CHOLUTECA, Honduras -- Medical professionals with the Forward Surgical Section, Joint Task Force-Bravo (JTF-B), Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, conducted a combined surgery with the local Honduran medical team and the deployed U.S. military medics at Hospital del Sur on May 18, 2021.
The team of four surgeons completed a gallbladder and kidney removal simultaneously on a Honduran patient.
“It was a very fortunate set of events that led to this surgery even being possible,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col Andrew Mendendorp, chief of urology at Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii. “It was serendipity that we had a general surgery team on standby with a patient who had a general surgery and urology problem that we were able to address in a combined operation.”
The team of JTF-B medics joined the Resolute Sentinel 21 surgical readiness training exercise (SURGRETE) team on May 16, 2021, to assist during the first week of surgeries in Honduras.
“Our time with the team deployed to Honduras has been amazing,” said U.S. Army Capt. Mathew Hipwell, a registered nurse with the JTF-Bravo FSS. “Quick integration, good team work, good mission. Just glad we could be here.”
The team of deployed medics for the SURGRETE will complete a second week of surgeries before heading back to the U.S.