The Syrian civil war—with a death toll the UN estimates near 400,000—has been a humanitarian crisis since fighting began in 2011. While many towns stuck amid the conflict lack the necessary medical professionals, they have connected with U.S. doctors via cell phones and computers to help save lives.

A recent story in The Atlantic tells the story of a Syrian American orthopedic surgeon in Michigan who advises staff at a medical clinic in Madaya, a rebel-held town 28 miles outside Damascus.

“Throughout Syria, more than 500,000 people are now under siege,” writes Avi Asher-Schapiro. “The vast majority are penned in by pro-government fighters, their survival hinging on the medical know-how of the doctors, nurses, or medical students who happen to be trapped with them. In clinics like the one in Madaya, medical expertise is increasingly hard to come by, and remote medicine is often the only way patients with complex ailments can receive a semblance of care.”

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