GLOBAL INVOLVEMENT
SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES
TANZANIA
Dr. Adam Bakker | TCOF Board Member
2023 marked my 6th consecutive year working in Tanzania. My time in Tanzania focuses on severely neglected pediatric burn scar contractures and upper extremity limb deformities. In their local community, burns are commonplace due to the need for fires to boil and sanitize water, heat homes, and keep mosquitoes away by using smoke. Often, fires are started in the middle of single-room homes where kids will accidentally fall and get severely burned, developing consequential limb contractures.
To help with the surgical process in Tanzania, a team approach is essential. This year’s team consisted of John Muelken, an Orthopedic Assistant, Melissa Mendes, PA, and Alli Mikota, a hand therapist. In addition, an anesthesiology team was brought over for the first time consisting of anesthesiologist, Erik Egeland, MD, and Kemo Marong, CRNA. Both Erik and Kemo were outstanding partners. They were able to bring a tremendous breadth and depth of anesthesia knowledge to the children while providing education to the anesthesia personnel of Tanzania. All members of the team covered all their costs to volunteer their time in Tanzania.
However, the costs for the Tanzanian kids’ surgery and care are covered almost entirely through generous donations. The TCO Foundation has been an active donor to the Friends of the Kafika House, covering the costs for numerous life-altering surgeries for children. The average cost for the entire surgery and recovery care is $850 per child. This includes 1-2 weeks pre-surgery for nutrition and pre-surgical evaluations, the surgery itself, and the six weeks of recovery at the Kafika House (formerly known as the Plaster House). On average, we perform 30-45 pediatric burn scar contracture releases and upper extremity limb corrective surgeries during our week at the Kafika House.
If you’re interested in donating any amount to the pediatric burn scar release and upper extremity limb corrective surgeries, please use the URL below. All proceeds will go directly to the cost of these children’s surgeries.
Tanzania Plaster House
FriendsOfThePlasterHouse.org
NICARAGUA
Dr. David Gesensway | TCOF Board President
His eyes riveted to the computer monitor, Dr. Franklin Lopez deftly worked to move a small rubber ring from peg to peg with a metal grasping tool, while only looking at the images on the screen. The second-year orthopedic surgical resident’s love of video games was now paying off. The wall air condition unit was on full blast in the old, cramped conference room, as evidenced by its loud roar and the steady drip of condensate onto the floor near my wobbly chair. After Dr. Lopez rapidly completed the difficult final suture retrieval task, Dr. Kurt Anderson clicked his stopwatch, and as all the assembled orthopedic surgery residents watched and waited nervously, he tallied all the scores from the final exam of the knee arthroscopy simulator test. To the delighted cheers and applause of his fellow residents, Dr. Lopez was declared the champion and proud winner of an iPhone.
Thus concluded a successful, difficult, stressful, and tiring week of volunteer teaching in Leon, Nicaragua. While arthroscopy is one of the most common tools used by American surgeons to help their orthopedic patients, there is no functioning arthroscopy equipment or training at this large teaching hospital an hour and a half from the capitol, Managua. So, a team from the Twin Cities Orthopedics Foundation brought two home-made arthroscopy simulators from Minnesota and worked with the residents and staff during the week to teach basic hand-eye surgical coordination and arthroscopy skills.
The team of Drs. Kurt Anderson, Benjamin Gulli, David Gesensway, and Orthopedic Assistant John Muelken carried over 600 pounds of donated orthopedic equipment and supplies to help the people of Leon. They gave lectures at morning conferences and helped the residents complete many surgical cases such as complex knee and femur fractures, shoulder instability, and hand machete injuries. This was our sixth volunteer service trip to the second poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, supported in part by the TCOF.
