Oregon Public Broadcasting

The six-year-old Iraqi boy who arrived in Portland earlier this month for medical treatment, is undergoing extensive surgery Tuesday.

Mustafa Abed lost his leg and suffered severe internal injuries during a U.S. missile attack in 2004.

After assessing his condition, an Oregon Health and Science University team is now attempting to remove a non-functioning kidney and reverse his colostomy – meaning he should be able to go to the bathroom normally.

Ned Rosch with the group ‘No More Victims,’ helped bring the boy to Oregon.

Ned Rosch: “Mustafa has an infectious smile and a boyish enthusiasm for discovering new things. Such as crayons, which he’s never seen. Or someone teaching him how to write numbers, he’s not had the luxury or opportunity to go to school in war ravaged Iraq and because of his physical condition.”

Mustafa Abed is expected to take a week or more to stabilize after the  operation. He'll then receive a prosthetic leg from Shriners Hospital.