UTMB is helping an Iraqi woman who was injured in 2004 by a car bomb while working for the United States as a security guard. Two surgical teams led by Drs. David Herndon and Ted Huang performed surgery on Ameera Shahmani. (see videos below) Shahmani's hands were especially injured, and despite numerous surgeries in Iraq and Jordan, she has had very limited use of her hands. She sought and was granted refugee status and made her way Houston, and with the help of friends, found Herndon.
This is Ameera in June after meeting with UTMB doctors who had agreed to help her regain the use of her hands. One of her aspirations is to be able to use her hands so that she can cook for her son, once he is allowed to enter the U.S. He remained behind in Iraq when she began to seek medical help in Jordan.
Herndon and Huang operated on her left hand, neck and chest on July 16 and said that the surgery went well and that they expect her to at least be able to grasp and hold items. They will work to repair her right hand later this year.