By Will Tuell

Dr. Zafar Ahmad, who began practicing orthopedics at Down East Community Hospital (DECH) in Machias late last year, may be a long way from Great Britain where he grew up and studied medicine, but the Pakistani native said in an interview last week that he feels right at home in Downeast Maine mending broken bones, replacing hips, and helping patients from the area’s labor-intensive fishing industry get back on their feet.