Here is a bit of an update on some of the statistics for this field service so far. Thanks to so many different volunteers a lot of different kinds of surgery can be accomplished. Here is a list of some of the surgeries that have been and will be done while Mercy Ships is in the Congo:
- Maxillofacial surgeries –
cleft lip and palate, large facial tumors, and facial deformities
- Plastic surgeries – skin
grafting, burn scar contracture releases
- General surgeries –
hernia, large benign skin tumors, goiter removals
- Orthopaedic surgeries –
correction for club feet, bowed legs, knocked knees, and other deformities
- Eye surgeries –
primarily cataracts
- Obstetric fistula
surgeries – repair of VVF, RVF, and UVF
The beginning of this week saw the first of the VVF (brief explanation here) patients being brought on board for this outreach, with surgeries beginning on Tuesday. As I mentioned before these are some of my favourite patients. Unfortunately there were only a small number of ladies who made their way to the ship on Monday. Due to poor road conditions between Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire the means of getting to the ship are fairly limited. And if you will notice on the map, Pointe-Noire is almost as far down south in the country as you can get and is quite a distance from the northern part of Congo. The government kindly agreed to fly patients from Brazzaville for free. There was supposed to be a flight with some of these patients arriving on Monday but for some reason or another it has yet to arrive. Please keep these ladies in your prayers as well as praying that more VVF ladies who could benefit from the surgery might be able to find their way to the ship. In fact prayer for all of our patients and volunteers would be much appreciated.
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| http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/congo-administrative-map.htm |
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