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 Hanoi, Vietnam. When Drs. Loretta Chou and Nimrod Ron boarded their plane home in mid-June, the fifth annual orthopedic surgical mission to Vietnam came to an end. More than 60 disabled Vietnamese children and adults had received life-changing orthopedic surgical care over the preceding four weeks. The surgeons responsible for this success included Drs. Chou and Ron, who were preceded by Drs. Robert Veith, Thomas Lee, Ruth Thomas, and mission leader Dr. Naomi Shields.
For the last five years, the Prosthetics Outreach Foundation and the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society have partnered to bring orthopedic surgical care to disabled children and adults in Vietnam who lack access to such care. One of the orthopedic surgeons volunteering his time for this year’s mission to Vietnam was Robert Veith, M.D., Vice President of the Prosthetics Outreach Foundation.
This year was the third time that Dr. Veith had traveled to Vietnam to operate side by side with Vietnamese surgeons, including Dr. Toan, Head of Orthopedic Surgery at Viet Duc Hospital in Hanoi (pictured below). "Each time I go, it is so satisfying to see that we are bringing care to people, many young children, who otherwise would never be able to receive these life-changing surgeries. Our surgeries enable these children to have a normal life."
Beside the direct impact that the visiting surgeons have on the lives of their patients, the partnership project places great emphasis on strengthening the capacities of participating Vietnamese medical staff. "How often does one have the opportunity to teach new surgical techniques to surgeons in another country? We really are making a difference," says Dr. Veith.
Another way the visiting surgeons are helping to elevate the standards of orthopedic surgical care in Vietnam is through a conference that is held each year in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi. The conference focuses on the exchange of surgical and rehabilitative techniques. This year’s conference was attended by approximately 180 Vietnamese orthopedic surgeons. Says Dr. Veith proudly, "Each of these surgeons returns to their respective community and applies the skills learned at the conference. This is how we can impact an entire healthcare system!"
In the coming weeks, the Prosthetics Outreach Foundation will provide vital follow-up services to the more than 60 children and adults who benefited from this year’s orthopedic surgical mission to Vietnam. At the Foundation’s Prosthetics Outreach Center in Hanoi, amputees will receive custom-made artificial limbs free of charge, and patients who still need orthotic assistance after their wounds have healed will receive comfortable and well-fitting orthoses.
The Vietnam News, an English-language daily published in Hanoi, featured an article on this project in its May 30, 2006, edition. To view a PDF copy of this article, please click here.
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