American orthopaedics reaches out to Afghanistan

At the direct request of U.S. military and Afghani orthopaedists assigned to the National Military Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, AAOS recently sent a collection of orthopaedic textbooks, CD ROMs, and journals to supplement the hospital’s medical library. When the materials arrived, the orthopaedic team in Kabul was so pleased that they posed for a photo. Pictured are (back row, left to right) Drs. Raffi, Zubair, Najib, Akbar, and Sami, of the National Military Hospital, and LCDR Robert C. Detch, MD (U.S. Navy); (front row, left to right): Drs. Karim, Ismail Wardak (chief of orthopaedic trauma) and Ghafoor. The AAOS will continue to work with LCDR Detch, MD and Dr. Wardak to develop a more formal orthopaedic curriculum and training program. Assisting AAOS in this effort to provide books, electronic media products, and journals are the Orthopaedic Trauma Association; Thieme Publishers; Global Health (Lynn T. Staheli, MD); Jesse B. Jupiter, MD; and Bruce D. Browner, MD, through the provision of copies of their texts on musculoskeletal trauma. Courtesy of LCDR Robert C. Detch, MD