New York Orthopedic Trauma Service

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• DR. HELFET: 212-606-1871 • DR. LORICH: 212-746-4509 • DR. WEILAND: 212-606-1575 • DR. POSITANO: 212-606-1858 • Click to download 2007 Summer newsletter • Click to download 2008 Spring newsletter Newsletter design and production by Linda Errante Public Relations, 9 Sonoma Road, Suite 100, Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567 914-737-3511, errantepr@aol.com*		Duty Calls: Dr. Lorich Travels Overseas to Train and to Treat As an experienced orthopaedic trauma surgeon, Dean G. Lorich, MD, has seen all manner of traumatic injuries. However, nothing in his practice with the Orthopaedic Trauma Service prepared him for the catastrophic injuries he saw and treated at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany this past October. At the request of the Orthopaedic Distinguished Visiting Surgeon Program, sponsored by the Military Committee of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, Dr. Lorich spent two weeks at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the United States Department of Defense’s leading medical facility in Europe and the destination for all wounded or ill soldiers who are evacuated from war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a visiting civilian trauma surgeon, Dr. Lorich was asked to work closely with the military surgeons. “Most of the surgeons come from a general orthopaedic background and are not trained to do trauma surgery,” says Dr. Lorich. “Many have a sports medicine interest. And though they are obviously committed to military service, they are thrust into a situation of having to take care of injuries that initially, at least, they are not prepared for. They become very competent dealing with the quick treatment of these patients, but are not able to take it to the next level. We—the people who do trauma every day—are asked to give our tips and insight into what we do. The exchange is more of a give and take. ”According to Dr. Lorich, many soldiers are injured from improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the bombs used in terrorist actions against the coalition forces. These injuries involve a tremendous loss of limbs and loss of bone and tissue. “Believe it or not, it’s a pleasure to get a gun shot wound, which at best, takes out one extremity,” he says. “IEDs cause the worst injuries. I amputated both legs at the hips on one soldier Dr. Dean Lorich, center, and the military surgeons at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. On his last day, an attack in Baghdad on a U.S. military compound left 30 casualties, 15 of them flown into Landstuhl. “More or less, it was just me and another doctor operating through the day and night,” he recalls. During his visit, Dr. Lorich noted that the physicians were poorly equipped with-out proper instrumentation, implants, and supplies for these types of orthopaedic surgeries. Today he is working closely with the supplier who services our military hospitals in making recommendations to correct the situation. Back home, Dr. Lorich calls the trip a “life-changing experience.” “To have to tell a soldier that you’re going to have to amputate his leg and have that soldier say, ‘hey, whatever gets me back to my unit’…I can’t imagine,” he says. “Most come back to Walter Reed or Brooks Army Medical Center for further surgeries. Landstuhl is a landing place to take care of the acute injuries, triage them, and get them back to the states. “Going, for me, was a way of giving back,” he says. “Most importantly, I did it for my kids. We were here during 9/11. Being away from your family for two weeks—my older daughter and my wife understood my reasons for going. Freedom isn’t free.”

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