West Virginia group performs reconstructive surgical procedures in Haiti amid nationwide battle

Final month, a group of West Virginia medical professionals traveled to conflict-ridden Haiti with a mission to carry out surgical procedures that might change lives, tackling a prolonged country-wide waitlist and galvanizing the subsequent technology of docs.

Interplast WV, Inc. is a nonprofit group based by retired plastic surgeon Dr. David Fogarty with the mission of sending medical groups to growing nations. They largely carry out reconstructive surgical procedures on kids with cleft lips and palates, resolve different congenital anomalies and supply burn care. This not solely improves the standard of life for the sufferers but additionally empowers them in pursuing or persevering with their training or careers.

Within the 30-plus years since Interplast WV’s founding, Fogarty has traveled to fifteen totally different nations performing numerous operations. With this mission to Haiti, he now tallies 114 complete journeys with Interplast WV.

Lately, particularly following the 2021 assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise, violence dedicated by felony teams in Haiti has elevated drastically, resulting in widespread poverty, insufficient healthcare and a collapsing economic system.

Regardless of warnings from the U.S. Embassy in Haiti advising Individuals to go away the nation resulting from this worsening battle, Interplast WV selected to comply with communications from hospital contacts in Pignon and proceeded with the journey as deliberate. Because of these risks, different surgical mission teams have halted journeys to Haiti and 15 hospitals have shut down within the nation, leaving residents with out dependable sources of healthcare. This created a fair higher want for Interplast WV’s assist, with a protracted checklist of sufferers touring from across the nation to obtain remedy.

At first of final month, a group of 11 medical professionals arrived in Pignon, Haiti, consisting of surgeons, anesthesiologists, working room nurses, post-anesthesia restoration nurses, and a basic surgeon — 9 of whom have been from West Virginia.

Over 30 operations have been carried out, primarily cleft lip and cleft palate surgical procedures on kids between 1 and 10 years previous, in addition to burn reconstructions. These surgical procedures not solely restore bodily well being but additionally enable sufferers to reclaim their vanity and social lives. Interplast WV additionally performed lectures on pediatric anesthesia and bought intubation tools to donate to Haiti hospitals.

“I believe a few of the hospitals had teams that might are available and do cleft lips and palates, and since they weren’t coming, there was a backlog. That’s why we largely had these sorts of sufferers,” mentioned Fogarty. “It’s youngsters who get ostracized and bullied and might’t go to highschool as a result of they’ve a visual congenital anomaly. They’ve had this prolonged time period and by no means actually developed socially and emotionally. We do one thing that takes an hour and a half and unexpectedly, they’re again exterior working with the children once more.”

Fogarty’s journey started as a resident at Stanford College within the early 70s when he participated in a medical mission journey coordinated by this system chief who initiated the college’s personal Interplast initiative. Impressed by this expertise, Fogarty accomplished his residency, spent a yr volunteering in Africa and returned to Morgantown to determine his personal program. 

Now, he goals to set this exact same spark of motivation in younger medical college students and professionals. With Fogarty’s assist, a chief resident at WVU has began his personal 501(c)(3) to hold on the mission of Interplast WV.

“I’ve been attempting to cross the torch alongside,” mentioned Fogarty. “We simply had a number of youthful those who got here on this final journey and so they’re basically hooked. In order that turns into an necessary side. I don’t need it to die, as a result of I’ve been doing it for 50 years or so — and it gained’t [die], as a result of now we have folks now which might be stepping up.”

Interplast WV intends to plan annual missions to Haiti and goals to start multidisciplinary journeys involving basic surgeons and OBGYN professionals. The group’s subsequent journey can be to a brand new website on the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic in Might.

To assist the efforts of Interplast WV, donations will be mailed to Interplast WV, Inc. at 873 Outdated Route 73. Bruceton Mills, WV 26525. For extra data, contact [email protected].