Chicago, IL - As part of a humanitarian effort to treat underserved people in Africa, Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush surgeon Dr. Craig J. Della Valle and Physician Assistant Susan Gilpin recently traveled to Nigeria with a team of medical professionals to provide care at the Enugu National Orthopaedic Hospital.
The team consisted of Dr. Jeffrey Sawyer with the Campbell Clinic; Dr. Lisa Gramlich, Dr. Asokumar Buvanendran, and Kendall Sullivan, Rush University Medical Center Anesthesia Department; Betty Onyema, Susan Howell, and Nahid Khan, OR nurses from Rush University Medical Center; Michael Frye and Loveday Charles, nurses from Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center; Rachel Wollery, a Rush University Medical Center administrator, Phillip Moreau, Kathy Bredael, and Kevin Rice, Rush University Medical Center pediatric nurses; Mike Wood, a Zimmer representative; and Vince Onyema and Goodwin Onyema, representing Chicago Medical Missions.
Pedestrian trauma and children with rickets are among the most widespread orthopaedic problems in Nigeria. There are currently only 120 orthopaedic surgeons in the country, where the ratio of orthopaedists to the general population is one to one million. Treatment can often be worse than the ailment: simple fractures often lead to gangrene due to poor patient care, leaving the orthopaedic surgeon with little choice except to amputate the infected limb. Moreover, with primitive medical facilities and limited access to technology, complex orthopaedic procedures are out of reach for Nigerian surgeons.
Over the course of the trip, Dr. Della Valle and the surgical team performed 16 hip and knee replacement procedures (including a complex revision hip replacement). All cases featured severe medical conditions that were beyond the surgical capabilities of Nigerian physicians. The team typically worked 14-hour days in extreme heat and deficient facilities.
In spite of the oppressive operating conditions, surgical outcomes were tremendous. The team was also able to interact with the local physicians, providing daily lectures and instruction throughout the surgical procedures. At the conclusion of the trip, they met with the Nigerian Governor to discuss the future of health care in Nigeria and the prospect of additional medical missions in the future.
The physicians of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush are proud to take part in humanitarian efforts both regionally and internationally. With specialized training in orthopaedic surgery and in subspecialty areas within the field of orthopaedic medicine, these physicians can diagnose and treat even the most complicated and rare orthopaedic conditions. More importantly, they also teach the next generation of orthopaedic surgeons, improving the quality of orthopaedic care around the world.
