A team of orthopaedic doctors from ‘Health and Education Relief for Guyana,’ recently concluded evaluations and surgeries on children afflicted with club foot and deformities of the hand at the Georgetown Hospital.

According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release the team was organised by a New York-based charity. Georgetown Public Hospital CEO Dr Michael Khan said the surgeries are all part of capacity training. He said when the team visited in 2007 two doctors underwent training and from all indications “the training has paid off since all the surgeries which they performed were successful.”

General/trauma surgeon Dr John Mitchell said the team has been visiting Guyana for three years to perform surgeries and so far about 40-50 children have benefited. He said that the trip has been dubbed ‘operation-kid-care,’ and it is geared at addressing children with deformities and in particular, those who suffer from club foot. Mitchell said 17 procedures had been completed successfully. He said some of the children remain in-patients at the hospital while some have been discharged.

According to GINA orthopaedic surgeon Claude Scott said the team encountered some difficult cases. He also said they would have been able to conduct more surgeries if they had had more time. Scott said too the team will do follow-ups of the cases when they return next year.

He also said the charity will be sending additional doctors to deal with other deformities such as spinal complications. A group will also be training doctors at the GPHC to perform similar surgeries.