Tuesday 26 November 2013

Back from South Sudan: Surgeries changed lives

People who had names that translated into “Abandoned of God,” “Cursed,” and “Deformity” have been renamed “Beautiful,” “Blessed” and “David” thanks to the help of Dr. Tom Boeve.

The otolaryngologist with Beloit Health System returned from a six-day trip to South Sudan in early November where he and two other surgeons, two anesthesiologists and a registered nurse worked to perform 90 cleft lip and palate surgeries.

“It was very busy. We operated 10 to 12 hours a day, just because we didn’t want to turn people away,” he said.
As a result of the surgeries at least 15 people changed their names to represent their transformation in a culture which previously defined them by their physical differences.

The surgeries were organized by world Medical Mission, the medical arm of international relief organization Samaritan’s Purse. Samaritan’s Purse pilots flew to 15 different villages for a total of 30 trips and 10,000 miles to fly families into Juba Teaching Hospital.

“Within a day post-operation, they could hop on a plane and be flown back to their villages,” Boeve said. For more details please visit original source here

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