of optimism, no question. But a lot of work still to do.

In the next few days, just to give you a forecast of the future, a 500-bed hospital -- that's a large hospital by any standards, 500- bed hospital. They will start to take -- they will build up here, just southeast of Baghdad and they will start to take care of any of the front line injuries, as well as start to take care of the humanitarian patients that may come about over the next several weeks, months, as well. That's going to be their mission.

The Devil Docs, however, over the next several days, may get a chance to start heading home. They're certainly looking forward to that. They've been here for a very long time. Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: And what's the breakdown, as far as you can tell, Sanjay, between civilians who are brought to -- to -- to -- to where you are, this field hospital, versus military?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting, Wolf. Certainly all men of military age are -- are considered -- what -- what the -- the Marine and the Navy doctors here call EPWs, enemy prisoners of war. That's their term, until proven otherwise.

Now having said that, there's a lot of women and a lot of children that we've seen as well. Certainly dressed in civilian clothes. The children obviously civilians.

I'll tell you, Wolf, also, those are some of the hardest to treat -- to take. These surgeons, these doctors, all these corpsmen involved, they cannot avert their gaze from some of these atrocities -- and I use that word loosely -- atrocities of war. Some -- just some of the most horrific injuries I have seen as a doctor. These doctors can't avert their gaze from that. They're forced to look at straight in again.

Civilians versus soldiers. Hard to tell the exact percentage because a lot of people are not dressed as soldiers. So hard to say. But more and more Iraqis, certainly, than coalition force member, perhaps 80 percent to 20 percent -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Sanjay Gupta doing some great reporting for us and for our viewers. Sanjay, thanks very much. Be careful up there in southeastern -- near southeastern Iraq -- Baghdad that is. Thanks 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 9, 2003 - 13:20   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Our medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has been embedded with U.S. Marines. He's just south of Baghdad right now with the unit called the Devil Docs, navy doctors, surgeons performing surgery and other medical services on wounded -- not only U.S. and British military personnel, but on Iraqis as well. Tell us what's going on now, Sanjay.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf.

Yes, just behind me, we're in an operating room. And just behind me, an operation in progress. Dr. Tumaha (ph), Dr. Ellsner (ph) and Dr. Chan (ph), three surgeons performing an operation.

Wolf, let me just paint a picture for you. First of all, this is an operating room unlike an operating room most people have ever seen. We're inside a tent. This tent has a floor on it. The floor has some has some bulbs, as you can see, in an operating room. If you get a close up shot of that, it looks like any other operating room. But the surroundings certainly different.

Outside the tent, it is completely dark. Completely black, in fact. We're in a blackout situation. Being so close to Baghdad, security remains the concern.

Wolf, it hasn't slowed down really here at all. Over 150 patients now, over the last several days, taken care of by the several surgery companies now in this area. Over the past several days, several of the surgical companies have sort of been piggy-backing, one over the other, as they all arrive at this destination now just on the -- just southeast of Baghdad, as you mentioned.

Sort of a mood of optimism, earlier today, like many others. The Devil Docs here watched the statue come down in the central part of Baghdad. They also watched the CENTCOM briefing. A mood of optimism, no question. But a lot of work still to do.

In the next few days, just to give you a forecast of the future, a 500-bed hospital -- that's a large hospital by any standards, 500- bed hospital. They will start to take -- they will build up here, just southeast of Baghdad and they will start to take care of any of the front line injuries, as well as start to take care of the humanitarian patients that may come about over the next several weeks, months, as well. That's going to be their mission.

The Devil Docs, however, over the next several days, may get a chance to start heading home. They're certainly looking forward to that. They've been here for a very long time. Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: And what's the breakdown, as far as you can tell, Sanjay, between civilians who are brought to -- to -- to -- to where you are, this field hospital, versus military?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting, Wolf. Certainly all men of military age are -- are considered -- what -- what the -- the Marine and the Navy doctors here call EPWs, enemy prisoners of war. That's their term, until proven otherwise.

Now having said that, there's a lot of women and a lot of children that we've seen as well. Certainly dressed in civilian clothes. The children obviously civilians.

I'll tell you, Wolf, also, those are some of the hardest to treat -- to take. These surgeons, these doctors, all these corpsmen involved, they cannot avert their gaze from some of these atrocities -- and I use that word loosely -- atrocities of war. Some -- just some of the most horrific injuries I have seen as a doctor. These doctors can't avert their gaze from that. They're forced to look at straight in again.

Civilians versus soldiers. Hard to tell the exact percentage because a lot of people are not dressed as soldiers. So hard to say. But more and more Iraqis, certainly, than coalition force member, perhaps 80 percent to 20 percent -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Sanjay Gupta doing some great reporting for us and for our viewers. Sanjay, thanks very much. Be careful up there in southeastern -- near southeastern Iraq -- Baghdad that is. Thanks 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