Reusing scalpels, operating with no anaesthesia: A doctor’s diary in Gaza

Riyadh Almasharqah spent two weeks in Gaza’s European Hospital, is trying to return to continue caring for people there.

In Gaza today, scalpel blades have to be reused in surgeries, but that results in them becoming too blunt to do what they are supposed to do.

In Gaza today, medics often carry out surgical procedures without pain control.

In Gaza today, nearly all patients suffer from malnutrition, so their wounds do not heal.

The infection rate among patients is “beyond imagination”, Dr Riyadh Almasharqah, 54, told Al Jazeera.

The plastic and reconstructive surgeon said instruments are rarely sterilised, and patients usually stay in overcrowded wards.