AND THE ORATION ON MISSILE INJURIES IN SRI LANKA

The first seminar on war surgery in Sri Lanka was held in Sri Lanka from 15^th to 16^th June 2001 at the JAIC Hilton, Colombo. This was organised by the College of Surgeons together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Sri Lanka Army Medical Services. A total of 175 doctors participated in the seminar. The Chief Guest at the opening ceremony was Lt Gen L Balagalle, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and the Guest of Honour was the Director General of Health Services Dr A M L Beligaswatte. The Chief Surgeon of the ICRC Dr Chris Giannou was in attendance together with Isabelle Barras, Head of Delegation ICRC, Colombo and Pierrie Gratzi. The objective of the seminar was to guide the local surgeons in the correct techniques to be used in the management of war wounds.

The Chief Organisers of the Seminar

The Following books were distributed to all the participants by the ICRC

• Amputation for war wounds
• War wounds with fractures – A guide to surgical management
• Surgery for victims of war
• War wounds – Basic surgical management

The Panel of Speakers at the Seminar

ICRC – Dr Chris Giannou, Ms. Isabelle Barass, Pierrie Gratzi The College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka – Dr Gamini Goonetilleke Prof A H Sheriffdeen, Dr Duleep Perera, Dr V Kunanandan Sri Lanka Army Medical Services – Maj Gen Dudley Perera, Col (Dr) Gavin Amarasinghe, Col (Dr) S D Karunaratne, Col (Dr) Tissa Wijeratne, Col (Dr) Sanjeeva Munasinghe, Col (Dr) Siriwardena, Dr L M Amarasinghe Maj (Dr) R Seneviratne

SRI LANKA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

Sir Nicholas Attygalle Oration – 1990 / The Management of Missile Injuries in a Combat Zone in Sri Lanka / Dr Gamini Goonetilleke FRCS, Consultant Surgeon

Dear Reader, you might also be interested in my next story revealing some truths behind an incident happened in during July 1985, titled : “SCENES OFF THE OPERATING THEATRE” PART-1 THE GOOD FRIDAY MASSACRE’