So No Child Must Wait

Despite Economic Downturn, Interplast Has Best Year Ever

Despite the economic downturn, Interplast increased donations by 25 percent over previous years. 

When we closed the fiscal year on Tuesday, our donors and supporters had helped us reach $4.4 million to transform lives around the world.  In FY08, our cash revenue total was $3.5 million.

“Our job at Interplast is to make sure that, even in these challenging economic times, our patients do not suffer from lack of care.  For the desperately poor who need medical care, every day is a struggle, whether we are in a recession or not.  We are deeply grateful to our donors for helping us meet their surgical needs," said Susan W. Hayes, Interplast president and CEO.

"This increase, an incredible achievement, happened because of our supporters, our committed board and because Interplast is a healthy organization with strong leadership, a clear mission and purpose, and programmatic integrity," said Nicole Friedland, Interplast's chief development officer.

As we enter our new fiscal year, we are hopeful this support will continue to grow allowing us to reach the many patients around the world waiting for help.  To all our donors and supporters who made this possible, thank you!

New Trip Season Schedule

Here at Interplast, our work never fully comes to an end. As our 2008-2009 trip season ended last month, we are already gearing up for our 2009-2010 trips to begin! As all the logistics, coordination and preparations are underway to begin our new trip season, the countries our medical volunteers will be visiting have been selected and dates have been determined. Please visit our website to see our 2009-2010 trip schedule and stay tuned for more stories from the field as the new trip season begins.

Photo by Adam Forgash.

Interplast Interns

Interplast’s summer 2009 internship program began this week with students from all across the country dedicating their summer vacations to helping others.  This bright group of students come from various universities including: Duke University, Scripps College, St. Louis University, University of California Berkeley and University of California San Diego.  The energy and enthusiasm they bring to the office is refreshing and inspiring for the whole staff. We want to thank our 2009 interns and welcome them to the Interplast family!

Visiting Educators in Guayaquil

Interplast’s visiting educator (VE) program sends volunteer medical professionals to developing countries to provide direct, hands-on training to local medical personnel who work with the poor.

Recently, we sent volunteer orthodontists, Dr. Haskell Gruber and Dr. Lesley Samuels and lab technician Dr. George Knight, to Guayaquil Ecuador to work with Interplast partner orthodontist, Dr. Elsie Tafur Chang.  Dr. Tafur works closely with Dr. Jorge Palacios, Interplast surgical outreach director, ensuring  Dr. Palacios’ cleft lip and palate patients receive the follow-up orthodontic treatment they need. This process allows Interplast to offer its patients the best comprehensive care possible.

During our VE’s visit, they brought with them $19,000 of donated orthodontic supplies and equipment for Dr. Tafur to use in her practice. Additionally, Interplast was able to help provide Dr. Tafur with the funds necessary to purchase a new orthodontic chair set.

Dr. Tafur is thrilled with her new equipment and supplies. Since becoming an Interplast partner in December she has evaluated over 150 patients, and started treatment on 109 of them, all for about $56 a patient.

Interplast La Paz Team

France Leclerc, Interplast board member.

I have heard many times that Interplast team members are highly trained and highly skilled professionals, so it is not a great surprise to see that this is the case for this La Paz team.  However, what surprised me is how warm and comforting the team members are.  Anesthesiologists and recovery room nurses bring patients back in such a gentle way.  I see them caring, hugging, rocking little kids to make them feel better.  The pediatrician makes sure the patients have all they need.   It is also quite emotional to see the nurses bring the kids back to the anxious parents after surgery. Witnessing the joy and relief of the parents is very moving.

Fernando

La Paz, Bolivia- Loan Le, Interplast volunteer anesthesiologist.

I can not tell you how grateful I am that I have proficient grasp of the Spanish language. It has added a whole other dimension of enjoyment to this trip. The other day, I had dropped off Fernando, an adorable boy who had surgery on his arm, to the recovery room. A half hour later I heard Fernando was awake and extremely restless.

I entered the recovery room to find three nurses trying to calm him down.  I sat down at his bedside and asked him why he was crying. Fernando opened his eyes and said, "Doctorcita, donde estoy?"(Doctor, where am I?) What followed was a slew of questions: Who are these people? Why is there red on my arm? (blood soaking through his bandage) As he asked each question, he would close his eyes to ponder and digest the answer I offered him. When he finally ran out of questions, he simply closed his eyes to rest. It turns out he was just freaked out after waking up from anesthesia. Imagine waking up all by yourself in a room full of foreign medical staff trying to calm you down. I stroked his forehead and told him to get some sleep and that he’d see his parents when he woke up. He nodded, sighed and then fell into a peaceful slumber.

Surgery Day

France Leclerc, Interplast board member.

Today was the first day of surgeries and it is my first time “awake” in an operating room.       I am impressed by the hard work everybody has to put in and the teamwork involved.  Anesthesiologists, surgeons and insanely busy OR nurses all do their best. Some of these surgeries go on for hours. Dr. Jorge Terraza, our host in La Paz, is very involved with the team.  Local residents are there to assist, as are local nurses.  It is clear that the training mission of Interplast is an important component of the team’s visit in La Paz.  The effort is amazing. Days are long, people are tired, but nobody complains.

The Studious Lisbeth

France Leclerc, Interplast board member.

Lisbeth is 10 years old. During clinic day I could sense a hint of worry in her eyes. Later I found out she was more deeply preoccupied with missing school than with the surgery she was being scheduled to receive.  Lisbeth was scheduled to have her extra thumb amputated the next day.

After seeing Lisbeth I looked around the room of patients who gathered hoping for help. There were many burn victims, patients suffering from debilitating arthritis and congenital malformations.  The need is great, but the team is ready to do as much as it can in two weeks.  It is a very moving day. 

Emerson’s Argument

France Leclerc, Interplast board member.

Emerson is a precocious 7-year-old boy with whom I was very impressed on clinic day.  He walked into the room and proceeded to explain to the medical team why he did not need surgery and carefully referenced his x-ray. Fortunately for him, the team was not convinced by his arguments.      I am sure he will be happy with the outcome, but I understand his fear of the process. 

Eddyn

France Leclerc, Interplast board member.

Our first patient was Eddyn, a shy but sweet 2-year-old.  His mother was very relieved to learn her son would be scheduled to receive surgery the next day.  When I took the picture above, she was happy to smile for both of them.

Just As Expected

France Leclerc, Interplast board member.

Clinic day is when potential patients are evaluated and decisions are made as to whether the team can perform surgery on a given patient or offer needed physical therapy.  I had been told that this would be chaotic as large crowds usually show up.  It was indeed the case. People in line were from all over the country; they waited for hours and, as they did, hoped for help.

Dealing with the Altitude

La Paz, Bolivia- Loan Le, Interplast volunteer anesthesiologist.

Today we spent some time walking around and trying to acclimate to the altitude. The key is to stay hydrated, and we are taking altitude medication that helps prevent altitude sickness. Despite my best efforts, I could not avoid a gnawing headache for a good part of the morning. Being at this high altitude means we're closer to the sun, so on sunny days, it is 10 degrees warmer than the actual temperature predicted. If you plan on coming here, bring sunscreen, dark shades, and a wide-brimmed hat.

Bolivia’s Blue Sky

La Paz, Bolivia- Loan Le, Interplast volunteer anesthesiologist.

We arrived in La Paz at 5:30 a.m.; going through customs was haphazard, but easy enough. La Paz is located 12,008 ft above sea level. As we left the airport I was struck with two thoughts: it's beautiful here, high up where the blue skies are oh so blue, and wow this air is thin!

Getting Settled In

Getting Settled In
Originally uploaded by interplast

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China- Cindy Shih, Interplast volunteer coordinator/ translator.

So here we are on a Sunday afternoon, all checked in to the Hongfu Jinlan hotel in Ak’su, which, by the way, is really nice! We had our team meeting earlier to discuss some logistics for tomorrow’s big clinic day, and we’re resting up to meet again at 4:15 p.m. for our first visit to the hospital. The plan is to set up the operating room, check out our supplies, and figure out what else we might need. I’ll let the experts figure out which type of suture they might need, and when they will be doing the hemogram test. I’m not even really sure what that is. My big task will be to find out where we can get SIM cards or calling cards around town, and buy some bottled water for the team. I’ll also need to start transcribing our team leader Beverly's welcome speech for the big banquet tonight. You can find a picture of us above. Wish us luck over here!

Wrestling our Luggage

Wrestling our Luggage
Originally uploaded by interplast

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China- Cindy Shih, Interplast volunteer coordinator/ translator.

At Ak’su, we were greeted by folks from the China Population Welfare Foundation at the national, provincial, and local levels of the organization. The airport was no more than a building with kiosks, and the baggage claim consisted of a warehouse and a truck. When we got off the plane, the officers pointed us left of the building, and we all gathered around a truck to wrestle our luggage and boxes into a van. Moving all 34 pieces of luggage onto three flights was no small feat, so we were all extremely excited that everything (barring Deb’s luggage- sorry Deb) made it to Ak’su in one piece.

Journey to Ak’su

Journey to Ak’su
Originally uploaded by interplast

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China- Cindy Shih, Interplast volunteer coordinator/ translator.

After a 46-hour journey, the 16-member team landed in the Ak’su airport. The journey went (mostly) without a hitch, except for one lost luggage (Deb’s, our volunteer anaesthesiologist), some doubts that I was really who I am on my passport, and threats of exorbitant excess baggage fees. To be completely fair, we were “only” checking in 34 pieces of luggage that weighed over 700 kgs. With all that weight, I’m surprised they let us get on some of those small propeller planes that carried 50 passengers! Honestly, I was more than a bit worried on our domestic flight from Urumqi to Ak’su. Luckily, the view was so distractingly gorgeous that it made us forget we were travelling on a tiny, old plane, traversing treacherous-looking, snow-capped mountains.

A Celebration of Giving

Last Friday, the 7th grade students of Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School invited Interplast to “A Celebration of Giving:  7th Grade Tzedakah Project”. Tzedakah, a Hebrew word, means charity and is based on a root meaning of justice. Each student participating in the project selected a charity of her or his choice, researched, interviewed its staff and presented the findings to the class. Along with all their research the students organized several fundraising events and even donated money from their own Bar and Bat Mitzvahs to a fund for the non-profits they were researching.

After months of hard work, the students engaged in an extensive voting process to allocate the funds to the nonprofits as they saw fit. Together they raised almost $30,000 for the organizations!

Ilana Gordon selected Interplast as her nonprofit project. She contacted the office and stopped by to meet our staff and learn more about our programs. After Ilana created an amazing display (pictured below) and gave a compelling presentation, her class chose to give Interplast the third largest gift of all those awarded.  Other organizations that received gifts included the Sierra Club, Room to Read, and LiveStrong Foundation, among others. 

The Tzedakah Project celebration was truly an inspiration, and we want to thank Ilana for being an Interplast advocate. Michael Demian, associate director of foundations, and Liliana Vazquez, communications and technology coordinator, attended the awards presentation and celebration event. They are pictured above with Ilana, who hopes to pursue a medical career and join Interplast in its mission to heal bodies and change lives around the world. We look forward to that day with as much enthusiasm as Ilana has already demonstrated for our cause.

Interplast Saddened by Death of Devoted Volunteer, Dr. Ruth Carr

Interplast is deeply saddened to learn of Dr. Ruth Carr’s death.  She was a devoted volunteer, whose skills as a plastic surgeon helped transform the lives of more than 350 poor children in developing countries.  She corrected their cleft lips, repaired their hands and healed their bodies after burn injuries. In doing so, Ruth gave them a second chance at life.  

Over the years, she generously gave more than four months of her time, working long hours in trying conditions without pay.  But Ruth would say that her compensation was the joy and gratitude she received from the parents of her patients, whose hope for their children’s future was restored with the surgeries she performed.  We too are deeply grateful for all of the good she did in the world and for her generous support. 

Ruth will be greatly missed, and Interplast grieves with her family and her friends.  For more about Ruth and her memorial service, please read her obituary in the Los Angeles Times.

Interplast Included in Peter Singer’s “The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty”

Interplast is honored to be included in world-renowned ethicist and Princeton professor Peter Singer’s widely acclaimed book, “The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty.” 

The premise of the book is that if we could easily save the life of a child, we would--- and that most of us living in affluent countries can and should do more. It challenges readers “to give a modest proportion of their income to effective organizations fighting extreme poverty” in order to solve world poverty. 

Interplast is mentioned as one of those effective organizations, based in part on watch-dog group Give Well’s favorable evaluation of us.  “Interplast doesn’t save lives, but Give Well included it in [its most effective organizations category] because it transforms them so dramatically.  Interplast corrects deformities like cleft palates, and helps burn victims so that they can walk or use their hands again,” writes Singer.  “The procedures performed are often relatively simple and would be routine in rich nations, but for the poor in the developing world, getting to a surgeon is often impossible…. Life-changing procedures anywhere, the surgeries are even more so in poor countries, where discrimination against people with deformities is often much more severe than in rich nations.”

The book also discusses in interesting detail the psychology of giving and how there needs to be a cultural shift in giving to end poverty. “Research has shown that people are more likely to give if they know that others are giving.  So we need to be upfront about our giving.”

Interplast is one of 15 charities recommended for donations on the book’s website.   Singer also recently wrote to us, “I just wanted to add my own appreciation of your work at Interplast.  I do hope the book helps you gain further support.”  While we do not know if it has yet, we do know his website endorsement and numerous book interviews have increased traffic to our website.  We thank Professor Singer for including us in his book and most importantly, for his work trying to make the world a better place for all.

To learn more, visit "The Life You Can Save”, or numerous interviews and reviews, including The New York Times, The Chrisitan Science Monitor  or NPR.  

Interplast Nepalese Surgeon with Farming Roots Tours Pescadero Farm

Nepalese Surgeon with Farming Roots Tours Pescadero Farm
Originally uploaded by interplast

People in other countries are so hospitable to Interplast when we travel. We try to return the hospitality when our partners come here, but when Dr. Shankar Man Rai (our Nepalese director emeritus who was here receiving an honor from the Dalai Lama) asked to see a farm, we were not quite sure where to turn.

We called Flea Street Café in Menlo Park because they are known for their devotion to organic food and the local food movement. If anyone would have some good ideas, they would. The manager, Julianna, graciously encouraged me to contact Fat Cabbage Farm in Pescadero. We really appreciate her kindness and efforts to connect us.

With less than a day’s notice, Fat Cabbage Farm welcomed us to tour their new organic farm. It was a wonderful experience. The farm partners Miranda Roberts, Paul Richeson and Brian Coltrin took time out of their busy day to show us around their beautiful acreage in Pescadero. They answered the numerous questions Shankar had about farming in the United States.

As Shankar grew up on a farm in Nepal and comes from a long line of farmers, we all discussed the differences and similarities between organic farming here and subsistence farming in Nepal, where farming is primarily done by the very poor and uneducated who have not changed their methods in generations because the risk of failure is too great, i.e. their family might not eat for a season.

It was good to be able to do something nice for Shankar, who devotes his life to the poor in Nepal. We are very thankful to Fat Cabbage Farm for creating this experience for him. We are also very thankful to Jesse Ziff Cool and Drew, who kindly welcomed us to tour another CoolEatz garden/farm in Palo Alto that evening.

It was a special day, filled with great people doing great work---and I suspect it will be one that we all remember for awhile.

Visit our flickr.com set for more farm photos.

Because She Taught You To Care For Others

Photo by Phil Borges

This Mother's Day honor a mother in your life with a meaningful gift: surgical care for impoverished children provided in her honor.  Your gift will transform the lives of disfigured and disabled children and give hope and joy to mothers across the globe.  

Just visit Interplast's website, make a donation and then send the lovely card shown above to all the mothers you love and honor.

To see pictures of mothers whose children we help around the world, please visit our Mother’s Day photo gallery.

My time with APROQUEN

Originally uploaded by interplast

Managua, Nicaragua- Maribel Markines, Interplast volunteer visiting educator.

Visiting APROQUEN has been a true blessing; the staff is compassionate, the center is well established and their interdisciplinary team is ideal for the holistic approach necessary in burn treatment. During my visit we worked on techniques to help prevent the formation of contractures and team building activities. It’s been very rewarding to see the staff adopt the new team building concepts and truly realize that their work is made easier because of the help they provide each other. Some would even hug every day before rounds in the mornings! I hope my time here has helped the staff come together as a stronger team as they continue their mission to deliver the best care for the children they serve.

Pedrito

Managua, Nicaragua- Maribel Markines, Interplast volunteer visiting educator.

 

Today I met Pedrito and was immediately captured by his sweet nature. One would never know the tragic story behind his burns. Pedrito is 2 years old and was both abused and neglected by his parents. After he suffered his burn (to which I still don’t have full details) he and his brother were taken to live at an abused children shelter. Today, Pedrito is recovering well and the success to his recovery is due to the wonderful staff at APROQUEN, the shelter where he now lives, but most importantly to Pedrito himself, who is very cooperative and a smart little boy.  At one point during my visit, he even took the Vaseline gel (good for keeping burn contractures moisturized) and started massaging his legs on his own. Pedrito has gained full functionality and mobility of his legs and is able to do daily activities on his own, like putting on his shirt.  At the end of our therapy session Pedrito gave me a warm hug!

Jefferson

Managua, Nicaragua- Maribel Markines, Interplast volunteer visiting educator.

Jefferson is an adorable 2-month-old who was burned while sleeping in his home. The candle that was lighting the room tipped over engulfing the mattress Jefferson was sleeping on in flames. I worked with a team of physical therapists, nurses and his mother to exercise Jefferson’s burn contractures.
The next day Jefferson’s hip was looser and his fingers were back to their normal position. Jefferson was even able to give me a beautiful thank you smile.

Games as therapy

Originally uploaded by interplast

Managua, Nicaragua- Maribel Markines, Interplast volunteer visiting educator.

This 2-year-old also had the misfortune of falling into a pile of burning trash. Six weeks ago he received surgery to release his burn contracture. Prior to his surgery, his hand was pinned shut which made it difficult for him to use and very painful. During his therapy today we incorporated some games to facilitate the use of his hands and fingers. A day after our therapy session he was better able to pick up items around him!

Felix

Originally uploaded by interplast

Managua, Nicaragua- Maribel Markines, Interplast volunteer visiting educator.

Felix is a playful 3-year-old whose arm was badly burned when he fell into a pit of burning garbage.
He and his mom live in a shelter while he receives his rehabilitation treatment here at APROQUEN. Today, I spent time teaching his mother how to correctly massage his arm and worked with Felix on his hand therapy to better allow him to use his fingers.

Heading to Managua

Managua, Nicaragua- Maribel Markines, Interplast volunteer visiting educator.

My name is Maribel Markines, and I have been a physical therapist for 18 years. Currently I work at the Tampa General Hospital where I have been working for 10 years. This is my first experience going on an Interplast trip as a visiting educator to Asociacion Pro Ninos Quemados de Nicaragua (APROQUEN) in Nicaragua. 

Star Sticker!

Originally uploaded by interplast

Quy Nhon, Vietnam-Fran Cunniffe, Interplast medical education and outreach coordinator.

Today we were supposed to operate on a brother and sister, both with polydactyly (extra fingers). When we did our morning rounds, we discovered that only Manh, the 3-year-old boy, had shown up with his parents. His older sister could not bear the thought of missing even a day of school, and her parents decided to put off the surgery. Manh was excited for his surgery though, especially after our translator Emma told him she would give him star stickers after his surgery. We successfully removed his extra thumb, and the very first thing he said when he woke up from anesthesia was "star sticker!" Here he is proudly displaying his stickers.

Alice

Originally uploaded by interplast

Quy Nhon, Vietnam-Fran Cunniffe, Interplast medical education and outreach coordinator.

Alice, our fabulous pediatrician, unfortunately broke her ankle over the weekend. Our chief surgeon Ben sprung into action and performed a reduction on the spot, and made a temporary splint with his backpack. He was able to put a cast on her foot as soon as we got back to the hotel on Saturday, and the hotel lent us a wheelchair so she can still get around. All this has not stopped her from taking care of our patients though!

Transforming boxes into an operating room

Quy Nhon, Vietnam- Karina Rando, Interplast volunteer anesthesiologist.

On every trip Interplast provides the necessary equipment and supplies to offer excellent quality service to its patients. All the equipment and supplies are transported by plane from San Francisco in nearly 30 big boxes.  After the team arrived in Saigon, the boxes were taken to Quy Nhon by truck.

The local Hospital in Quy Nhon generously let us use some of their operating rooms.  Even though we were provided with the two operating tables, oxygen and lights, most of the equipment was transported (as on every trip) in the boxes.

After many hour s of hard work, the empty operating room was transformed into a safe and fully functional operating room where we performed all our surgeries.  All the equipment and supplies we needed to provide high quality anesthesia and surgeries were available.  

At the end of these two weeks all our equipment was carefully packed back into the boxes. Every team member helps in this process and watches after our precious boxes until each one is safe back to San Francisco, so that they are available for the next trip!

Coloring Stress Away

Originally uploaded by interplast

Quy Nhon, Vietnam-Fran Cunniffe, Interplast medical education and outreach coordinator.

Many of the children we operate on are very nervous before surgery. Imagine how they feel - they are taken away from their parents by people they do not know, and are not sure what to expect. Ronald McDonald House Charities helps us not only by supporting many of our programs, but also by providing us with coloring books and crayons to send on trips. The kids love to draw, and it definitely calms them before surgery. Karina, one of our anesthesiologists, (shown above) treats every child like her own. The kids love her!

Nga’s Center

Quy Nhon, Vietnam-Mark Friedlander, Interplast volunteer chief anesthesiologist.

The city of Quy Nhon is fortunate to have as one of its citizens a woman by the name of Nga. Nga, without any funding or support, started a centre for disabled children in Quy Nhon. Over many years she has developed a centre for vocational skills training where deaf, mute, blind and other disabled children learn to function and earn a living in ways that would otherwise be an impossibility for them in Vietnam.

Nga has also assisted and referred patients to Interplast trips. The Interplast team visited the centre where we learned about its history, were entertained by the musical and dancing skills of deaf, mute and blind children. We purchased garments, hats and bags skillfully made by Nga’s centre. Nga also arranged the custom production of OR scrubs embroidered with the Interplast logo, a popular item for the team.

Assisting the centre is an excellent way of promoting Interplast in the local community, and at the same time assisting these children in a small yet impactful way.

Dalai Lama to Honor Interplast Nepal Director

Dr. Shankar Man Rai, director emeritus of Interplast’s surgical outreach center in Nepal, has been named an “Unsung Hero of Compassion” and will receive the honorary award from the Dalai Lama on April 25-26, 2009 at ceremonies in San Francisco.

This prestigious international award is given only every few years to “individuals who, through their loving kindness and service to others, have made their communities and our world a better place.”  The "Unsung Heroes of Compassion" awards are given through Wisdom in Action, a California based foundation. They were previously given in 2005 and 2001.

Interplast congratulates Dr. Rai for restoring the hope and functionality for thousands of poor children in Nepal through reconstructive surgery.  Born to a poor farming family himself, he has dedicated his entire career to the comprehensive health and well-being of children living in poverty in Nepal and across the developing world.    As an incredibly gifted reconstructive plastic surgeon and outreach director, Dr. Rai has provided more than 10,000 free surgeries for impoverished children with clefts, disabling burn and hand injuries.  He has also helped more than 2,250 children in rural Nepal heal their speech impediments through the speech therapy camps he founded.

To learn more about Dr. Rai, watch the short documentary “Reasons for Hope” or read his biography.

“...The best investment of human effort I've ever been part of."

Phan Rang, Vietnam-Kathy Yates, Interplast board member.

I was tremendously impressed by the extraordinarily high level of professsionalism and commitment shown by my team members in serving these patients.   If not for their dedicated attention to every detail of the surgical procedures and the  post-operative healing period, these children would be facing lives of social ostracism and extreme hardship. But because sixteen highly skilled volunteers gave so willingly of their time and talents to the Interplast mission, literally hundreds of people are facing a more positive future. It was the best investment of human effort I've ever been part of.

One Brave Little Girl

One Brave Little Girl
Originally uploaded by interplast

Quy Nhon, Vietnam-Fran Cunniffe, Interplast medical education and outreach coordinator.

Today we had a lot of cleft palate cases on the schedule. Consequently, the PACU nurses definitely got more than their fair share of crying children. However, this little girl impressed everyone by not crying or fussing after her palate surgery. She was so calm and brave. When she woke up in the PACU bed, she just gave everyone a little bow. Our translator explained that in her culture, that was a thank you to us. It was so touching and sweet, she had a lot of us in tears.

Clinic Day

Originally uploaded by interplast

Quy Nhon, Vietnam-Fran Cunniffe, Interplast medical education and outreach coordinator.

The team woke up at 3:30am on clinic day, to take an early morning flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Quy Nhon. We started clinic around 9:30am, and evaluated 106 patients throughout the day. Our hosts at Binh Dinh General Hospital were very organized and helpful, and it made the day go very smoothly. We saw so many hopeful and excited faces, and it was an instant reminder to me why I love working at Interplast. The father in this picture was so elated that his son was accepted for cleft palate surgery that he could not stop grinning. We also saw two sets of siblings, and scheduled all of them for surgery. I will post more about them on their surgery days. It was a long but productive day, and the team is looking forward to getting some rest before our first surgery day tomorrow.

Children's Entertainment

Originally uploaded by interplast

Cao Lanh, Vietnam-Frieda Zandbergen, Interplast volunteer nurse.

It is extremely stressful on the children and their families to face the surgeries that are performed on them. Sheila and her assistant Tu were absolutely brilliant (as our beloved British counterparts would say). They were very crafty and entertained the children, doing everything short of dressing up as clowns. They made them laugh and smile. It was very rewarding to see these children play and just have fun.

Ptosis

Originally uploaded by interplast

Cao Lanh, Vietnam-Amy Wandel, Interplast volunteer plastic surgeon.

I have been on over 16 Interplast trips as a surgeon and I have never seen so many kids with ptosis. Ptosis is a congenital birth defect which causes the eyelid to sag. It can cause visual impairment and, in the worst cases, blindness. It is very common here. We saw well over 20 children with bilateral and another 10 or so with unilateral ptosis. They are so debilitated by this condition they are unable to attend school. Many can’t even play with their friends without worrying about running in to something. It is very rewarding to know that by repairing their eyelids we truly have “opened their eyes” to the world.

Three Kisses

Originally uploaded by interplast

Cao Lanh, Vietnam-Sheila Wolfson, Interplast volunteer trip support.

Minh felt like a lucky man as the owner of a full service gas station, until his tragic accident. A customer deliberately threw a cigarette into a puddle of gasoline which set him on fire. After the accident he remained in the hospital for seven days, but did not receive adequate treatment. He was then taken to a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City and remained there for 24 days. Since he had no physical therapy or splinting, he had terrible scarring and major contractures on his hands, which made them useless. Our surgeon hoped that surgery might give him a bit of movement in one of his fingers, but there was not much else we could do for him. The touching part of this story was that his wife was very affectionate and loving despite his severe deformity. She showered him with kisses when she entered the recovery room after his surgery. We have found the Vietnamese to be grateful and kind, but it has not been very common to see public displays of affection between husbands and wives, so their loving relationship of 17 years stood out.

Tam

Cao Lanh, Vietnam-Sheila Wolfson, Interplast volunteer trip support.

We could not even imagine what it must have been like for Tam, a 42-year-old man, who had endured living with his cleft lip his whole life. Tam worked as a handyman but said he was extremely poor and until this year, he could not afford to make the trip to have this life changing surgery.  He and his wife of 13 years were thrilled the Interplast team would perform his cleft lip surgery this time around.

The Nightmare Wedding

Originally uploaded by interplast

Cao Lanh, Vietnam-Sheila Wolfson, Interplast volunteer trip support.

One of our return patients from last year was Tu, a 58-year-old woman who had severe burn contractures and very restricted movement in her neck. She had undergone one Interplast surgery last year and was all smiles now that she was accepted for an additional burn contracture release this year. Her daughter shared her story with us. While attending a wedding three years ago, she was severely burned on her head, neck and chest when a waiter accidentally dropped a “hot pot” of food on her head as she was sitting at the dinner table. When more oil was added to the flame under the pot, the heat was so intense, the waiter could no longer hold it. After her surgery last year, Tu gained a little more movement in her neck; she and her daughter were hopeful she would gain more movement this year. Her surgery went well, and she smiled when she came back a few days later to show us the results. In spite of her debilitating burns, Tu is always smiling and in good spirits.

Weekend in Ho Chi Minh City

Originally uploaded by interplast

Cao Lanh, Vietnam-Katherine Aspesi, Interplast volunteer nurse.

I am a PACU nurse who has been on 17 Interplast team trips. During each trip I’m amazed by the amount of children who need surgery. After each case I realize that I get a lot more than I give.

After a week of surgeries, it was nice to get a little R&R in Ho Chi Minh. In addition to dodging traffic, shopping and eating ethnic cuisine, Dr. Marcus and a few other team members and I went to the War Memorial Museum. It was disturbing to see the effects of the war, but we felt we were doing a little on our medical mission to make life better for the Vietnamese children and their families.

Taking Care of Each Other

Taking Care of Each Other
Originally uploaded by interplast

Cao Lanh, Vietnam-Sheila Wolfson, Interplast volunteer trip support.

One of the more heart wrenching stories we heard involved Khanh, a burn patient who was accompanied to the hospital by his beautiful, yet very sad 12-year-old daughter. Seven years ago, when his daughter was five, he was pouring gasoline from a larger container into a smaller one when an electrical spark set it on flames. His entire body was burned. He quickly dove into a nearby river and was followed into the river by a neighbor who tried to help him. He was then taken to the hospital and remained there for 25 days. After his tragic accident, his wife deserted them, leaving Khanh to raise his only daughter alone. It was hard for us to tell who took care of whom, as his daughter was very attentive trying to meet his needs in the recovery room by wiping his mouth and gently stroking him. Her father sells lottery tickets for a living and told us the only reason he lives is for his daughter. Although his burns were severe, our surgeons hoped that by releasing the burn contracture in his neck, he would have more rotation and flexibility.

Look at the “Do”

Cao Lanh, Vietnam-Sheila Wolfson, Interplast volunteer trip support.

Bui Em, a 5-month-old little boy with a unilateral cleft lip stole the hearts of the recovery room nurses on the team.  His big eyes and punk hairdo made them ooh and ah.   His father, Tuan, heard about the Interplast team coming to Cao Lanh through an ad on TV several months ago. Although he called the phone number listed on the screen, he did not receive a return call and was quite disappointed.  The next time he saw the ad, he decided to bring his son directly to the hospital on clinic day. He told us that he and his wife felt terribly sad for their son.

After he saw his son in the recovery room shortly after his surgery, he had a beaming smile from ear to ear.  Through our translator, Kim, we learned that he wished us good health and hoped we could continue to help the poor people in his country. He said words could not express his gratitude and his son’s lip repair turned out better than he could ever have imagined.  Now how rewarding is that!!

It’s All About the Kids

It’s All About the Kids
Originally uploaded by interplast

Cao Lanh, Vietnam-David Marcus, Interplast volunteer pediatrician.

Hot, Hot, Hot! Not much more to say about the city of Cao Lanh. The children and parents are wonderful and it is hard not to smile when you see the gratitude in the glowing faces of our patients. Well, maybe not all the faces are glowing all the time.

Clinic day

Clinic day
Originally uploaded by interplast

Cao Lanh, Vietnam-Sheila Wolfson, Interplast volunteer trip support.

Early on Monday morning, our team arrived at the Dong Thap General Hospital for clinic day where we ended up screening 198 patients for surgery. For many of us it was overwhelming to see so many patients needing surgery cramped into one small location but also rewarding to know that we would be able to help many of the children and adults who made the journey to Cao Lanh. We scheduled two weeks of surgeries for patients who needed cleft lip and palate repairs, burn reconstructions and other procedures to help correct debilitating deformities.

The wonderful Dr. Hien

The wonderful Dr. Hien
Originally uploaded by interplast

Cao Lanh, Vietnam-Sheila Wolfson, Interplast volunteer trip support.

Here you see our Interplast liaison from Vietnam, Dr. Hien, sharing some local culinary delights with us. After meeting us at the Ho Chi Minh airport and helping us whip through customs, she continued to meet our needs in a myriad of ways. She is delightful, energetic, assertive when she needs to be, and loves to have a good time, too. She is also a terrific anesthesiologist who worked with our team in the operating room for the first few days of our trip.

Journey to Cao Lanh

Originally uploaded by interplast

Cao Lanh, Vietnam-Sheila Wolfson, Interplast volunteer trip support.

Several US team members began our journey from the San Francisco airport, checking in the 29 Interplast boxes filled with the medical supplies that we would need for two weeks of surgeries in Cao Lanh, a small city in southwest Vietnam. We had a great experience with Eva Air, as the flight attendants were pleasant and accommodating and we arrived at our destinations on time. We met the rest of our team in either Taipei, Taiwan or at the airport in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This is the most international team I have participated in, so in addition to hearing Vietnamese spoken by the locals, we have the pleasure of hearing terms such as chap and brilliant being uttered by our anesthesiologists from Britain and New Zealand.

Interplast Surgical Outreach Director Publishes A Book on Cleft Lip and Palate Treatment.

Tratamiento De La Fisura Labio Palatina
Originally uploaded by interplast

Dr. Percy Rossell Perry, Interplast surgical outreach director in Peru, recently published a book on cleft lip and palate care. His book ,“Tratamiento de la Fisura Labio Palatina” (Cleft Lip and Palate Treatment), is based on Rossell’s experience traveling throughout Peru for 15 years to perform more than 1,000 cleft lip and palate surgeries for impoverished children. Interplast has been his partner and supporter for more than 7 years, empowering Rossell with medical training, quality improvement and funding to provide surgeries for poor children. Rossell wrote his book “to promote scientific publications amongst the medical community in his country in order to further the development of medicine in Peru,” according to the introduction.

His book embodies Interplast’s empowerment mission of building the medical capacity in poor countries. By providing surgeons in his country with valuable, up-to-date medical techniques, Rossell is helping to train other developing world doctors to perform high-quality cleft surgeries, now and in the future.

Interplast congratulates Dr. Rossell for his book and for his work healing children with clefts. We are proud of our long, strong partnership with him, formed for the betterment of impoverished children throughout Peru.

Interplast Kudos in Philanthropy Publications

Interplast recently received great shout-outs about its blog, web site and donor appreciation.  The NonProfit Times listed Interplast and five other nonprofits for having "Hot Nonprofit Web Sites."
The popular Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog also listed Interplast as one of her favorites and gave Interplast kudos for their donor appreciation letters.  Her blog was then picked up by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, where Interplast was mentioned again for our letters to supporters.
Interplast is proud and honored to be highlighted. This recognition is a testament of the hard work Interplast puts into keeping its supporters engaged and informed.

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