ISTANBUL, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- As Turkey is fighting hard for the Afrin district in northwestern Syria, medics and equipment have been sent to the border area to better handle wounded troops under a government initiative.
Under an initiative by the Turkish Health Ministry, hospitals in southeastern cities of Kilis and Hatay bordering Syria have been consolidated with the country's best medics as well as modern equipment.
A total of 51 specialists, mainly in the fields of general surgery, orthopedics, anesthesia, brain and cardiovascular and thorax surgery, have been dispatched to state hospitals in the area, where they have provided healthcare services to more than 500 injured soldiers, the ministry said in a statement sent to Xinhua.
Turkish troops, backed by allied Syrian rebels known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA), started the offensive against Afrin on Jan. 20 with a view to driving out Kurdish militants, but they have advanced slower than expected.
According to the Health Ministry, 32 Turkish soldiers, along with nine Turkish citizens, and 43 FSA fighters have been killed in the operation.
The newly deployed doctors are able to perform all kinds of advanced surgical procedures, including war surgery, elective surgery and open-heart surgery, as all the critical medical instruments and diagnostic equipment have been granted by the government under the initiative, said Mehmet Metin Demir, the provincial health director of Kilis.
"Since the beginning of the operation we have been working with 100 percent rate of success, giving care services to both the Turkish and Free Syrian Army soldiers," Demir told Xinhua over the phone.
Those having the risk of serious complications are transferred to general hospitals in larger cities via an ambulance aircraft and two helicopters.
A total of 42 wounded have been transported to a military hospital in the capital city of Ankara so far, the Health Ministry said.
The situation in the field is much more complex as it involves the transportation of the injured out of the war zone in Syria to Turkey, according to Demir.
"The entire process requires a complex coordination scheme," he explained.
He noted that military emergency teams have been performing emergency procedures to stabilize the wounded for them to endure the process of transportation.
On the Turkish side, 46 ambulances and 12 rescue teams involving a total of 218 health professionals have been placed on standby in different locations around the zero zone of a border area covering both Kilis and Hatay.
"Once the patients are brought to the border, our rescue teams come into play rushing them to our emergency tents and from there, if necessary, to our state hospital," said Demir.
Seyma Temizer, a 24-year-old nurse, is among the paramedics racing against time in the field to rush the wounded to hospitals.
"This place feels completely different and requires a totally different psychological approach," she was quoted as saying by state-run Anadolu news agency.
Meanwhile, the Disaster Coordination Center under the Health Ministry has been tracking down the information related to the wounded and their conditions 24 hours a week and updating their lists three times a day.
Aydin Karakuzu, a cardiovascular system and thorax surgeon, was recently deployed to Hatay Kirikhan State Hospital.
He said the hospital and its intensive care unit, just a 10-minute drive to the border, are very well equipped.
"We are ready here to take care of our soldiers and do our best to heal them," he said.