Last night those Rotarians who were present in the Zoom meeting heard from Janette Etherington about Interplast.
Interplast was started by a Rotarian doctor who had visited America and seen something similar in action and wanted the same here in Australia. Together with a colleague who was a plastic surgeon they put in place the first team representing Interplast and that model is still used today. A typical surgical team for an Interplast program comprises a volunteer anaesthetist, one or two volunteer plastic and reconstructive surgeons and one or two Interplast nurses. A typical program lasts several weeks and costs around $50,000. In that time up to 50 patients can receive surgery that is life changing.
The partnership with Rotary is still as strong as it was in 1983. Rotarians support Interplast across Australia and New Zealand with 25% of funding coming from Rotary clubs. Without Rotary, Interplast could not do what they do today.
Interplast started in 1983 and have performed well in excess of 26,500 surgeries on patients across developing nations in the Asia Pacific. It is unique as a medical charity because there is an equal commitment to training and mentoring medical personnel in partner countries as to treating individual patients offering surgeries they couldn't otherwise access.
Janette then introduced us to some of the patients which really put a human element to the work they do. These were their individual stories.
Gladi, a young girl from Laos, had a large tumour across her left arm and across her rib cage. It was a benign tumour and surgeons removed it which was remarkable since the tumour was the size of a netball on a tiny child.
Maria from the Philippines was born with a bilateral cleft lip, where the lip fails to fuse together in utero and prohibits a child from eating properly as they can't suck and therefore don't thrive or grow.
Vanvisa from Laos was badly burned when she was eight. Once a year, for four years, Interplast surgeons have operated to free her burn contractures. Her neck had been fused to her shoulder so her head was constantly at right angles making life understandably difficult.
Rockson had a cleft lip and cleft pallet which were so severe the gap went all the way up into his nasal cavity. You can imagine the difficulty he must have had eating and drinking as a baby and small child. The Interplast surgeon who operated on him said that his case of cleft lip and pallet was the worst he had seen and he is a veteran of many Interplast surgical programs.
Kids are ostracised because it is not understood why they look so different. They are bullied, they drop out of school, so the cleft lip or pallet impacts on their ability to get education. Patients come in all shapes and sizes, ages and backgrounds, with the oldest patient being 80 years old and the youngest was 18 days old. Lastly, we heard about Ropati from Samoa. He suffered from neurofibrositis (Elephant Man condition) where the tumour had grown in front of his right eye so he couldn't see.
Interplast places equal stock in a commitment to mentor and train local country partners: training surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and allied health professionals. Programs not just surgical and include such things as hand therapy, physiotherapists and teaching volunteers to make compression garments for burns victims.
In these unprecedented times, COVID-19 has closed all relevant borders and the immediate needs of international partners have changed to focus on COVID-19 responses. Australian and New Zealand volunteers have been required to focus on COVID-19 responses. When normality resumes Interplast is engaging with relevant government agencies here and internationally to respond.
Seven of the Pacific nations are considered to be amongst the least prepared globally to respond to an outbreak of COVID-19. While much of the Pacific has a low population density some areas are risk prone for clustered breakouts of COVID-19 such as Port Moresby, Lae or Honiara. Limited health systems are the very reason Interplast works in this region. COVID-19 simply adds further challenges. The World Health Organisation put together a cooperation strategy between Pacific Island nations and Australia and New Zealand and developed a COVID-19 preparedness and action report. A six-month Pacific action plan was prepared and supplies were sent to impacted countries to treat infected people and testing samples are done in Australian labs.
Interplast is currently unable to deploy teams across Asia Pacific so are prioritising virtual mentoring and digital training. They also set up a secure website which enables medical partners overseas safe and secure access to things like medical journals and research materials posted on the website and can contact Interplast counterparts through the website to talk about individual cases with monthly virtual links by surgeons and anaesthetists, particularly COVID-19 related.
Interplast remains committed to repairing bodies and rebuilding lives. Rotary can support by making a financial donation, share success stories and social media content to ensure more Rotarians are aware of the work being done. Individual donations can be made as well.
Interplast Australia and New Zealand.
BSB: 033 364.
A/C No.361633.
Reference your name or Rotary Club.
