Wednesday, March 31, 2010 by Specialized Surgery
“And We Learned as Much as We Taught”
On April 2, 2010, we will send out a team of podiatrists and specialized surgeons to Asmara, Eritrea in partnership with Limb Rescue International. This medical mission will allow the team to continue the work they began last spring in Eritrea. During last year’s mission, team leader Dr. Keith Goss, Drs. Jennifer and Doug Paccacio and surgical nurse Jane Royalty were accompanied by a surgical resident and two medical students.
For many of the team members, it was a life-changing experience. Along with performing 59 surgeries, 34 on adults and 25 on children, the group taught and trained the staff at the hospital in Asmara on new technologies and findings in podiatry medicine.
After the first couple of days, it was no longer a surprise when the surgeons lost electrical power in the operating room. “The Asmara medical personnel just made do with what they had to finish the clinical care needed.” Many of the patients they saw suffered injuries from a 30-year civil war still ravaging the lives and limbs of innocent, unknowing villagers with buried land mines.
As for the rest of the clinical cases, the patients seen were the result of polio virus, which is still prevalent in developing countries. Foot and leg deformities are widely associated with paralytic polio, including conditions such as uneven leg length, mismatched feet, hammertoe and claw. These deformities greatly reduce a polio survivor’s mobility and thereby, their ability to independently navigate the world.
For the traveling volunteer medical team, the most heartbreaking moments occurred when they had to turn away patients they just couldn’t help. In some cases, the deformity was not treated early enough. “There’s really a global health care crisis.
About 1.3 billion people lack basic health care,” said Dr. Paccacio. “Ten percent of the world’s population gets 90 percent of the healthcare.” And while such statistics are daunting, the team agreed that “change has to start with small steps.” Dr. Doug Pacaccio adds: “You talk and talk about doing something like this and finally, one day, you just have to clear your schedule and go.”
Both Drs. Jennifer Seuss and Doug Pacaccio plan to return to Eritrea on April 2 for another two-week mission. Dr. Goss has already been in Eritrea since March 18 with one team, and will stay on as team leader for the Paccacio and Royalty mission until April 12, with plans to return for a third mission in May, 2010.
Donate today to support the education and training of Eritrean physicians to radically improve treatment capabilities. Your support will result in helping many current and future patients avoid life-long, painful disabilities. Physicians for Peace
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