AIR FORCE SURGEON OPERATING WELL AT JRMC

By Wes Clement/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

Dr. Michael Sutherland, who brought to Jefferson Regional Medical Center his experience of performing surgeries in the difficult conditions of Iraq, said he has settled in well and is enjoying Pine Bluff.

Sutherland moved here in June and said establishing a practice in Pine Bluff has been a success.

During his nearly five-month tour in Iraq, from May to September 2005, Sutherland and a fairly small group of military surgeons at the 332nd Air Force Theater Hospital at Balad, Iraq performed over 3,000 surgeries, he said, in conditions that were often very hot and far from ideal.

Dust storms and temperatures well above 120 degrees Fahrenheit were common, he said, and the surgeons worked mostly during the night because patients could be more safely transported by heli copter to the tent hospital in darkness.

“Each may have had two or three operations. It wasn’t uncommon to have an orthopedic working on a patient’s legs, a thoracic surgeon working on someone’s chest and an eye surgeon working on the eyes at the same time,” he said adding he was proud most of operations were very successful.

“Surgeries were done in something like a metal shipping container that folded out into the size of a triple-wide trailer.” He said each operating room was setup with two operating tables, so there were times when six surgeons might be working simultaneously in the same room.

“It was my turn to go. As Uncle Sam says, it was my turn to excel,” he said. “Having worked in an environment where mass-casualties are commonplace, it’s good experience for being prepared. Dealing with these situations in real life makes it easier to prepare others who haven’t been in them.”

JRMC Chief of Surgery Dr. Scott Bryles said that having someone with Sutherland’s background is an asset.

“It’s always a plus when we have someone with trauma experience in that type of setting,” Bryles said. “We’re well pleased that he came down and joined our staff. His experience certainly helps the community and the staff here at JRMC.”

Sutherland’s connection to Pine Bluff was fellow surgeon Dr. Charles Mabry, with whom he now shares an office suite. The two had worked together with the American College of Surgeons and Sutherland remains active in the organization serving on its committee for young surgeons.

He is also a member of several other medical organizations including the Southeastern Surgical Congress and the American College of Chest Physicians.

Sutherland, a Louisiana State University undergraduate alum, is originally from Baton Rouge, La. He lives with his wife, Kathryn Sutherland and their three young daughters at White Hall.