Link to the story given below: The insurgents exploded a bomb in the Gampaha town on the 19th of September 1989.  A three year old boy was critically wounded in this explosion. An emergency neurosurgical procedure was carried out on the  injured boy by the General Surgeon at the Base Hospital, Gampaha on that fateful day. The boy’s life was saved and subsequently recovered completely. Thirty three years later, the surgeon who saved the boy’s life attended his wedding and…

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“The experience, lessons and the joys of healing” “On the Nineteenth of September 1989, a bomb exploded in the town of Gampaha in the Western province of Sri Lanka at 9:40 AM. This story is published on my website on the 19th of September 2021 at 9:40 AM, exactly thirty-two (32) years later to bring to the notice of those who read my stories the horrors that the people had to endure during that period and hoping that such acts…

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Injured in Battle and Disabled for life; now an inspiration, role model and a hero “I first met Charith in the early hours of 19th November 2008 in ward number 8 of Sri Jayewardenapura General Hospital, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka. I have not only treated him in my ward for three months but helped him in various ways. He recognises me from my voice. I have seen him, but he has not seen me and he will never see me. In…

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Upali was the Private Secretary to a senior Politician in Polonnaruwa. On 11th of October 1987 at around 9 am Upali and his Boss were at their office in the Polonnaruwa Town Centre.  An unknown assailant entered the office and lobbed a hand grenade to the place where the two of them were seated. The grenade exploded and both suffered injuries. The noise created by the blast caused pandemonium in the town. The two victims were put in the politician’s…

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Kadawathamaduwa is a remote village in Polonnaruwa bordering the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. In the early hours of 29th May 1987, the terrorists in Eastern Province invaded this village from their jungle hide-outs armed with weapons, knives, swords etc. The villagers were attacked ruthlessly.  They had shot and chopped them up with their knives and swords and killed the innocent villagers at random. Many had died on the spot with serious injuries. The dead and the survivors were brought…

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The Neurosurgical emergencies that I witnessed during my surgical training were those that were at the Trauma Centre in the main hospital in Colombo called The Accident Service. During my period of service at the Base Hospital in Polonnaruwa there were many occasions where I had to attend to patients with Neurosurgical Trauma, especially victims of war.  I had to perform emergency surgery on the head as the nearest Neurosurgical Centre was at least 150 Km away in Kandy or…

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Admitted to Hospital 12 hours Later Before the on set of the war in the North-East of the country, gunshot victim admissions were few at the Polonnaruwa Hospital. They were mostly victim so flow-velocity (less than 300 m/s) fire arms such as shotguns. Occasionally, a surgeon may encounter unusual problems like what I experienced at the Base Hospital, Polonnaruwa. This is a story of a 30 year-old man who was shot-at and faced numerous issues before recovering and going home….

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Treating war victims: a learning experience As a medical student or as a doctor, I was never taught nor did I study about War injuries, their implications or the principles of their management. We grew up and learnt medicine and surgery during peaceful times when these were not seen. The initial exposure to these gruesome circumstances was dreadful and horrendous. It was my duty to attend to these casualties as they were brought to hospital. Suddenly one morning in July…

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