Beverly Hills Doctor Joins Fight to Save Lives on Bosnia’s Front Line

Television stations and newspapers report daily from Bosnia about how difficult life there is. But Dr. Lewis Kwong knows firsthand just how bad things are.

Earlier this year, the Beverly Hills physician operated on a former Croatian citizen who needed his hip and pelvis reconstructed. While overseeing his patient’s rehabilitation, Kwong got to know Sonja Hagel, a hospital administrator at Century City Hospital who was organizing her third trip to the Balkans. She asked Kwong if he would accompany a medical team to the small coastal town of Split.

Kwong, having heard about chronic shortages, sought donations for medical supplies and equipment from colleagues before departing.

“Between Harbor UCLA Medical Center and Smith Nephew Richards Medical Supply, I was able to gather a quarter-of-a-million dollars worth of supplies,” said the 35-year-old orthopaedic surgeon, who received his undergraduate degree and medical training at UCLA. “It took me three months to assemble but it was so gratifying to see people from across the country donate for such a good cause.”

During the 10-day mission, Kwong had intended to operate on wounded soldiers at the Clinical Medical Center. But plans quickly changed. A Croatian soldier arrived and reported that there was only one trauma surgeon to operate on more than 60 waiting patients at a hospital in Mostar. When Kwong heard this, he volunteered to go to Mostar, a city that had not received any United Nations protection.

“I was not prepared to see this type of thing happening there,” said the Los Angeles native. “It was horrifying too that the hospitals were targeted with rocket fire. Patients are already injured and while they are at the hospital, they are targeted.”

Kwong, the first U.S. physician to travel to the area, spent two days in Mostar, where the hospitals are only 200 meters from the front line. He said that rocket fire and automatic gun fire were common sounds and that a facade of the civilian hospital had been destroyed by mortar fire.

“Everything was administered in the basement, with the idea that was the strongest area and they would be protected underground,” he said. “I did a dozen cases while I was there and a lot of injuries I couldn’t take care of because they were more complex than we could take care of.”

Kwong also found a huge shortage of medical supplies. At the civilian hospital, for instance, there were no antibiotics. As a result, patients frequently contract infections, and the infections often result in amputations. He said that most of the patients he treated were injured by snipers whose strategy was to maim, not kill, their targets.

“It was a very sad thing,” he said. “It was a life-changing experience. It made me realize how lucky we are in America.”

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The UCLA Alumni Assn.’s Advisory and Scholarship Program has awarded scholarships to several Westside students.

Winners are Beverly Hills resident Phillip Hong, Culver City resident Cristel Churchill, Los Angeles residents Nguyen Khuu, Vladimir Lekht, Pacific Palisades residents Babak Ettekal and Mahtab Darvish. Scholarships are merit-based. Students must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.85 and an SAT score of 1200.

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The Westwood Village Rotary Club presented Paul Harris Fellowships to Ozzie Delgadillo and Gilbert Tobon.

Delgadillo is a Los Angeles police officer. Tobon is a Los Angeles city firefighter. The pair was recognized for their outstanding service to the community.

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has elected Irving Feintech as the new chairman of its board of directors.

Feintech, a member of the board for more than three decades, has served as vice chairman for the last three years. He is director of the Los Angeles Music Center Foundation and the Psychological Trauma Center.

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William Ireland has been elected president of the Pomona College Alumni Assn. for the coming year.

The Santa Monica resident, who graduated with a history degree, also has a law degree from UCLA School of Law. He is an attorney with Haight, Brown and Bonesteel in Santa Monica.

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Donald Fawcett of Brentwood has been elected to the board of directors of United States Servas.

Servas, a nonprofit network, hosts international travelers who seek brief home stays and have an interest in building intercultural understanding.

Fawcett has been a volunteer for nearly two decades. He has also served as president of United States Servas, from 1982 to 1989, presiding at conferences in Israel, Italy and Canada.

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