October 18, 2017

BECKER’S SPINE REVIEW: 20 total joint replacements in 3 days: How a pair of hurricanes wasn't enough to stop a One World Surgery Mission from serving Honduran patients in need, by Laura Dyrda

Hundreds of physicians and medical care providers embark on medical mission trips each year to care for underserved populations across the globe. However, few trips have been as ambitious and logistically-challenging as the recent mission trip to Honduras sponsored by One World Surgery. In the short time between hurricanes Harvey and Irma, a group of twenty-two healthcare professionals completed twenty total joint surgeries. Medacta donated the prostheses needed to complete the twenty surgeries through the Medacta for Life Foundation.

One World Surgery, in partnership with Surgical Care Affiliates and Medacta, recently supported twenty-two medical professionals as they traveled to Holy Family Surgery Center in Honduras on a medical mission trip. This surgery center is a nonprofit facility that provides free care to the local community.

The medical mission team was led by Tyler Goldberg, MD (Texas Orthopedics, Sports & Rehabilitation Associates, Austin, TX) and Thomas McCoy, MD (OrthoCarolina, Charlotte, NC). Both surgeons opted to bring their surgical staff to ensure safe and efficient procedures. "Coordination is key when performing a short-term mission trip," said Dr. Goldberg. "Preparation began months in advance to organize the team, select patients and finally prepare instruments and implants to ensure surgical success. No one person can do this alone. The SCA and One World Surgery teams were vital to this process."

The team performed fifteen total knee replacements utilizing the GMK^® Efficiency Single Use Instruments and five total hip replacements featuring Medacta’s AMIS^® platform. Medacta, through its "Medacta for Life Foundation", was honored to provide the twenty joints and surgical instrumentation needed for these cases.

“The Medacta for Life Foundation is proud to support One World Surgery’s mission by providing the tools to help deserving patients in disadvantaged countries," said Francesco Siccardi, Executive Vice President of Medacta International. "It is extremely gratifying to know that our donation enabled 20 total joint patients to regain mobility thanks to the capable hands of our surgeon volunteers in Honduras. Our GMK Efficiency line of pre-sterilized and single-use surgical orthopedic instruments is ideal for use in hospitals with limited resources and allows us to participate in these meaningful causes."