SMALL BUT DEADLY - SAF DOCTORS HELP REMOVE BALL BEARINGS FROM BALI BOMB-BLAST VICTIM

Have you ever tried searching for a needle in a haystack?

That was probably what Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) (Dr) Tay Guan Sze and Major (MAJ) (Dr) Adrian Tan felt as they tried locating a ball bearing that was embedded in a leg of a Bali bomb-blast victim.

During the marathon six-hour operation performed on 4 Oct, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) doctors assisted the Indonesian surgeons to remove a total of six ball bearings, each with a mere diameter of four millimetres, from Ms Kadek Ardani's body.

One ball bearing was found lodged in her left forearm while another five were removed from her left leg.

The 21-year-old Indonesian waitress was serving customers in a restaurant when she heard a ticking sound. A split second later, a bomb exploded just two metres away from her.

According to LTC (Dr) Tay, the small ball bearings, the size of a peppercorn, were very difficult to locate even with the use of an Image Intensifier. Once found, the right instrument had to be used to remove it from the body.

Furthermore, incisions had to be carefully planned before the cuts were made, to minimise possible injuries to nearby tissues and muscles.

"While we are trained to remove foreign bodies from patients, in Singapore we normally apply this skill in cases resulting from traffic accidents," said LTC (Dr) Tay.

"It is quite unusual for us to manage such an injury caused by ball bearings as a result of a bomb-blast."

"It was a challenge to manage this, and as doctors, we both learnt much from this operation," he added.

After the long but smooth operation, Ms Kadek's condition is improving and she is expected to recover soon.

In fact, LTC (Dr) Tay said she could be discharged from the hospital and return home within the next couple of days.

The doctor's positive assessment has brought some relief to Ms Kadek's worried parents.

Speaking through an interpreter, her father, Mr Nyoman Manik, expressed his warm gratitude to the SAF medical team for helping to manage his daughter over the last few days.

"I am very satisfied by the way the SAF has managed my child," he said.

His wife, Nyoman Warti, nodded and said: "Terima kasih." (thank you in Bahasa Indonesia).

While the six-member medical team may be small, its work at the Sanglah General Hospital has not gone unnoticed. Concerned family members of victims locals and tourists approach the team members regularly to seek their medical advice.

Since arriving in Bali on 3 Oct, the team has assisted in treating at least 10 bomb-blast victims. The doctors were also involved in helping in a few operations.

Two patients have since been discharged and the team is currently helping to manage the other eight bomb-blast patients.

They have also been helping to treat patients coming in to the hospital s emergency department because of traffic accidents.

03 Oct 05 - SAF Deploys Medical Team to Bali