Chad: Around the clock surgery in N'Djamena's main hospital

The MSF team which has been working in the hospital since consists of a surgeon, a doctor, a nurse, and a logistician.

Since last Thursday (13th April) afternoon, MSF has been treating heavily wounded civilians after widespread violence in Chad reached its capital city, N'Djamena. So far, surgical teams supported the treatment of more than 60 people in the Hopital General de Reference National (HGNR), the main reference hospital in the country.

At 11.30 AM local time on Thursday, security conditions were good enough for an MSF convoy to make its way to the Hopital General to support the local medical staff. The MSF team which has been working in the hospital since consists of a surgeon, a doctor, a nurse, and a logistician. They also brought to the hospital desperately needed medical supplies like perfusion fluids, a surgical kit for 150 wounded, an amputation kit, and dressings materials.

"I was shocked by the seriousness of the injuries like shredded limbs and very large open wounds" said Pierre Gielis, a veteran MSF surgeon. "We had to perform quite a lot of double inferior limbs amputations. Most of the wounded are quite young; we've been treating girls and even a 3-year old baby". The fighting has resulted in a large number of casualties. As yet, no clear estimations are available. As of 14 April at noon, 64 civilians have been referred to HGRN and 45 to the Hôpital de la Liberté - the other hospital that MSF is supporting in terms of medical supplies only.

All day long, vehicles of the Chadian Red Crescent, the International Committee of the Red Cross and MSF brought more wounded to the hospital.

A second surgical team arrived in N'Djamena on Thursday afternoon. This allows for a 24-hour rotation between teams for post-surgery activities which are now crucial. A third surgical team is on stand by for immediate departure to Chad.