Hayder Sabeeh Al-Saffer

   At Iraq, our thoracic and vascular surgery work is away from further subdivisions, it is general thoracic and vascular casualty dependent and private clinic dependent work at which any thoracic or vascular problem might be presented, congenital, acquired, infectious, with the very endemic problems of hydatid and TB, malignant, mediastinal, chest wall, arterial, venous, and of course traumatic, and others.

   Accordingly our interest will affect our work in a lesser extent, but the major determinant of our work is the facility available since well equipped thoracic and vascular centers are not routine in our cities. My city is not exception to that and also lacking well equipped thoracic theatres specially that of microinvasive ones. But during last 2 years it looks like there is a hope to find such theatres soon in some new governmental and private hospitals, for that reason I am very interesting now to learn VATS, which is totally lacking at Iraq making patients suffering more and more.

    personally, I have very nice ... extra..experience with non surgical varicose vein management, most of other surgeons are still ptacticing stripping surgery which I gave up practicing it for last 5 years, performing increasing number of cases utilyzing endovenous laser facilities, foam under sonar guidance techniques, foam and liquid sclerotherapy for reticulars and telangiectasias and microphlebectomies, such experience was totally self dependent with very appreciated help from outside and inside Iraq, being so happy receiving daily patients from far away larger cities lacking such medical services hoping the same to occur with patients seeking VATS facilities presented to me also from my city and others.