Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) in partnership with the PaedroCavados Foundation of Valencia, Spain is carrying out a free reconstructive medical surgery at the Isiolo District Hospital.
The reconstructive camp, which was opened yesterday, will end on 14th January 2012. The team is working in collaboration with the Ministry of Medical Services through staff of the Isiolo District Hospital.
So far, screening has been done for over 300 patients and several of them have already undergone surgery. Others have been booked for different days until Friday, when the camp closes.
Patients with the following challenges are benefiting from the reconstructive surgery: Congenital malformations such as cleft lips and palates, deformities due to accidents, gun shots, polio and burns, non-union fractures and fistulas, growths and tumors, deformation of ears and noses and injuries of the genitalia and/or ambiguous genitals, among others.
Dr Paedro Cavados, who is the lead surgeon of the team, says that the cases vary from simple to more complex ones but some of them are much easy to correct and it is unfortunate that the target patients are not in a position to meet the costs, making them live with situations that can be corrected.
“The fact that the areas we have been targeting are remote is a pointer to the fact that there is a challenge, hence, not easy to find surgeons fully based in such areas,” says Dr Cavados, adding that it is pleasure to do what he can to assist the patients during the camps, three of which were carried out in 2011 in Kapsabet, Maralal and Ijara.
Dr Mohamud Said of KRCS, who is leader of the KRCS team, says that the need is big and that is why patients have traveled from different parts of the country to benefit from the medical camp.
“We have patients from Mt.Elgon, Nyanza, Marsabit and Nairobi, among other places; some are follow up cases where the patients have to be operated upon in stages,” says Dr Said.
Some complex cases have been taken to Spain for the actual surgery and monitoring by Dr Cavados team for three months each. Children who benefitted from this were lucky to be accompanied by their mothers.
Kenya Red Cross Society is grateful to the PaedroCavados Foundation of Spain and the Isiolo District Hospital staff and our volunteers, wo are all working around the clock, to ensure that the exercise remains a success.